Review 204:
February 2024

First Published: 2020

Internet entries:

• Good Reads

The Author

"The Year Without Summer " by Guinivere Glasfurd.

Chris stumbled across this book in Glasgow during a wet weekend while Peter was taking part in a Scottish Handbells day. Chris read enough of the book to see the relevance to today’s environmental situation, hence the choice.

The historical basis is the eruption of Mt Tambora in 1815, the most powerful eruption in recorded history. The violent climax was 10th April, 1815, and was ten times more powerful than the better known Krakatoa eruption. The impact of the eruption was felt around the globe leading to the phrase “The Year Without Summer”.

Guinivere Glasfurd’s book explores this theme from the contemporaneous views of six protagonists, artist John Constable, writer Mary Shelley, a farm labourer called Sarah , a soldier returning from the Napoleonic Wars called Hope Peter, a ship’s doctor, Henry, and an American Priest, Charles. These six parallel stories are linked by the environmental catastrophe of the volcanic eruption.

The structure of the book is then complex, essentially jumping between the individual stories, but also skipping about in the timeframe. It is possible to deconstruct the narrative and separately to read the individual stories and some felt that the book would be less confusing if approached in this manner.

The deep horror of the book was the graphic description of the ship’s surgeon who visited the island site of the eruption, hopelessly underprepared for what he found.

The impact on the lives of the other protagonists varied with their individual circumstances, the more affluent had their personal concerns; the soldier was horrified at what happened to his family while he was away at war, the farm hand was treated despicably by the land owners. The American priest was also depicted as an unsavoury character. Inevitably the poorer people suffered the most.

Basing the book in the lives of real people gives power to the narrative, and was reasonably well received by the club.

Rosie's comments:
I've not finished it but I enjoyed what I've read. It's an interesting book, about an event I knew nothing about. The use of language is imaginative, and quite colourful at times. Someone says 'she came at it like hail at a window', and the bit where the ship sails through the bay surrounded by chunks of pumice really create a picture. The overriding sense of hardship is difficult at times and the poorer characters feel doomed to poverty , hardship and injustice.
A bit miserable really!

Gail's comments:
I'd not heard of this volcanic eruption so the book was interesting for me from a historical and geographical perspective- the impact on weather around the world. Fact and fiction woven together. Imaginative. The summer of 1816 was miserable and the misery of the weather, the characters and their circumstances is well described by the author.

As ever the poor come out worse and the sheer injustice of their treatment is appalling.

''Twas ever thus!

A good, easy, but miserable read. The characters are believable; good descriptions creating vivid images e.g chapter of the ship sailing to the Island. However jumping around from one character (chapter) to another needs a good memory.

Awards: