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But it is a great story with characters that I found really easy to like, understand or relate to.It is set in pre World War 2 - the shadow of the Nazi's and war is hanging over Europe in the 1930's when Ellen, intelligent, hardworking and lovely, sets out to be the new matron at a liberal boarding school in Austria. While I found some story lines promising at first they often just petered out. This is sort of the Countess Below Stairs mixed with The Dragonfly Pool. This is a really lovely romance in Eva Ibbotson style. I also felt a bit disappointed that the Kohlroserl didn't have the attention it seemed to warrant at the startAll these were minor disappointments, or issues - the book was a wonderful read, which I really enjoyed and will definitely enjoy again on re-reading - as I do with all Ibbotson's books. I love the main characters who manage to create good in their environment and I love the way she sets these books in slightly different circumstances each time.
Ibbotson manages to tie in a host of themes of the time, the Nazi's and their persecution of the jews, the Eastern European bloc formation through Czechoslavakia and the love of Vienesse for for Opera.I really like the way that Ibbotson blends her storylines.
She meets Marek, who is the handyman at the school, but obviously there is something more to him, along with a cast of great characters.
I am sure Isaac the violinist was meant for a larger role, but again, that just faded away.
I read from another reviewer that she writes the same stories - and you may get a sense of that.
I wondered if there was to originally be a larger role for the Suffragist Mother and Aunts.
There are a stream of other stories which are all interlinked.
That of Kendrick, the rather wet Englishman who loves her and wants her to marry him, of the Vienesse Opera Singer who Marek has been involved with in the past.
There were also slightly annoying things, while the theme of a mother who delivered a camel on the way to church was mildly funny, I didn't think it warranted the attention it got.
They are warm, friendly and inviting stories about humanity and love.
This book was my least favorite out of all Ms.Ibbotson's books. If you want a good read, read Countess Below Stairs, The morning Gift, or a companny of swans. I forgot who the people were most of the time.
Although i like the lead male, the main character really annoyed me. I found it kind of boring. I couldnt keep my attention and the ended was kinda boring.
I really didnt like the storyline. I don't think we found out what her true character is. The storyline and plot confused me cause it jumped around.
Though it wasnt predictable, I was confused on what was happening. (that's in order ffrom my most favorite).
I read this book, and I did enjoy it very much. A constant shifting of perspective also made the story a bit difficult to follow. I also found it difficult to buy into some of the decisions made by Ellen and Marek towards the end of the book. Ellen is a thoroughly likeable character, and her love and concern for everyone around her make it clear why the characters would all fall under her charm. At first the plot twists and turns had me truly surprised, but by the end of the book I felt like the pattern was getting way too predictable. Marek was definitely a winner, and I fell in love with him through Ellen for all of the beautiful nuances of his character. There were elements of the book that I found truly touching, or funny, or gripping, but I found that there were also some flaws. I sometimes had to look back a sentence or two for the name of the person that was now being referred to as 'he' or 'she'.
I felt that many of the other characters were underdeveloped. As I read I found myself losing track of names and who was who. These characters didn't really seem to stay true to themselves. Overall I would say it is worth reading, but it would not go on my list of great books.
And at is core is Ellen, a girl who is both strong and domestically inclined. Set in Austria and London just before and during World War II, A SONG FOR SUMMER follows a young woman named Ellen Carr who takes a job as a housekeeper at an unusual private school in the Austrian Alps. "His back legs were paralyzed and he was dragging himself along. Ibbotson's light, lyrical writing flowed through each chapter, like the glissandi and grace notes of the music that is so central to its theme. But is there anything that compares with the tingle of discovering a wonderful established author, who already has six or seven books out there ready and waiting and in paperback. We thought we'd have to have him destroyed and then Marek came and made him those wheels."Soon after the well-equipped tortoise, Ellen encounters Professor Chomsky who teaches metalwork and swims naked in the lake at all hours, Professor Ritter who teaches drama and encourages the children to be kitchen utensils and to give birth to themselves, and a cabbage-person from an English mining village masquerading as a Russian ballerina.
And, as so many of the characters do, reading this book means falling in love with her.This was my first Eva Ibbotson book and I can't tell you how much I enjoyed it. I knew this book and I would get on when Ellen first arrived at Schloss Hallendorf to find a tortoise on wheels speeding across the lawn."It's Achilles," said Sophie. The daughter and niece of dyed in the wool suffragettes, she is independent and smart and firmly chooses baking over marching. These delightful, at time hilarious, side characters bring a wonderful flavor and variety to the novel as, one by one, they are drawn into the bright circle of Ellen's influence. There is humor, danger, romance, and a beautiful longing for the world as it was and as it should be among the pages of this book. I have to say, finding a fabulous debut author is a delightful experience.
Nope, nothing comes to mind.
But most mysterious is the gardener, Marek. But instead of attending Oxford, she shocks her mother and aunts by enrolling into a cooking and housekeeping academy, and then accepts a position as a school matron at Hallendorf School, in Austria. As the daughter and niece of three of Britain's most powerful and influential women in the late 1930's, Ellen's future and options are limitless. Marek is plagued by years of guilt, and Hallendorf school is just a cover for a secret mission that he is driven to accomplish.one that he might not be able to complete without Ellen's help.Ibbotson's spirited voice rings true in this enrapturing novel with a varied and colorful cast of characters and a complex and multilayered plotline. Hallendorf is far different than any boarding school that Ellen's ever known. The teachers and students are free spirited, lively, and dramatic. Though the ever changing points of view and lack of extensive elaboration on many subjects may disorient the reader slightly, A Song for Summer exudes a relaxed and comfortable air that makes it simple for the reader to step into the time period and setting and experience every wonderfully depicted detail with Ibbotson's clever use of imagery. Her smooth delivery builds up suspense on every page, making each sentence of this realistic and frank novel all that more enjoyable, culminating in a tasteful and artfully crafted masterpiece.For more book reviews, author interviews, and contests, visit: [.].
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