Review of A Summer in Europe by Marilyn Brant

A Summer in Europe
Marilyn Brant
Kensington
ISBN 13:9780758261519
352 pages

On Gwen Reese’s 30^th birthday, it wasn’t the expected gift from her boyfriend Richard (which she didn’t get) but the totally unexpected one from her eccentric aunt Beatrice that turned out to be the life changer for this disciplined and ordered person. Gwen suddenly finds herself the beneficiary of a vacation in Europe complete with scenic and historic sites and in the company of Aunt Bea’s quirky friends and members of her S&M (Sudoku and Math-jongg) club. But something profound happened to this regimented life on this very free spirited journey and as Gwen travels a road she’s unfamiliar with she learns something about herself that was hidden beneath that façade of uniformity, even more surprising is that she’s not the only one on a path of discovery.
Emerson Edwards and his brother, Thoreau, meet the group in Italy and throw a wrench in Gwen’s well-oiled life with their intelligence and their irreverence.
There are consequences that come with discovery and it’s as these two very different roads connect that Gwen will find out if the fear of her past will dictate her future.

This is a brilliant piece of contemporary literature, it’s timeless in its essence. Ms. Brant brings us a rather later that usual coming of age in this story of a woman who’s life has been ruled by loss and fear, then she gives us the hope that this new woman can come out of her chrysalis in tact and ready to take on her whole new world. She does this with her customary prose like dialogue and a narrative that will take your breath away as she takes us through Europe that can vividly be seen in your mind’s eye. Her characters are superstars, every one of them from the 90 year old feisty Zenia to the 15 year old Ani and all the ones in between. But it’s Gwen who shines the brightest, who we will cry with and cry for, who we will root for and scold who we will want for most of all as we see her evolve throughout the novel. Is it a love story, yes it is, but not just a romance, it’s the love of one’s self, of familial and friend love and of course also that love that makes the world go round, the kind of love that heats the coldest of nights and fills the emptiest of rooms.

This is your first must read of December and you’ll want to share with the people who mean the most to you, a perfect stocking stuffer and yes it wraps beautifully. It’s also a read that will be enjoyed by multi-generations and both sexes. If this is your first trip with Marilyn Brant I know it won’t be your last.
Thank you Ms. Brant for another exceptional read.

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