Mia Fredrickson, the wry, vituperative, tragic comic, poet narrator of The Summer Without Men, has been forced to reexamine her own life. One day, out of the blue, after thirty years of marriage, Mia’s husband, a renowned neuroscientist, asks her for a “pause.” This abrupt request sends her reeling and lands her in a psychiatric ward. The June following Mia’s release from the hospital, she returns to the prairie town of her childhood, where her mother lives in an old people’s home. Alone in a rented house, she rages and fumes and bemoans her sorry fate. Slowly, however, she is drawn into the lives of those around her—her mother and her close friends,“the Five Swans,” and her young neighbor with two small children and a loud angry husband—and the adolescent girls in her poetry workshop whose scheming and petty cruelty carry a threat all their own.

Yes, lovely book! I loved the cover, and those couple of small drawings in the book, the poems and the story itself of course. So many women, at so different age and situation. Gentle, quiet, wise book.

Sending to Annimanni next, enjoy.

Received with warm thanks :)

Hustvedt has yet to disappoint me. This was a beautiful, intelligent, sad and funny and characteristically warm story with authentic characters. Loved it!

Here's an insightful review from the Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/feb/20/summer-without-men-siri-hustvedt-review

Happy reading!

A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle. And I'm not sure if I needed more books to my To-Be-Read Pile -- as a matter of fact not really -- but Annimanni said this one's good.. Thanks for release :) will try it when I get a chance.

:I

:)

Left on a bench near info.