Summer is a 2020 novel by Scottish author Ali Smith, first published by Hamish Hamilton.
[1] Each novel in Smith’s seasonal series is juxtaposed with a work of Shakespeare – in this one, it is A Winter's Tale.
Summer, written between January and summer 2020, covered the conclusion of the Brexit process, and takes in COVID-19 lockdown, and Black Lives Matter protests, alongside continuing focus on immigration.
Summer focuses on teenagers Sacha, a young activist, her brother Robert, a disaffected individualist, children of Grace Greenlaw, a former actress.
It brings back characters from the first two books in the quartet, exploring the youth of Daniel Gluck, who compares immigration detention centres to his internment in WWII, as well as the return of Charlotte from the periphery of Winter.