Sarah Moss must be one of the greatest living writers. Having loved her previous works I already had high expectations which were completely surpassed. Moss's great strength is character development and Summerwater is a fascinating insight into human beings and what drives their actions. The setting of the novel is very quintessentially British - a remote Scottish holiday park on a summer's day that just sees rain, rain and more rain. The characters for the most part are also very quintessentially British, for better or for worse, as the novel centres on themes of isolation, insularity and xenophobia.

The novel is both funny and devastating, lighthearted and harrowing, all building up to a terrifying climax, the traces of which hang in the air from the outset to create a disturbing sense of unease which grows and grows with the introduction of each new character.

The novel is structured to focus on the perspective of a new character or family staying at the holiday park with each new chapter, though their stories are intertwined. Some may read this more as a collection of short stories than a novel but personally I really enjoyed this structure and found it to be similar to Girl, Woman, Other in that regard.