Elizabeth Finch has a problem. She’s lost her job, and her roommate and best friend Heather is going to Italy for the summer with her boyfriend and wants to rent out their apartment. Elizabeth needs a place to stay all summer, and a job wouldn’t hurt either.
Heather and Elizabeth, known as Birdy by her friends, have known each other since grade school. Heather lost her parents when she was young, but that left her with the resources to become a sommelier, and she’s worked hard to become respected in the field. But she hasn’t been able to find the love she has craved. Birdy hasn’t quite found her passion yet. She’s bounced from job to job, focusing on having a good time not getting too serious in relationships.
When Heather offers Birdy her tickets to a wine event, Birdy decides to go with her goodtime boyfriend Tim. She says she’s Heather at the door, and they put on their name tags and enjoy the free booze. But while there, Birdy meets Irene, the woman who Heather is supposed to be working for all summer. It’s a sommelier job at a rundown hotel in Scotland, and Heather had already decided to blow off the job and go to Italy instead.
But Birdy sees an opportunity. She needs a summer job. She needs a place to stay. And Irene already thinks she’s Heather. What would be the harm of going on the Scotland job and being Heather for the summer? How hard could it be?
But once she gets there, Birdy realizes she’s made a huge mistake. The hotel is newly renovated and the wine list has greatly expanded since they set up their website. Birdy won’t be able to just show up and fake it. She can either confess that she’s not really Heather and face the fallout from that, including not having anywhere to live. Or she can dig deep and learn enough to get by. Irene likes her, and the bartender Bill is also trying to get her to stay. And she can’t deny that there is a spark whenever she looks at James, the chef.
Does she stay, and risk having to come clean about not being the sommelier with the impressive resume that they were all expecting, or does she just walk away, maybe giving up the chance to find something meaningful for the first time in her adult life?
The Summer Job is a bittersweet story of a young woman figuring out who she is and who she wants to be. With sweetness and spice, acidity and a few nutty top notes, this lovely novel is a flavorful reminder of what happens when you discover a part of yourself you never knew was there. Debut adult novelist Lizzy Dent has taken her experiences in the hospitality industry and given us all a tasting of what it’s like. And in Scotland to boot.
I really enjoyed The Summer Job. I thought it was written beautifully, but I will admit to getting a little bogged down in the middle. I genuinely liked these characters, even Birdy as she was coming in to her own, and to watch her deception grow, knowing the pain that was coming when the truth inevitably comes out, I had a hard time working through my own feelings of hurt and betrayal to forgive her and keep reading her story. But I did, and that means I can recommend that you do it too.
Fans of Sweetbitter will appreciate the similar themes of hospitality, betrayal, and personal growth. But you don’t have to care about wine to enjoy The Summer Job. You can just love a good story with interesting characters, a charming setting, some laughs, some tears, and plenty of good food.
Egalleys for The Summer Job were provided by G.P. Putnam’s Sons through NetGalley, with many thanks.
