The Summer Boy - by Philippe Besson (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

On an island off the coast of France, six teenagers come together for a summer of desire and discovery until one of them vanishes forever, leaving the rest with an enduring mystery.

Tell me, do you know why the most beautiful love stories must always end badly?

In the summer of 1985, on a scruffy resort island off the coast of France, six teenagers--five boys and one girl--band together for a final golden season before adulthood. Their days are drenched in sun and freedom, and their nights simmer with secrets, jealousy, and longing. Philippe is drawn to Nicolas, the quiet new boy who sees him in a way that no one else does. As their bond deepens, part of Nicolas remains unreachable--until a sudden tragedy brings their summer to a brutal end.

The Summer Boy is a lush and unforgettable autobiographical tale, capturing the ineffable summers of youth in amber. Celebrated novelist Philippe Besson has shaped his memories into an aching meditation on how one summer night--and one fierce connection--can echo across a lifetime.

Review Quotes

"Prismatic...A moving, loving reflection of innocence lost too early." --Kirkus Reviews, STARRED review

"A haunting and wistful work of autofiction about a fateful summer...Besson eloquently portrays the characters' youthful fickleness and yearning. This one leaves a mark." --Publishers Weekly, STARRED review

"The Summer Boy has the old-fashioned charm that is characteristic of Philippe Besson's style. And of his way of painting a drama with small touches, making it all the more cruel." --Elle

"Philippe Besson draws inspiration from a true story to construct a tale of modesty, emotion, tenderness, and tears." --Madame Figaro

"Philippe Besson moves with his elegant pen, which expresses a lot in a few words. His intense and melancholic story is unforgettable, and his evocation of a generation reminds us how much everything has changed. Nostalgia is at its best here." --Femina Version

"A luminous tale about the end of carelessness." --La Tribune

"With his delicate pen, the author draws inspiration from real events to dissect the end of adolescent carefreeness in the languor of July 1985. The writing, refined, is moving." --La Voix du Nord

"A work that is always so moving, capturing, like a succession of Polaroids, these snapshots that tell the story of simple and disorienting lives." --La Dépêche du Midi

About the Author

Philippe Besson is a prizewinning author, screenwriter, and playwright. His first novel, In the Absence of Men, was awarded the Emmanuel-Roblès Prize in 2001, and he is also the author of Lie with Me, a #1 French bestseller. His novels have been translated into twenty different languages.

Sam Taylor is an award-winning literary translator and novelist. He has translated over seventy books from French including works by high-profile authors such as Laurent Binet, Leïla Slimani, David Diop, Maylis de Kerangal, and Marcel Proust. His translations have received recognition from the International Booker Prize, National Book Award, Dublin Literary Award, Scott-Moncrieff Prize, French-American Foundation Translation Prize, and Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize. Born in England, Sam was a journalist at The Observer (London) before moving to France. He now lives in Texas with his family and is working on his sixth novel.