or
What does the word Summer say to you? Longer days? A barbecue in the garden? A trip to the beach? A day at Wimbledon? Golden memories of childhood? Or maybe it brings up images of hot, crowded tube trains, traffic jams, uncomfortable nights? In England summertime once meant a better diet with a variety of food available from the garden and from the market. In countries nearer the equator it might mean drought and oppressive heat. A word can evoke many different responses in people.
In the Heat of Summer, the sequel to Quiet World, follows Adam and his small group of survivors striving to create a self-sufficient community as the tranquil spring gives way to a drought summer. At first the summer weather brings benefits, as it always does in this northern, Atlantic climate. That feel-good delusion of long sunny days and a beautiful coast on the doorstep. But summer also brings its own problems, problems which are so much more apparent to this group of pioneers. In the heat of summer we either thrive or survive.
Recent events in the Middle East have flagged up many troubling aspects of our approach to modern life. One is epitomised in Dubai, that city carved out of the sand, with the world’s busiest airport and its tallest building. For many it is a holiday destination and for some, an alternative, desirable lifestyle with its endless blue-sky days, shopping malls and beaches. But now, for so many, it is a potential hell-hole, stranded as they are, far from home in a city under attack from a hostile neighbour. How quickly does one man’s meat become the same man’s poison.