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Invincible Summer Hardcover – June 28, 2016
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Eva, Benedict, Sylvie, and Lucien graduate in 1997, into an exhilarating world on the brink of the new millennium. Hopelessly in love with playboy Lucien and keen to shrug off the socialist politics of her childhood, Eva breaks away to work for a big bank. Benedict, a budding scientist who's pined for Eva for years, embarks on a physics PhD, and siblings Sylvie and Lucien pursue more freewheeling existences -- she as an aspiring artist and he as a professional partier. But as their dizzying twenties evaporate into their thirties, the once close-knit friends, now scattered and struggling to navigate thwarted dreams, lost jobs, and broken hearts, find themselves drawn together once again in stunning and unexpected ways.
A dazzling depiction of the highs and lows of adulthood, Invincible Summer is a story about finding the courage to carry on in the wake of disappointment and a powerful testament to love and friendship as the constants in an ever-changing world.
- Print length320 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherLittle, Brown and Company
- Publication dateJune 28, 2016
- Dimensions6.25 x 1.25 x 9.75 inches
- ISBN-100316391174
- ISBN-13978-0316391177
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"Moving.... Bittersweet and compassionate.... Adams casts a keen eye on that slow shock of the 20s, when even the most exceptional young people discover they are just...people, with jobs and partners decided as much by happenstance as by desire."―Sophie McManus, Washington Post
"[An] irresistible debut novel.... A crackerjack storyteller who deeply inhabits her characters-deploying pitch-perfect dialogue to poignant and hilarious effect-Adams uses the conventions of the form to examine larger ideas about class and commerce, art and science, friendship and family at the time of the most recent fin de siècle."―Joanna Rakoff, New York Times Book Review
"A testament to the power of friendship and love, this is a beautiful coming-of-age story about the intimacy of long-term relationships against the changing landscape of time."―Elizabeth Kiefer, Refinery 29
"Easy yet not insubstantial, this debut is a sweet toast to enduring friendship."―Meredith Turits, ELLE
"Like life, this breezy, charming novel about four college friends deepens and darkens as it moves through the years, presenting its characters with challenges and choices that test them in ways their younger selves couldn't imagine. INVINCIBLE SUMMERis the story of what happens when things get real."―Tom Perrotta, author of Little Children and The Leftovers
"A sophisticated yet fun novel about four friends venturing into adulthood. Alice Adams does a magnificent job of describing the way life's heartbreaks and ecstasies unfold over the course of 20 years."―Elin Hilderbrand, author of The Rumor
"Adulthood has never been so endearing."―Steph Opitz, Marie Claire
"INVINCIBLE SUMMER goes down as smoothly as the steady flow of wine knocked back by its disarming characters as they make their way not only into adulthood but through the last two decades of financial boom and bust, London's rave scene, and the Higgs boson particle. Be forewarned, though: It packs a punch. Alice Adams has important things to say about our times and the meaning of family."―Anne Korkeakivi, author of An Unexpected Guest
"INVINCIBLE SUMMER is a novel that will have you running for the phone to call your old friends and reconnect. Alice Adams is a beautiful storyteller. She deftly weaves the ties that bind four friends over the course of their youth and into middle age with powerful threads of emotion. I loved the world of this book, and how Ms. Adams wrote the passing of time through her characters with delicacy and truth."―Adriana Trigiani, bestselling author of All the Stars in the Heavens
"[Adams'] characters are nearly impossible not to root for, and she captures their often troubled dynamics with tremendous empathy and charming wit.... Breezy with substance; an absorbing summer read."―Kirkus Reviews
"Adams movingly depicts the tough steps we take into adulthood."―Good Housekeeping
"Dreamy Pisceans will delight in Adams' novel."―Cosmopolitan
"Adams does an incredible job [of] conveying life's ups and downs with both humor and compassion, [and] shows herself to be especially skilled at crafting charming, empathetic (albeit troubled) characters you can't help but cheer on."―Sadie L. Trombetta, Bustle
"A fun book about friendship."―Catherine Mallette, Fort Worth Star Telegram
"Perfect for the beach, but it's got some substance as well.... Think of this as The Big Chill for millennials."―Deborah Dundas, Toronto Star
"In Adams' rollicking beach read, romantic love ensnares and eludes, but friendship is the anchor amid the storms of life."―Virtuoso Life
"Growing up and growing apart from friends is an inevitable-and bittersweet-part of life, one that has been poignantly captured in INVINCIBLE SUMMER.... With beautiful attention to detail and keen observations on life, love and even finance, Adams has crafted a delightful novel that is as insightful as it is breezy."―Hope Racine, BookPage
"[A] remarkable debut...both smart and readable."―Largehearted Boy
"An interesting and thoughtful character study that examines the finer points of long-term friendship."―Rebecca Vnuk, Booklist
"Both a breezy read as well as one that challenges all who come across it."―Adam Vitcavage, Volume 1 Brooklyn
"Will keep your nose stuck in the pages until the sun sets on your breezy summer day."―YourTango.com
"It's a tale as old as time, but Adams' spin is fresh and makes you want to send an emotional text to all of your college friends."―Lydia Mansel, Elite Daily
"A bittersweet debut, with echoes of One Day...."―Patricia Nicol, Sunday Times (UK)
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Little, Brown and Company (June 28, 2016)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 320 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0316391174
- ISBN-13 : 978-0316391177
- Item Weight : 1.17 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.25 x 1.25 x 9.75 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,832,180 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3,722 in Friendship Fiction (Books)
- #9,708 in Women's Friendship Fiction
- #15,333 in Coming of Age Fiction (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Alice Adams holds an MA in Creative Writing and a BA in Philosophy, as well as a various maths and finance qualifications from a career in banking. She lives in London but escapes into the wilderness as often as possible.
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Top reviews from the United States
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Everybody is white, but there are levels of social and financial difference that are perhaps more openly acknowledged than they might be in the US. Eva's Socialist father is appalled that she went into banking. Dominick's parents love Eva in spite of her cluelessness about the ways of the leisure class. Sylvie and Lucien have significant differences of opinion about their alcoholic mother. There is effort and travel and, yes, occasional recreational drug use. They think they are unique, but sadly, life is not always kind.
As a novelist, Adams has what I consider the right stuff—a keen psychological and social intelligence and the ability to move the action forward to consequences that sometimes surprise but never shock the attentive reader. These are characteristics that I admired in another Alice Adams, the California writer who died in 1999, but, of course, this is a different generation. Somehow, I think the other Alice Adams would have liked this book.
They are pulled apart, sometimes for years at a time, as their lives take them in very different directions. Eva finds success as a financial analyst while Sylvie struggles to make it as an artist. Benedict settles down and begins raising children while Lucien's partying ways get him into real trouble. They disagree about matters of faith and politics and class. As they have less in common, there's less to talk about and they have doubts about each other. But they come back together because their connection is about deeper things.
Alice Adams is an accomplished writer and I look forward to whatever she writes next. -Katie O'Rourke, Finding Charlie
Top reviews from other countries
Starting in 1995 and following four friends up to 2012, this story reminds me of One Day by David Nicholls in the way it tracks how life changes over time (by the way was I the only person on the planet not to notice One Day was about the same day across different years? Just me? Thought so). The group starts off tight-knit all with their lives ahead of them and throughout the novel we see how one friend becomes successful while another struggles to get by, one marries and has a family while another watches their love walk away. A story of contrasts, high and low points, some drive the friends closer while others drive them apart.
Light-heartedly written but dealing with some serious subjects with friendship at the heart, I really enjoyed this story. This is Alice's debut novel and what a great start! Can't wait to read more from her.