Natalie's Reviews > The Summer Garden
The Summer Garden (The Bronze Horseman, #3)
by
by
Natalie's review
bookshelves: paullina-simons, currently-reading
Dec 26, 2011
bookshelves: paullina-simons, currently-reading
Reading for the 3rd time. Most recently started January 1, 2025.
The Summer Garden is Paullina Simon's magnificent conclusion to Tatiana and Alexander's epic and timeless love story. It's her masterpiece. Tatiana and Alexander have forever imprinted themselves on my heart.
While the first two books, The Bronze Horseman and Tatiana and Alexander is about their madly- all consuming- crazy - doomed love, The Summer Garden is about what happens after you get your supposedly happily ever after...it's about LIFE. It's smiles, heartbreak, tears, passion, pain, grief, redemption and joy. This is the most important book in this triology. It's the book you'll need the most. It's the most important one.
Tatiana and Alexander have survived the worst of the 20th century - from Hitler’s invasion and siege of Leningrad and starvation and death to the war camps in Germany- and I've cried a river for them but it's The Summer Garden which was the most challenging to read. We've been waiting for so long for this couple to reunite and be happy, and when they finally do they can't seem to break through the wall of war between them. They love each other so much and Tatiana and Alexander has gone through fire, they have bled - for each other. That’s why it’s so heart wrenching to see their struggles. They both know too much, have seen too much. Something they can’t seem to overcome. And how can we expect them to? Love don’t always conquer everything.
I didn't expect this, but when I was at the finish line, I cried and cried and cried. It's the end of a wonderful era, which I'll carry with me for the rest of my life. I love these characters with a blind, stupid passion. I soak up every detail like a thirsty sponge.
My only complaint was that it was too short, 752 pages and still too bloody short. These books are my heart. There's no way I can articulate just how much I love them. No author never has to write anything, ever again. That's it, I'm done. I found the series that will take me through life.
In my heart and soul, Tatiana and Alexander are forever young in Lazarevo...
This is my absolute favorite series in the world. There's no question. I fall so madly in love with them I can't tell you. Yes, they're pretty big for the untrained eye, but its one of the reasons why I love them so much, it made me have extra time with the characters and the story. There's not often a series comes a along that will change ones life forever, but The Bronze Horseman, Tatiana and Alexander and The Summer Garden have. In ten, thirty, fifty years....this will still be my number one love story.
These books aren't something I can tell you about, they need to be experienced. I urge everyone to read this triology. These are the kind of books that make everything else you read fade in comparison.
QUOTES
"We thought the hard part was over—but we were wrong. Living is the hardest part. Figuring out how to live your life when you’re all busted up inside and out—there is nothing harder.”
"This is days and days and months and years, and all the minutes in between, just you and me, one man and one woman in one marriage.”
Tonight was a night of many firsts. Alexander did something he had not done since 1943 when he found out whose blood was coursing through his bloodless veins.
He wept.
“Do you remember what you’re supposed to do now? Kiss the palm of your hand and press it against your heart.”
"We didn't read about the war. We lived through it, and you did too. You do know that boys die in war, no? And those are the lucky ones."
They stared at each other. Every ocean, every river, every minute they had walked together was in their gaze. He said nothing and she said nothing. She kneeled by him, her hands on him, on his chest, on his heart, on his lungs that took air in but could not move air out, on his open wound; her eyes were on him, and in their eyes was every block of uncounted, unaccounted-for time, every moment they had lived since June 22, 1941, the day war started for the Soviet Union. Her eyes were filled with everything she felt for him. Her eyes were true.
“To cross the street. To follow her. And she will give your life meaning, she will save you. Yes, yes-to cross.”
“I don’t want this life to end,” said Alexander. “The good, the bad, the everything, the very old, to ever end.”
“Do you see the Field of Mars, where I walked next to my bride in her white wedding dress, with red sandals in her hands, when we were kids?”
“I see it well.”
“We spent all our days afraid it was too good to be true, Tatiana,” said Alexander. “We were always afraid all we had was a borrowed five minutes from now.”
Her hands went on his face. “That’s all any of us ever has, my love,” she said. “And it all flies by.”
“Yes,” he said, looking at her, at the desert, covered coral and yellow with golden eye and globe mallow. “But what a five minutes it’s been.”
"We'll meet again in Lvov, my love and I....in our Leningrad, in jasmine June, near Fontanka, the Neva, the Summer Garden, where we are forever young."
While the first two books, The Bronze Horseman and Tatiana and Alexander is about their madly- all consuming- crazy - doomed love, The Summer Garden is about what happens after you get your supposedly happily ever after...it's about LIFE. It's smiles, heartbreak, tears, passion, pain, grief, redemption and joy. This is the most important book in this triology. It's the book you'll need the most. It's the most important one.
Tatiana and Alexander have survived the worst of the 20th century - from Hitler’s invasion and siege of Leningrad and starvation and death to the war camps in Germany- and I've cried a river for them but it's The Summer Garden which was the most challenging to read. We've been waiting for so long for this couple to reunite and be happy, and when they finally do they can't seem to break through the wall of war between them. They love each other so much and Tatiana and Alexander has gone through fire, they have bled - for each other. That’s why it’s so heart wrenching to see their struggles. They both know too much, have seen too much. Something they can’t seem to overcome. And how can we expect them to? Love don’t always conquer everything.
I didn't expect this, but when I was at the finish line, I cried and cried and cried. It's the end of a wonderful era, which I'll carry with me for the rest of my life. I love these characters with a blind, stupid passion. I soak up every detail like a thirsty sponge.
My only complaint was that it was too short, 752 pages and still too bloody short. These books are my heart. There's no way I can articulate just how much I love them. No author never has to write anything, ever again. That's it, I'm done. I found the series that will take me through life.
In my heart and soul, Tatiana and Alexander are forever young in Lazarevo...
This is my absolute favorite series in the world. There's no question. I fall so madly in love with them I can't tell you. Yes, they're pretty big for the untrained eye, but its one of the reasons why I love them so much, it made me have extra time with the characters and the story. There's not often a series comes a along that will change ones life forever, but The Bronze Horseman, Tatiana and Alexander and The Summer Garden have. In ten, thirty, fifty years....this will still be my number one love story.
These books aren't something I can tell you about, they need to be experienced. I urge everyone to read this triology. These are the kind of books that make everything else you read fade in comparison.
QUOTES
"We thought the hard part was over—but we were wrong. Living is the hardest part. Figuring out how to live your life when you’re all busted up inside and out—there is nothing harder.”
"This is days and days and months and years, and all the minutes in between, just you and me, one man and one woman in one marriage.”
Tonight was a night of many firsts. Alexander did something he had not done since 1943 when he found out whose blood was coursing through his bloodless veins.
He wept.
“Do you remember what you’re supposed to do now? Kiss the palm of your hand and press it against your heart.”
"We didn't read about the war. We lived through it, and you did too. You do know that boys die in war, no? And those are the lucky ones."
They stared at each other. Every ocean, every river, every minute they had walked together was in their gaze. He said nothing and she said nothing. She kneeled by him, her hands on him, on his chest, on his heart, on his lungs that took air in but could not move air out, on his open wound; her eyes were on him, and in their eyes was every block of uncounted, unaccounted-for time, every moment they had lived since June 22, 1941, the day war started for the Soviet Union. Her eyes were filled with everything she felt for him. Her eyes were true.
“To cross the street. To follow her. And she will give your life meaning, she will save you. Yes, yes-to cross.”
“I don’t want this life to end,” said Alexander. “The good, the bad, the everything, the very old, to ever end.”
“Do you see the Field of Mars, where I walked next to my bride in her white wedding dress, with red sandals in her hands, when we were kids?”
“I see it well.”
“We spent all our days afraid it was too good to be true, Tatiana,” said Alexander. “We were always afraid all we had was a borrowed five minutes from now.”
Her hands went on his face. “That’s all any of us ever has, my love,” she said. “And it all flies by.”
“Yes,” he said, looking at her, at the desert, covered coral and yellow with golden eye and globe mallow. “But what a five minutes it’s been.”
"We'll meet again in Lvov, my love and I....in our Leningrad, in jasmine June, near Fontanka, the Neva, the Summer Garden, where we are forever young."
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Quotes Natalie Liked
“I love you. I'm blind for you, wild for you. Sick with you. I told you that our first night together when I asked you to marry me, I am telling you now. Everything that's happened to us, everything, is because I crossed the street for you. I worship you. You know that through and through...”
― The Summer Garden
― The Summer Garden
“Alexander, you broke my heart. But for carrying me on your back, for pulling my dying sled, for giving me your last bread, for the body you destroyed for me, for the son you have given me, for the twenty-nine days we lived like Red Birds of Paradise, for all our Naples sands and Napa wines, for all the days you have been my first and last breath, for Orbeli- I will forgive you. ”
― The Summer Garden
― The Summer Garden
“We’ll meet again in Lvov, my love and I…” Tatiana hums, eating her ice cream, in our Leningrad, in jasmine June, near Fontanka, the Neva, the Summer Garden, where we are forever young.”
― The Summer Garden
― The Summer Garden
“Whenever you're unsure of yourself, whenever you're in doubt, ask yourself three questions. What do you believe in? What do you hope for? but most important, ask yourself, what do you love?”
― The Summer Garden
― The Summer Garden
“Everything comes at a price. Everthing in your life. The question you have to ask yourself is, what price are you willing to pay?”
― The Summer Garden
― The Summer Garden
“We thought the hard part was over—but we were wrong. Living is the hardest part. Figuring out how to live your life when you’re all busted up inside and out—there is nothing harder.”
― The Summer Garden
― The Summer Garden
“....and when Tatiana lifted her glistening eyes to him, Alexander was looking down at her with his I’ll-get-on-the-bus-for-you-anytime face.”
― The Summer Garden
― The Summer Garden
“I was blinded by stupidity for a brief moment in our life, for a flicker in the eternity in which you and I live, and I stumbled.”
― The Summer Garden
― The Summer Garden
“Have a joke for me Tania," he says, "I could use a joke."
"Hmm." She thinks, looks at him, looks to see where Anthony is. He's far in the back. "Okay, what about this." With a short cough she leans into Alexander and lowers her voice.
"A man and his young girlfriend are driving in a car. The man has never seen his girlfriend naked. She thinks he is driving too slow, so they decide to play a game. For every five miles he goes above 50, she will take off a piece of her clothing. In no time at all, he is flying and she is naked. The man gets so excited that he loses control of the car. It veers off the road and hits a tree. She is unharmed but he is stuck in the car and can’t get out. “Go back on the road and get help,” he tells her. “But I’m naked,” she says. He rummages around and pulls off his shoe. “Here, just put this between your legs to cover yourself.” She does as she is told and runs out to the road. A truck driver, seeing a naked crying woman, stops. “Help me, Help me,” she sobs, “My boyfriend is stuck and I can’t get him out.”
The Truck driver says, “Miss, if he’s that far in, I’m afraid he’s a goner.”
― The Summer Garden
"Hmm." She thinks, looks at him, looks to see where Anthony is. He's far in the back. "Okay, what about this." With a short cough she leans into Alexander and lowers her voice.
"A man and his young girlfriend are driving in a car. The man has never seen his girlfriend naked. She thinks he is driving too slow, so they decide to play a game. For every five miles he goes above 50, she will take off a piece of her clothing. In no time at all, he is flying and she is naked. The man gets so excited that he loses control of the car. It veers off the road and hits a tree. She is unharmed but he is stuck in the car and can’t get out. “Go back on the road and get help,” he tells her. “But I’m naked,” she says. He rummages around and pulls off his shoe. “Here, just put this between your legs to cover yourself.” She does as she is told and runs out to the road. A truck driver, seeing a naked crying woman, stops. “Help me, Help me,” she sobs, “My boyfriend is stuck and I can’t get him out.”
The Truck driver says, “Miss, if he’s that far in, I’m afraid he’s a goner.”
― The Summer Garden
“I don't want this life to end," said Alexander. "The good, the bad, the everything, the very old, to ever end.”
― The Summer Garden
― The Summer Garden
“The power you have over someone who loves you is greater than any other power you'll ever have.”
― The Summer Garden
― The Summer Garden
“That was his moment in Leningrad, on an empty street, when his life became possible—when Alexander became possible. There he stood as he was—a young Red Army officer in dissolution, all his days stamped with no future and all his appetites unrestrained, on patrol the day war started for Russia. He stood with his rifle slung on his shoulder and cast his wanton eyes on her, eating her ice cream all sunny, singing, blonde, blossoming, breathtaking. He gazed at her with his entire unknowable life in front of him, and this is what he was thinking…
To cross the street or not to cross?
To follow her? To hop on the bus, after her? What absolute madness.”
― The Summer Garden
To cross the street or not to cross?
To follow her? To hop on the bus, after her? What absolute madness.”
― The Summer Garden
“All grimy and sweaty, Alexander drew her to him, his palms on her back, and bending to her and tilting his head, whispered into her mouth, "Tatiasha, I know you won't believe this, but if I'm looking at the sheets when I'm making love to you, we've got a bigger problem than what damn color they are.”
― The Summer Garden
― The Summer Garden
“He is lying on dirty straw. He has been beaten so many times, his body is one bloodied bruise; he is filthy, he is hideous, he is a sinner and he is utterly unloved. At any moment, at any instant, he will be put on a train in his shackles and taken through Cerberus's mouth to Hades for the rest of his wretched life. And it is at that precise moment that the light shines from the door of his dark cell #7, and in front of him Tatiana stands, tiny, determined, disbelieving, having returned for him. Having abandoned the infant boy who needs her most to go find the broken beast who needs her most. She stands mutely in front of him and doesn't see the blood, doesn't see the filth, sees only the man, and then he knows; he is not cast out. He is loved.”
― The Summer Garden
― The Summer Garden
“Tatiana fretted over him before he left as if he were a five-year-old on his first day of school.
Shura, don't forget to wear your helmet wherever you go, even if it's just down the trail to the river.
Don't forget to bring extra magazines. Look at this combat vest. You can fit more than five hundred rounds. It's unbelievable. Load yourself up with ammo. Bring a few extra cartridges. You don't want to run out.
Don't forget to clean your M-16 every day. You don't want your rifle to jam."
Tatia, this is the third generation of the M-16. It doesn't jam anymore. The gunpowder doesn't burn as much. The rifle is self-cleaning."
When you attach the rocket bandolier, don't tighten it too close to your belt, the friction from bending will chafe you, and then irritation follows, and then infection...
...Bring at least two warning flares for the helicopters. Maybe a smoke bomb, too?"
Gee, I hadn't thought of that."
Bring your Colt - that's your lucky weapon - bring it, as well as the standard -issue Ruger. Oh, and I have personally organized your medical supplies: lots of bandages, four complete emergency kits, two QuickClots - no I decided three. They're light. I got Helena at PMH to write a prescription for morphine, for penicillin, for -"
Alexander put his hand over her mouth. "Tania," he said, "do you want to just go yourself?"
When he took the hand away, she said, "Yes."
He kissed her.
She said, "Spam. Three cans. And keep your canteen always filled with water, in case you can't get to the plasma. It'll help."
Yes, Tania"
And this cross, right around your neck. Do you remember the prayer of the heart?"
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."
Good. And the wedding band. Right around your finger. Do you remember the wedding prayer?"
Gloria in Excelsis, please just a little more."
Very good. Never take off the steel helmet, ever. Promise?"
You said that already. But yes, Tania."
Do you remember what the most important thing is?"
To always wear a condom."
She smacked his chest.
To stop the bleeding," he said, hugging her.
Yes. To stop the bleeding. Everything else they can fix."
Yes, Tania.”
― The Summer Garden
Shura, don't forget to wear your helmet wherever you go, even if it's just down the trail to the river.
Don't forget to bring extra magazines. Look at this combat vest. You can fit more than five hundred rounds. It's unbelievable. Load yourself up with ammo. Bring a few extra cartridges. You don't want to run out.
Don't forget to clean your M-16 every day. You don't want your rifle to jam."
Tatia, this is the third generation of the M-16. It doesn't jam anymore. The gunpowder doesn't burn as much. The rifle is self-cleaning."
When you attach the rocket bandolier, don't tighten it too close to your belt, the friction from bending will chafe you, and then irritation follows, and then infection...
...Bring at least two warning flares for the helicopters. Maybe a smoke bomb, too?"
Gee, I hadn't thought of that."
Bring your Colt - that's your lucky weapon - bring it, as well as the standard -issue Ruger. Oh, and I have personally organized your medical supplies: lots of bandages, four complete emergency kits, two QuickClots - no I decided three. They're light. I got Helena at PMH to write a prescription for morphine, for penicillin, for -"
Alexander put his hand over her mouth. "Tania," he said, "do you want to just go yourself?"
When he took the hand away, she said, "Yes."
He kissed her.
She said, "Spam. Three cans. And keep your canteen always filled with water, in case you can't get to the plasma. It'll help."
Yes, Tania"
And this cross, right around your neck. Do you remember the prayer of the heart?"
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."
Good. And the wedding band. Right around your finger. Do you remember the wedding prayer?"
Gloria in Excelsis, please just a little more."
Very good. Never take off the steel helmet, ever. Promise?"
You said that already. But yes, Tania."
Do you remember what the most important thing is?"
To always wear a condom."
She smacked his chest.
To stop the bleeding," he said, hugging her.
Yes. To stop the bleeding. Everything else they can fix."
Yes, Tania.”
― The Summer Garden
“Tatiana had imagined her Alexander since she was a child, before she believed that someone like him was even possible. When she was a little girl, she dreamed of a fine world in which a good man walked its winding roads, perhaps somewhere in his wandering soul searching for her.”
― The Summer Garden
― The Summer Garden
“This is days and days and months and years and all the minutes in between, just you me.”
― The Summer Garden
― The Summer Garden
“Do you see the Field of Mars, where I walked next to my bride in her white wedding dress, with red sandals in her hands, when we were kids?”
“I see it well.”
“We spent all our days afraid it was too good to be true, Tatiana,” said Alexander. “We were always afraid all we had was a borrowed five minutes from now.”
Her hands went on his face. “That’s all any of us ever has, my love,” she said. “And it all flies by.”
“Yes,” he said, looking at her, at the desert, covered coral and yellow with golden eye and globe mallow. “But what a five minutes it’s been.”
― The Summer Garden
“I see it well.”
“We spent all our days afraid it was too good to be true, Tatiana,” said Alexander. “We were always afraid all we had was a borrowed five minutes from now.”
Her hands went on his face. “That’s all any of us ever has, my love,” she said. “And it all flies by.”
“Yes,” he said, looking at her, at the desert, covered coral and yellow with golden eye and globe mallow. “But what a five minutes it’s been.”
― The Summer Garden
“Where was he, her Alexander, of once? Was he truly gone? The Alexander of the Summer Garden, of their first Lazarevo days, of the hat in his hands, white toothed, peaceful, laughing, languid, stunning Alexander, had he been left far behind?
Well, Tatiana supposed that was only right.
For Alexander believed his Tatiana of once was gone, too. The swimming child Tatiana of the Luga, of the Neva, of the River Kama.
Perhaps on the surface they were still in their twenties, but their hearts were old.”
― The Summer Garden
Well, Tatiana supposed that was only right.
For Alexander believed his Tatiana of once was gone, too. The swimming child Tatiana of the Luga, of the Neva, of the River Kama.
Perhaps on the surface they were still in their twenties, but their hearts were old.”
― The Summer Garden
“Here I am, your one man circus freak show, having bled out for mother Russia, having desperately tried to get to you, now on top of you with this scourge marks, and you, who used to love me, who was sympathized, internalized, normalized everything, you are not allowed to turn away from me....this is what I am going to look like until the day I die. I can't get any peace from you ever unless you find away to make peace with this. Make peace with me. Or let me go for good.”
― The Summer Garden
― The Summer Garden
“I want amnesia! I want a fucking lobotomy. Could I please never think again? Look what’s happened to us, us, Tania. Don’t you remember how we used to be? Just look what’s happened.”
― The Summer Garden
― The Summer Garden
“Alexander speaks. “Anthony, I’m going to tell you something. In 1941, when I met your mother, she had turned seventeen and was working at the Kirov factory, the largest weapons production facility in the Soviet Union. Do you know what she wore? A ratty brown cardigan that belonged to her grandmother. It was tattered and patched and two sizes too big for her. Even though it was June, she wore her much larger sister’s black skirt that was scratchy wool. The skirt came down to her shins. Her too-big thick black cotton stockings bunched up around her brown work boots. Her hands were covered in black grime she couldn’t scrub off. She smelled of gasoline and nitrocellulose because she had been making bombs and flamethrowers all day. And still I came every day to walk her home.”
― The Summer Garden
― The Summer Garden
“When I was in Colditz, that impenetrable fortress, whittling away my life, I wanted to know this."
"Looks like you're still there, Shura."
"No," he said. "I'm in New York, a fly on the wall, trying to see you without me.”
― The Summer Garden
"Looks like you're still there, Shura."
"No," he said. "I'm in New York, a fly on the wall, trying to see you without me.”
― The Summer Garden
“Just a breath ago, an eighteen-year-old nurse was bending over Rebecca’s father’s father, a wounded soldier in a Soviet hospital, saying, yes, Shura, we are going to have a baby.”
― The Summer Garden
― The Summer Garden
“Alexander and Tatiana danced to their wedding song, unable this once to hide their intimacy from prying, idly curious eyes; their hands entwined, their bodies pressed together, they waltzed by the banks of the Kama in their Lazarevo clearing under the crimson moon, an officer in his Red Army uniform, a peasant girl in her wedding dress—her white dress with red roses—and when Tatiana lifted her glistening eyes to him, Alexander was looking down at her with his I’ll-get-on-the-busfor-you-anytime face. She couldn’t believe it—he bent his head and kissed her, openly and deeply, as they continued to swirl away the minutes of someone else’s wedding.”
― The Summer Garden
― The Summer Garden
Reading Progress
December 25, 2011
–
Started Reading
December 25, 2011
–
0.0%
"Gonna stare this 2 night, exited cuz i have missed tania and dshura, sad cuz this is the last book and scared that i am gonna be disappointed.."
December 25, 2011
–
0.0%
"Starting this 2night. Exited cuz i have missed tania and shura, sad cuz it is the last book and scared that i am gonna be disappointed."
December 25, 2011
–
0.0%
December 25, 2011
–
0.0%
December 26, 2011
– Shelved
December 27, 2011
–
14.17%
"God..such a beautiful book but so painful to read about alexander and his memories. But still love it.."
page
107
January 24, 2012
–
Finished Reading
December 28, 2014
– Shelved as:
to-read
November 18, 2015
– Shelved as:
incomparable
December 23, 2015
–
10.0%
"It's so hard to read how both Shura and Tania are both struggling after everything they gone through. They need to communicate to survive."
December 24, 2015
–
0.0%
"The sun still rises and sets on you husband, she whispere to him. Sets mainly, he whispered back."
December 25, 2015
–
32.0%
"Tatisha, I know you won't believe this, but if I'm looking at the sheets when I'm making love to you, we've got bigger problems than what damn color they are."
December 26, 2015
–
45.0%
"I think the saddest part this time around is that I can see how clearly Alexander worship and adores a Tania but is too damaged too show her clearly, that is what makes the next part so much harder for me to bear. I can feel his despair when she starts to pull away from him."
December 28, 2015
–
45.0%
"I come every night and kneel at your altar. Why do you worry about nonsense?"
January 1, 2016
–
27.0%
"That's not how mommy tells it. Anthony said teasingly. She said you got on the bus for her and stalked her practically to Finland."
January 1, 2016
–
67.0%
"Alexander, I know you've lost everyone you ever loved , but you're not going to lose me. I swear to you in my wedding ring, and my maiden ring that you broke, I will forever be your faithful wife."
January 2, 2016
–
100.0%
"We'll meet again in Lvov, my love and I...Tatiana hums, eating her ice cream, in our Leningrad, in jasmine June, near Fontanka, the Neva, the Summer Garden, where we are forever young."
March 4, 2020
–
Started Reading
March 4, 2020
–
Finished Reading
March 16, 2023
– Shelved as:
paullina-simons
January 1, 2025
–
Started Reading
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Lorena
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rated it 5 stars
Jan 06, 2013 03:07AM
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Is there any love story like this one? (I think not).