A slow-burner -- charming and moving

No sooner do Sally, Eve, and ailing Anastasia haphazardly meet for the first time over a howling dog than readers are treated to a leisurely contemplative tale centered around the unlikeliest of sisterhoods. During the time the women spend getting to know one another on their journey, they encounter a kaleidoscope of memorable eccentric – often funny, at times dubious - boat dwellers whose experiences and stories force the two middle-aged women into rethinking their own life choices.

If there’s one thing that Youngson excels in it is her mastery in depicting the whole range of individual varieties of human interactions, emotions and eccentricities rendering her characters – both primary and peripheral - relatable, grounded in reality and redeemable despite their many flaws. As the characters’ histories slowly unravel, we better understand not only the motives behind their interactions with each other, but also their personal struggles, past regrets and future longings as we are simultaneously treated to the challenges as well as the serenity and simplicity of a life lived on the water.

That said, the novel’s themes, around friendship, love, kindness, hope and forgiveness, makes “The Narrowboat Summer” a perfect bookclub choice.

Three women meet on a towpath along a canal near London, strangers brought together by a howling dog in a narrowboat, all three at crossroads in their life. Anastasia, the boat owner, teaches Eve and Sally how to operate the narrowboat and trusts them to deliver it to the repair facility in Chester, over 200 miles north, a trip that would take more than six weeks. Six weeks that would change their lives.

The story reads like a narrowboat trip – slow, meandering, graceful & enriching. Along the way, Eve & Sally meet a variety of people, some of whom will become dear friends and some who will remain just people they met.

A perfect book club read – so many episodes ripe for discussion and consideration. I took a long time reading this book, not because it was difficult, but because I wanted to savor every chapter. This is a book I will reread next summer and dream of my own narrowboat trip.

I knew nothing about narrowboats before I started reading The Narrowboat Summer by Anne Youngson. I never knew it was an option for an English holiday, much less a way of life for the denizens who live on them full- or part-time. And there are tunnels and bridges and locks (!) to navigate with at least a modicum of skill, though apparently one can pick up the necessary skills relatively quickly.

I was enchanted with the book, not just because of the pastoral setting (not always!), but also because of the strong development of main characters and some assorted family members and friends. For the three main characters, two middle-aged women and one who is elderly, the narrowboat journey serves as a subtle metaphor for a re-evaluation of their lives, a “time-out” for them to make some decisions for which fork in the stream they will take. I think of this book as a bit of a “coming-of-age” novel, though in this case our heroines aren’t bridging to adulthood but to a new chapter in their lives.

A well written relaxing read. It would be wonderful to spend a summer on the water and plan a new life. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

I loved Meet Me at the Museum and I was so excited for this new release. It was a great disappointment. I didn't like any of the characters and will not be recommending this one.