The Summer Garden

In one of our literary workshops, we were told to bring an example of fiction that we like. The class assignment was to identify the style, why we like it and then to write a piece on an incident in our own life that imitates the style of our novel.

I chose The Summer Garden by Paullina Simons. Simons is my absolute favourite author. I have all of her books, and I re-read them constantly. The Summer Garden is the last chapter in a trilogy on war and love in Russia. It spans across eighty years, two wars and several countries.

It's also known as the Tatiana and Alexander trilogy, and I could talk about it for hours. If you are looking for something to read, I highly highly recommend this. It starts off with The Bronze Horseman, then Tatiana and Alexander (also called Bridge to Holy Cross) and finishes with The Summer Garden. Simons has a huge range of books, which I also recommend.



Simons has a very distinctive style, which she used in all her books. Her writing is quite emotional, which draws the reader in, and I feel like you almost become emotionally invested in the book.
She uses the techniques of flashbacks and very in-depth memories of characters lives, before the books began. This means that you know have really almost been there for their whole lives, even if the book began in their 20's.

Simons also has a habit of mentioning something in her books that later become huge events. When Tatiana first meets Alexander, the reader gets a slight idea that this may be important. It turns out to be a focus point of the characters lives together, and throughout the trilogy their whole lives come back to that day at the bus stop.

The book is written in third person, and her character development is exquisite. I have never felt so attached to characters as I do in this trilogy. But it's not just their personalities that are so in-depth - it's what they reflect as people. Tatiana reflects 20th century Russia and the mentality of it's people. Alexander is the same, but for America. Tatiana is submissive, stoic and careful. Alexander is gung-ho, aggressive and dominant. Tatiana is a nurse, and her personality is the epitome of that. Alexander is a soldier from WWII, and he can't shake that.

These reflections are brought up time and time again; when they fight, Tatiana will say 'weapons down, soldier'. By these stark comparisons, you are really able to get a sense of who the character is, and readers can almost predict how they'll act in different situations.

Simons will also use a series of short sentences, and then long sentences. She tends to go back and forth, which influences the pace of the reader.

Her style is highly recognizable. It's a style that I would consider writing in for my literary feature, but I don't think I can do it justice.