About the Book
In the summer of love, or rather of madness, a whole set of stories are emerging. But there is one that has got everyone talking. When Kurt decides to win back his ex-girlfriend with the help of a literary classic, he sets off a string of events that will build to a dramatic finale.
My Thoughts
The Summer of Madness is a lovely short story that follows Kurt who has been dumped by his girlfriend and he wants to try and win her back. Kurt sets himself up at the local station and starts reading a section of Wuthering Heights out loud. He’s going to come back every day until he’s finished the novel in the hopes that his ex girlfriend will find out about it and come to see him.
Kurt’s reading begins to attract small crowds – some people stop for a few minutes as they’re passing by and others end up coming to listen day after day. I enjoyed seeing these other characters too and even in such a short story there was enough about them to make me curious and to want to see what might happen to them as a result of the reading.
It was interesting that Kurt’s girlfriend broke up with him and now he’s making a grand gesture to win her back. It is touched on in the story that this isn’t the kind of thing that we always think of as grandly romantic anymore, that this is Kurt’s summer of madness in the way he thinks this can win her back. I really liked that the story briefly discusses this.
We learn more about why Kurt’s girlfriend broke up with him and so I was curious as to whether this story would have a happy ending where she came back. I wasn’t sure that she would but then I wasn’t sure how the story would end if she didn’t. I love that this story genuinely kept me on my toes until the end.
The Summer of Madness is such a lovely summer read and perfect for picking up in your lunch break. It was a story that kept me turning the pages as I wanted to know how things were going to go for Kurt. I very much enjoyed this gorgeous short story and I definitely recommend it!
I received a copy of this book from the author. All thoughts are my own.
The Summer of Madness is out now and available here.
RatherTooFondofBooks 
What a great idea for an innovative plot! Reading a book out loud is clever, and you know, you don’t see it the way you used to in real life. This sounds like a fine short story, Hayley, and I’m glad you liked it.
It was such a good short story, I really enjoyed it.
That does sound like a fun idea, although I get twitchy around narratives about pursuing a woman until she gives in. I’m assuming she has good agency in this and makes her own choices.
She does make her own choices, which I appreciated. I wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much if she hadn’t. It also does come up in the story that making a grand romantic gesture is not always appropriate when someone has broken up with you.
Pingback: That Was The Month That Was… August 2020! | RatherTooFondofBooks