Summer

They have lost everything but each other.When Grace Hooper, on the verge of womanhood, and her nine-year-old brother Billy are left orphaned by a freak accident at the beginning of a long, hot summer, they find themselves cast adrift from their old life and numb with grief. Sent to stay with their estranged grandfather on the remote farm where their mother grew up, there they must try to uncover a new understanding of the world and their place in it. But in the relentless heat and the unnatural calm of the near-deserted farm, nature itself soon becomes both enemy and ally - and as the bond between brother and sister disintegrates, Grace discovers that the farm hosts a tragic past and an uncertain future. At once disturbing and compelling, Summeris a beautifully written and deeply atmospheric exploration of loss and regeneration.“Darling chronicles their [Grace and Billy's] slow descent towards a state of nature and their eventual rescue from it in exact and compellingly sensuous prose.” - The Sunday Times“Summer in the end stands as a deeply felt parable about children who fall outside the social net.” - The Guardian“Darling has a wonderful way with words....Strong scenes and sumptuous writing.” - Books Ireland “Darling [is] the new star of English literature. His pen is considered among the most prized of the new English-speaking generation.” - LiberoTom Darling was born in Oxford in 1978. He has an M.Phil. from Trinity College, Dublin.