The Last Summer of the Water Strider Hardcover – 18 Jun. 2015

We meet Adam as an uninspired, resentful 17 year old leading a monochrome existence with his parents in their London council flat. His dad Ray, employed in a shoe shop, "did the right thing all his life and as a result never really had a life." His mother "lived her life by principles of kindness and self-sacrifice" which everyone took for granted. Only once did Ray's bohemian brother Henry visit, but was not the drug addict of family tales, but a well-groomed, self possessed cultured individual (reciting Ginsberg and Auden) making Adam's parents uncomfortable with his aura of unforced amusement; "I'd never met anybody who occupied their skin so completely and cofmortably."And in many ways this is a novel of (apparent) contrasts. After Adam's mother's dramatic demise, the teen is sent to stay with Uncle Henry on his riverboat (The Ho Koji) in the West Country. Adam's sullen apathy is gradually challenged by the passage of time, and the cast of characters he meets, wheras Henry offers food and freedom and advises from his belief that the only reality is the present moment. Henry's friends are a circle of seekers who are into crystals, radical politics, feminism and smoking weed. An American girl called Strawberry and whose relationship with Henry is unclear, lives nearby in a cabin in the woods and persists in a 'healing' diet which makes her ever-thinner. A lot is unclear to Adam. There is an evil (?) vicar trying to get rid of Henry and his entrouage, but Adam is increasingly attracted to his perky daughter Ash, despite Henry's warnings that she is not as she seems.Some of these characters seemed undeveloped to me, but Henry was intriguing, and I enjoyed the nostalgic ambience of a long, hot, English summer in the 70's countryside, sunbathing, picnics in the woods, swimming in the river. Growing up is an uncomfortable but compelling time when you are trying to work out what is what, and time streches before you. Tim Lott highlights some of the paradoxes of these youthful ruminations; Adam steers away from religion, but finds peace sitting in the church. "Was it a fantasy? Could so many people, some of them with brilliant minds, be so misguided?"Will Adam re-do his A level and go back to his old life? And is Henry and his Zen Buddhism for real?Things hot up towards the climax near the end.Despite some reservations I had with aspects of the plot, I did enjoy reading the book and relished the humorous observation and zesty dialogue.

Two minutes in I thought I was going to discard this book.The portrait he painted of his parents as one dimensional, flaccid,mousy provincial types repulsed me. But not as much as they seemed to repulse young Adam. I feared its tone was going to be juvenile and cliched throughout. But to my relief, when Adam arrived at his uncle's houseboat things got interesting. The texture and the atmosphere started to build. I felt myself exploring and feeling my way around with the main character. Having been a teenager living in a village/small town in the seventies, his description of Adams first visit to Lexham evoked memories for me.The story itself was kind of weird and wonderful. I don't think Tim Lott got ' bored ' with his characters- hence the ending. I think the ending represented a healing in itself. It was symbolic. This was an intriguing read, and probably one of my favourite reads of this summer !

This is about a teenage boy who witnesses his mother choking to death in front of him. He and his father are traumatised by this, and his father sends him off to stay for the summer with his uncle, who lives in a houseboat in Somerset. It is narrated in the first person by the boy, and is about his interaction with his hippyish uncle and two girls that he meets.For the first half of the book, his tone is very impersonal and detached. Then, in one paragraph, while he is in a church, he becomes very much more involved. The intensity then ramps up to an explosive finale. The feeling of being inside a teenage boy's head comes across very well. While not essential reading, it certainly leaves an impact.

Lott's novel was awarded several glowing reviews when it was published. Yes it is tender-hearted and Lott manages to pepper the narrative with some poignant observations of early Seventies' teenage lust and ambitions and social awkwardness. The unexpected death of the hero's mother and being off-loaded by his father into the care of his hippy uncle Henry is an intriguing premise. Callow youth encounters Sixties' free love and self expression. Then it falters. The novel relies overmuch on the main characters' eccentricity to beguile the reader and keep one turning the page. Yes, there's nowt as strange as folk. And how folk respond to each other and to different situations give a novel color and depth. By themselves, however, they are not a novel. Lott's plot is as focused as a hippy who's smoked too much weed. And this reader was left thinking the conclusion was an act of desperation by Lott to stop typing. He, like me, had grown weary of the characters and their tale.

Taps into the 1970s without it feeling dated. Could not put the book down. Interesting and emotional story line that highlights the free spirt attitudes of the time as well as the innocence of youth. The finale was a little dissapointing.

Good book at a good price.

This was a very disappointing read. The plot is thin and contrived but my biggest criticism is the characters who all seem to be 70's tropes that it is almost laughable. My biggest problem is Uncle Henry, who give the dedication in the front, is loosely based on Alan Watts! He just does not wash and so much is thrown around about him that nothing sticks, there is one particularly dreadful moment where he reveals he was the Beatles drug supplier and produces a picture of himself with John and George back in the day. An interesting character is Strawberry but her terminus is the narrative is years later to marry a farmer! I took this on holiday to read and persisted with it and I did learn the word katamite! But on the whole some lazy writing and plotting.

Loved this book. Seller provided swift delivery