The Girls of Summer by Katie Bishop
| The Girls of Summer by Katie Bishop | |
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| Category: General Fiction | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: A stunning debut set on a Greek island, sixteen years ago. It's only now and with some reluctance, that Rachel realises that her memories of that time might not be accurate. Highly recommended. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 352 | Date: May 2023 |
| Publisher: Bantam | |
| ISBN: 978-1787636002 | |
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It was the summer when Rachel Evans turned eighteen that she and Caroline went backpacking around Greece and arrived on the island. Rachel wasn't exactly innocent but she was, perhaps, naive, so when thirty-four-year-old Alistair Wright started to take an interest in her, she was flattered rather than wary. It was quite a while before he made any sort of physical approach to her and by that time she was obsessed by him. Alistair worked for Henry Taylor, looking after his interests on the island and in particular in the bar where all the girls either worked or partied.
Sometimes the girls were invited to parties at Henry Taylor's house on the island - they couldn't fail to be impressed by it. Rachel occasionally stayed over with Alistair but it's on condition that no one else knows about their relationship as it could mean that he lost his job and then where would they be? Drugs are freely available and some of the girls, Kiera in particular, take whatever is offered. There's almost an obligation to indulge: not to do so would offend Taylor or his rich men friends. In the middle of August, Rachel should be returning home with Caroline but on the day of departure, she decides that she's staying.
The story switches between 'then' and 'now' - sixteen years later - when Rachel (now a museum curator) returns to the island with her husband, Tom. She's told him quite a bit about the island and on their final night, he takes her to the bar where she worked and partied. Rachel's shocked to realise that the bar is now owned by Helena, one of the girls who was there sixteen years ago. It's a meeting which puts in train events which will change all their lives forever.
The events are told from Rachel's point of view. She's convinced that Alistair really loved her and that it was just a series of unfortunate events which meant that they were separated. She appreciates Tom but - deep down - it's still Alistair she loves and would protect at any cost.
Katie Bishop is clever. The names 'Epstein' and 'Maxwell' are never mentioned at any point but you can't help but be thinking of the similarities. It was frightening to see how easily Rachel and many other girls can be pulled into a sexual relationship with an older man and then to providing sexual services to other, older men. Worst of all was that she couldn't accept that she had been groomed and sex-trafficked either then or sixteen years later.
The location is evoked perfectly and Bishop's writing is excellent. There's nothing showy about it - you simply start reading and you're immediately pulled in. This is her debut and I can't wait to read what she does next. I'd like to thank the publishers for letting Bookbag have a review copy.
For more on this dreadful subject, we can recommend The Oldest Game by Sue Leger, Claude's Journey by John Piper and After the Fire (Tom Reynolds) by Jo Spain.
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