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Review Author: tripfiction

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Meet our English friends living together: Fourteen year old Sky (with the blue hair), Arthur (the red one) and artist Flora (in the “prime and pride of her life” at 50). They have settled into a small house in Tapoli, a fictional town in the Beira Beixa in Portugal, which is about as far as you can get from the sea whilst remaining in the country. It is also a long way from any Irish Pubs and Fish and Chips. This is rural Portugal as one might imagine it!

This “family” has settled here and the members prove to be a curiosity for the locals, bringing eccentric and certain ‘English ways of living’ with them.  They have come for the good life, the “backward’ life as I think we catch Arthur saying… He is clearly a man who says it how it is and pontificates a lot, particularly that “..England exists for only one reason – so that people can be grateful for not living there….” .He is probably in essence referring to the weather (or maybe not!). September in Portugal sees high temperatures whilst it is hosing it down in the UK, where it is probably only 9C. His voice is beautifully brought to life by narrator Steven Pacey, with a bit of a ne’er-do-well estuary twang that would make a great villain’s voice in The Archers (Oh, I think we had one, it was Matt Crawford… but I am going off point!).

And it is the story of country folk that makes this such a delight to listen to. The quirks of the locals, so well observed, took me right back to the books written by Guy de Maupassant, who brought life in rural France to brilliant and entertaining life.

Prospero is the local mayor and falls for Flora. He does his utmost to help her out with her desire to set up a sanctuary for donkeys (not actually for the four legged beasts but as a therapeutic centre for humans in distress). She needs to acquire some donkeys for her project and tapping the ciganos (the gypsies, pronounced apparently seeganosh), who have settled on the outskirts of Tapoli, seems like an idea. However, ciganos have their own way of doing things. They bring great negotiation skills to the table, as Prospero finds out. He is not altogether surprised but tested he certainly is!

Prospero has to juggle his adoration of Flora (who carries a weighty secret) with the needs of the locals. Oh yes, there are prejudices, local concerns, a variety of characters to manage and placate, domestic violence and disputes – his job is not for the faint hearted. There are frogs, rats, dogs and donkeys (of course) which populate the story.  There is local colour and delightful attention to detail, this tranche of Portuguese life is beautifully conjured up for the listener.

The actual Summer of São Martino is a period in the Portuguese year when the rains come and a second summer appears across the country. Hence the title.

This is the first in the Prospero series and a very good opener it is too! Recommended.

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