Review by Chloe Mitchell -- Sophistries of Summer Days
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Chloe Mitchell
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- Latest Review: Sophistries of Summer Days by Jenny Lofters
Review by Chloe Mitchell -- Sophistries of Summer Days
[Following is a volunteer review of "Sophistries of Summer Days" by Jenny Lofters.]
Jenny Lofters’ Sophistries of Summer Days is a beautifully written novel that redefines the boundaries of a typical coming-of-age story. It is a captivating story that follows the life of a West Indies Islander named Cherrimina living in Naggo Head in the 1930s. Cherrimina’s life goes through a major alteration after she meets the mysterious American, Dove. When World War II begins, she again goes through a major period of growth as she deals with friends being deployed overseas to fight in the war.
Cherrimina experiences gradual enlightenments of what it means to be human throughout the novel. Even as the story follows her far into her adult life, she still experiences periods of growth in character, a solid representation of the idea that human growth is never stagnant. The lessons she learns are often hard, but also completely relatable. A significant part of Cherrimina’s struggle in her story stems from difficulty coping with her maturing body and mindset. Her sexuality is a major guilt-factor for her and she often wonders, even far into her adulthood, if she is being punished for giving in to sexual temptations. Dove provides balance and support in her adult life by pushing her to try new things and have new experiences, while still being supportive of her in such a way that two partners might depend on each other throughout life.
For those who are in opposition to reading a book set in the mid-early 1900s, do not be intimidated by the time period. Lofters does a fantastic job of focusing the plot on the development of the characters, and less so on the world affairs and limited technology of the time period. I personally tend to immediately discard a fictional book if it takes place in some distant time period. I typically worry that my lack of knowledge about the time period will make the book less enjoyable because certain events of the time will be entwined with the characters’ personal experiences. Certainly, there are some sections dedicated to accurately depicting how life on Naggo Head is being affected by World War II, but overall, the the writing is more focused on Cherrimina’s personal affairs than on the severity of the war. The outbreak of World War II is a secondary contributor to Cherrimina’s development as a whole, but still manages to make her a more complicated character, which ultimately engrossed me into the story even further than I already was.
This book was an amazing read! Right from the beginning I was hooked because of the unique setting. This book was a mature version of the typical novel that follows a girl trying to find herself. There is a clear cut in the story between when Cherrimina was a child who thought she knew her place in the world to an adolescent who was both overconfident and yet unsure of herself at the same time. In Chapter 19, the narration switches from first person to third person, and a momentous point is made, “Because there was a time when she had felt like she was the one who would tie the lace on the shoe of the person who would take that giant step for mankind, but now she felt that she was that person wearing the shoe to take that giant step, and the person tying the lace had no thumbs.” While reading this quote, I was immediately able to identify with the message being relayed. Being a young adult means that you’re invincible, and that you will single-handedly save the world, whereas when you’re a child, you have hope that the world will change, but the challenge of creating that change is not for you. If there was one sentence I had to use to explain Sophistries of Summer Days, this would be the one I would use. Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading self-discovery stories. Lofters has a natural gift for writing, as this story flowed very nicely from one stage of Cherrimina’s life to the next. I am looking forward to reading more of her literature. I rated this book as a 4 out of 4 because of the beauty of the story, as well as how exceptional Lofters’ writing was. This book would best be read by a mature audience because of the adult themes, such as exploring one’s sexuality, but it is hard to criticize this book because it intentionally does not glorify human nature, making it feel like the story of a real, imperfect person, rather than flawless character with no depth.
******
Sophistries of Summer Days
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Jenny Lofters’ Sophistries of Summer Days is a beautifully written novel that redefines the boundaries of a typical coming-of-age story. It is a captivating story that follows the life of a West Indies Islander named Cherrimina living in Naggo Head in the 1930s. Cherrimina’s life goes through a major alteration after she meets the mysterious American, Dove. When World War II begins, she again goes through a major period of growth as she deals with friends being deployed overseas to fight in the war.
Cherrimina experiences gradual enlightenments of what it means to be human throughout the novel. Even as the story follows her far into her adult life, she still experiences periods of growth in character, a solid representation of the idea that human growth is never stagnant. The lessons she learns are often hard, but also completely relatable. A significant part of Cherrimina’s struggle in her story stems from difficulty coping with her maturing body and mindset. Her sexuality is a major guilt-factor for her and she often wonders, even far into her adulthood, if she is being punished for giving in to sexual temptations. Dove provides balance and support in her adult life by pushing her to try new things and have new experiences, while still being supportive of her in such a way that two partners might depend on each other throughout life.
For those who are in opposition to reading a book set in the mid-early 1900s, do not be intimidated by the time period. Lofters does a fantastic job of focusing the plot on the development of the characters, and less so on the world affairs and limited technology of the time period. I personally tend to immediately discard a fictional book if it takes place in some distant time period. I typically worry that my lack of knowledge about the time period will make the book less enjoyable because certain events of the time will be entwined with the characters’ personal experiences. Certainly, there are some sections dedicated to accurately depicting how life on Naggo Head is being affected by World War II, but overall, the the writing is more focused on Cherrimina’s personal affairs than on the severity of the war. The outbreak of World War II is a secondary contributor to Cherrimina’s development as a whole, but still manages to make her a more complicated character, which ultimately engrossed me into the story even further than I already was.
This book was an amazing read! Right from the beginning I was hooked because of the unique setting. This book was a mature version of the typical novel that follows a girl trying to find herself. There is a clear cut in the story between when Cherrimina was a child who thought she knew her place in the world to an adolescent who was both overconfident and yet unsure of herself at the same time. In Chapter 19, the narration switches from first person to third person, and a momentous point is made, “Because there was a time when she had felt like she was the one who would tie the lace on the shoe of the person who would take that giant step for mankind, but now she felt that she was that person wearing the shoe to take that giant step, and the person tying the lace had no thumbs.” While reading this quote, I was immediately able to identify with the message being relayed. Being a young adult means that you’re invincible, and that you will single-handedly save the world, whereas when you’re a child, you have hope that the world will change, but the challenge of creating that change is not for you. If there was one sentence I had to use to explain Sophistries of Summer Days, this would be the one I would use. Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading self-discovery stories. Lofters has a natural gift for writing, as this story flowed very nicely from one stage of Cherrimina’s life to the next. I am looking forward to reading more of her literature. I rated this book as a 4 out of 4 because of the beauty of the story, as well as how exceptional Lofters’ writing was. This book would best be read by a mature audience because of the adult themes, such as exploring one’s sexuality, but it is hard to criticize this book because it intentionally does not glorify human nature, making it feel like the story of a real, imperfect person, rather than flawless character with no depth.
******
Sophistries of Summer Days
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Sophistries of Summer Days by Jenny Lofters
