The Summer of Katya

This is a ponderous, Gothic-y novel that takes too long to get going and by the time it does, the reader has been so dulled by the journey that the payoff seems weak. There's a crumbling estate, a weird family, love, insanity, murder - all the makings of a good, creepy read, but it just wasn't. Some of the writing is very good, and I enjoyed learning a bit about Basque culture, but ultimately I didn't care what happened by the end.

2.5 stars
(My rating scale translation: Didn't work for me)

An amazing psychological thriller. Each of the members of the mysterious family are fully developed characters, complete with virtues, flaws, idiosyncrasies and emotional baggage.

Like a day that begins with storms on distant horizons, this book (after the obligatory foreshadowing introduction) begins with a light and airy feeling. Slowly the tension builds, and the mystery develops. Despite things seeming perfectly serene on the surface, there is an inescapable air of danger and suspicion. The author skillfully keeps the reader in the dark as to the true nature of this family's problem, while keeping the characters true to themselves, and even honest with the protagonist (as far as the characters themselves know). When the storm clouds show more finally break, it is more disturbing than one had originally imagined.

Recommended to those who enjoy unusual psychological portraits, who are fascinated with mental afflictions, and people who enjoy simmering mystery and tension rather than explosions and gun fire.

Note: Some people have expressed confusion or feeling let down with the ending. I'm not sure exactly why, but I felt none of those issues. The unintentional insincerity that eventually comes to light, the extremity of psychological disturbance, and the seeming villainy of several characters, all make sense to me, perhaps because I am familiar with mental illness and the toll it takes on their loved ones. show less

Trevanian was, according to his Wikipedia entry, so diverse a writer that some thought the name was "a collective pen name for a group of writers working together" (although to me his prose is always recognizable). His first two books, The Eiger Sanction and The Loo Sanction were delicious spoofs, over-the-top send-ups of the already over-the-top action/adventure/spy novel popularized by Ian Fleming with his Bond series. With his third novel, The Main he abruptly changed tone and color. The Main is a gritty, dark, realistic story about Jean-Luc LaPointe, a veteran cop widowed early and married now to his job. And then, in 1979, Shibumi, what many consider to be his crowning achievement, and one of the greatest international thrillers of show more all time.

He waited five years before publishing another novel. The Summer of Katya, while still recognizably Trevanian, turns in an entirely different direction, that of the psychological thriller, with a few gothic elements thrown in. The novel is narrated in 1938, from a perspective of twenty-four years after the summer in question. The narrator, Jean-Marc Montjean, is a young doctor working for a season in a clinic in a small Basque village a couple of hours from the village in which he grew up. He meets a beautiful young woman, Katya, a Parisienne living with her twin brother, and their father, a gentle and somewhat addled scholar of medieval history. Jean-Marc falls immediately in love with Katya, but, although he is allowed to visit the family daily for tea, he is not allowed to court her.

As the summer proceeds Jean-Marc is increasingly happy in his love for Katya, but also increasingly troubled by the family dynamic he observes when he goes to visit. Paul, the brother, is an arch snob who is exceedingly intelligent but seems to value nothing but his social status, the useless skills--such as kickboxing and target shooting--he has accumulated as a member of his class, and his small family. He exhibits nothing but contempt for the young doctor, despite the fact that Jean-Marc obviously makes his sister happy. As will happen in psychological thrillers--particularly those of an earlier era, to which Trevanian decidedly harks back--the twists to the story arrive quickly, one after the other, in the last seventy-five pages or so. They are, as is both the wont of Trevanian and of the genre, utterly over-the-top, nearly unbelievable, and deliciously satisfying. show less

Jean-Marque Montjean is a new qualified Doctor, working in Salies, France, in 1914, under the management of the bumptious Doctor Gros. Jean-Marque’s first patient of his own is the sardonic and mercurial Paul Treville. When Jean-Marque meets Paul’s sister Katya, the attraction is instant and undeniable. Montjean is enchanted by Katya’s enthusiasm for life, in contrast to her twin brother’s cynical outlook and disdain for others. Paul constantly warns Jean-Marque to stay away from Katya and it becomes clear that the Trevilles are hiding and running from a dark secret in their past. When Jean-Marque is informed that the Trevilles are planning to leave Salies, he insists on one last meeting with Katya, to see if he can persuade her show more to stay with him…



I enjoyed this book almost all of the way through. It was a very easy read, with an easy to follow storyline, and I found myself not wanting to put the book down. However, the ending was something of a let down, because it felt confusing and over-written. For the first time since starting the book, I found myself having to look back at parts I had read in order to make sure I understood what was happening.

Katya and Paul are both very well drawn characters, and Paul in particular was a character I enjoyed reading about, although he is not portrayed in a particularly sympathetic light. The minor character of Doctor Gros was also great fun. However, Jean-Marque himself is not so easy to care for one way or the other. Although he is the narrator of the story, I found that he was actually the least well rounded out of all of the ‘cast’. I suspect that had he been easier to empathise with, the ending would have been more exciting and enjoyable.

All in all though, this is a mostly enjoyable book, and perfect if you fancy a bit of mystery, but nothing too heavy. show less

...Primeiro foi vergonha, depois o segredo, em seguida a paixão, e por fim o horror....Numa aldeia basca, no verão de 1914, começa um romance vertiginoso para Jean-Marc Montjean quando ele contra Katya, linda e misteriosa visitante chegada de Paris. O jovem médico de província fica irremediavelmente apaixonado. Conselhos de um colega mais velho e mais experiente não são ouvidos;avisos do ´´inico irmão gêmeo de katya, guardião do segredo vergonhoso da família, são ignorados, e Montjjean se vê totalmente desarvorado, um personagem ingênuo envolvido numa tragédia em que o horror cresce a cada momento....

This is an odd, compelling book. It's beautifully written, and evocotive of place (moreso than the pre-WWI time period in which it's set), and takes some time coming to its conclusion. I was expecting an international thriller, as the only other Trevanian I've ever read was Shibumi (which was terrific); this book is nothing like that. I'm not sure I found the ending satisfying.

A light summer read, 30 Jun 2009

After a bit of a slow start, this book became a quick, enjoyable read, let down at the end by a slightly silly finalé.

Set during the long hot summer preceeding the First World War, the narrator is a young doctor on his first posting. He finds himself in a French village with little to do, in a practice devoted to pampering wealthy middle-aged women. When the mysterious Katya appears requiring medical aid for her brother, he is besotted.
The book's strengths lie in the atmospheric rendering of that Summer of 1914 and wonderful descriptions of a traditional Basque fete.
The characterisations are a little weak but the book is short and to the point, a good beach read, let down by a slightly unbelievable ending.