Sylvie is about to meet her father again after 13 years apart, to ask him to give her away at her wedding. Although she has a promising career as a photographer and a secure relationship, Sylvie feels restless and, as she prepares for the reunion, her thoughts turn to their final, fateful summer when she was 12, and visiting his commune just outside Florence. The events of that holiday cast their long shadow over her teenage years, and now also threaten her happiness as an adult. In deft and compelling prose, Dunn tells the parallel stories of Sylvie's present and past - the anxious week in London, and the summer in Italy that started so promisingly, but ended with such betrayal and loss of innocence.
| |||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Learn more. |
Book Description
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Review
'A semi-autobiographical novel drawing on the author's own childhood experience... and said to have great book group potential'
-- Bookseller
'Beautiful, limpid prose, steeped in the prickly heat of a Tuscan summer'
-- Time Out
'The reader experiences with Sylvie the disorientation and fear of children whose guardians have abdicated responsibility' -- Observer
'This is a moving and exquisitely detailed novel, reliving the memory of Sylvie's last summer visiting her father in Italy' -- Crack magazine
'Told in beautiful, limpid prose... and full of sharp observations about teenage misjudgement and adult folly' -- Time Out magazine
`A strong debut novel' -- Financial Times magazine
`A vivid and meaningful portrait of innocence destroyed'
-- Big Issue
`The observations are acute, the characters well-drawn and the story engrossing' -- Metro
`Worth a read for its cast of colourful characters living in a commune'
-- Image magazine
`You'll love this book' -- Bella --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
-- Bookseller
'Beautiful, limpid prose, steeped in the prickly heat of a Tuscan summer'
-- Time Out
'The reader experiences with Sylvie the disorientation and fear of children whose guardians have abdicated responsibility' -- Observer
'This is a moving and exquisitely detailed novel, reliving the memory of Sylvie's last summer visiting her father in Italy' -- Crack magazine
'Told in beautiful, limpid prose... and full of sharp observations about teenage misjudgement and adult folly' -- Time Out magazine
`A strong debut novel' -- Financial Times magazine
`A vivid and meaningful portrait of innocence destroyed'
-- Big Issue
`The observations are acute, the characters well-drawn and the story engrossing' -- Metro
`Worth a read for its cast of colourful characters living in a commune'
-- Image magazine
`You'll love this book' -- Bella --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
LILY DUNN is a graduate of the Creative Writing MA course at Sheffield Hallam University. She has worked as a freelance journalist for Time Out and lives in London.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By Doogal
Format:Paperback
I was sucked into this book immediately - it has a lightness of touch and spareness to it that makes it very readable. But it is also deceptive - beneath this deft style lies a very disturbing tale, one of a young girl who is tripped up by her desperate quest for the love and approval of her emotionally absent father.
Sylvie's father runs a hippy commune in Tuscany full of colourful characters. Young and vulnerable, Sylvie, just 12 years old, is drawn to one of her father's friends, who takes advantage of her with terrible consequences that affect her well into adulthood.
There are some wonderful scenes, particularly among Sylvie and her friends, that made me laugh out loud. And some terribly tragic ones that almost made me cry. But what I'm most impressed by is Dunn's ability to write about big shocking subjects in such a tender, unjudgemental way.
Sylvie's father runs a hippy commune in Tuscany full of colourful characters. Young and vulnerable, Sylvie, just 12 years old, is drawn to one of her father's friends, who takes advantage of her with terrible consequences that affect her well into adulthood.
There are some wonderful scenes, particularly among Sylvie and her friends, that made me laugh out loud. And some terribly tragic ones that almost made me cry. But what I'm most impressed by is Dunn's ability to write about big shocking subjects in such a tender, unjudgemental way.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By Nutty Slacks
Format:Paperback
I could not put this book down! The two timelines narrated by Sylvie, as a teenager on the cusp of the adult world, and as an adult about to be married interweave brilliantly to create a compelling and moving book. The voice of the younger Sylvie is a brilliantly observed account of the difficulties felt at this age, focusing on a summer in Italy visiting her father in a religious commune, that becomes a pivotal point in her life. In particular the relationship between Sylvie and her casually selfish father is heartbreaking and beautifully written; altogether I found this to be a gripping,tender, funny, and inspirational read. I thoroughly recommend this book.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By Nova Nolan
Format:Paperback
Shadowing the Sun is an excellent read. The main part of the novel follows a summer spent on a commune in Italy with Sylvie and her father. It's an intense tale taking in huge themes of love, sexuality, betrayal, fear and longing for a fathers love. All this woven elegantly into (at times) a desperately sad, painful story.
One of the things I loved about it were the tiny and accute observations of a young womans world, so many things I could relate to as a female reader but written with a frankness and accuracy that leaves no room for sentimentality. Brilliant stuff.
One of the things I loved about it were the tiny and accute observations of a young womans world, so many things I could relate to as a female reader but written with a frankness and accuracy that leaves no room for sentimentality. Brilliant stuff.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Spell binding tale of teenage life in a cult
I was gripped by this book from the very beginning. The story of a teenage girl spending the summer in a commune in Italy, with her brother and a couple of friends. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Camdengirl85
5.0 out of 5 stars
Alice in Italy
Shadowing the Sun takes a wry look at a young girl's yearning for a parent who is absent from her in many senses, hard to find, hard to know, hard to affect. Read more
Published on 12 Nov 2010 by Nicholas Ostler
1.0 out of 5 stars
Shadowing The Sun by Lily Dunn
This book was chosen by a member of my bookclub. It was dull, the characters were totally unlikeable. It was simple to imagine the ending/outcome. Read more
Published on 7 Sep 2010 by Mrs. F. O'Keeffe
5.0 out of 5 stars
cool and moving
This novel captures the zeitgeist of the age when adults dusted off their responsibilities to join various gurus to 'find themselves' and become big children again. Read more
Published on 26 May 2008 by fictionfloozie
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
