Ellie,
a convent-raised orphan, was sent to serve as housekeeper to Dillahan, a
widower who tragically lost his wife and child. She ultimately married him and
has a routine-driven life with him on their farm. She rides her bicycle from
their farmhouse to the fictitious Irish town of Rathmoye once a week to deliver
eggs and pick up necessities, and connect with the town’s locals. When a young
photographer, Florian Kilderry, makes her acquaintance, love arrives quietly but
inevitably. “…it was silly, all she had to do was to think of something else
when he came into her mind. But now, when she tried to, she couldn’t.” (pg. 52)
In prose as lyric as his native tongue, Trevor guides the reader through
familiar emotions such as passion and disappointment. He creates verbal
portraits with minute details - the old bowl for gathering eggs and the decaying
wall where messages could be hidden - during one delicately evoked summer.
The
other characters are gently but clearly defined and their stories not only move
the main plot along, but add a depth and richness that is part of Trevor’s
great talent. Strangely, I found myself harking back to a similar plot line: a
decent but dull husband, an unconsciously discontented wife, an intriguing
wayfaring stranger, and the heat of summer. But believe me, Love and Summer is as far from The Bridges of Madison County as the
Mona Lisa is from my old refrigerator art.
CAS
