REVIEW: The Summer Job – Lizzy Dent

The Summer Job – Lizzy Dent’s debut novel – is set to be the breakout hit of Summer 2021, telling the highly engaging story of Birdy Finch and her attempts to ‘fake it’ as a sommelier in Scotland. Here, we review the novel and give our thoughts ahead of the book’s release on April 15th. Pre-order The Summer Job here. 

Lizzy Dent’s debut novel – out on April 15th in the UK – is a deeply engaging and propulsive novel, that follows the life of Elizabeth ‘Birdy’ Finch – a modern-day Bridget Jones, who does not have our life (both personal or professional) “figured out.” Following a series of events, Birdy ends up taking her best friend’s job as a sommelier in Scotland – whilst Heather pursues a romantic interest in Italy – despite not knowing anything about wine or fine dining. As the novel progresses, Birdy falls in love with her new life in Scotland and catches the eye of the head chef, James, learning as much about herself as she begins to learn about wine during her stint at the hotel. Simply put, this is a deliciously compelling summer read that is unputdownable from start to finish. 

As a main character, Birdy is immensely charming and relatable, making mistake after mistake, whilst not being cringe-worthy or farcical. Throughout, she is inherently immensely likeable, and it is this central tenet that gives the novel an unwitting charm that runs through from the start to the conclusion. This is owing in part to the fact that Dent has placed real thought into fleshing out Birdy’s back story – making her a woman of substance, with a real and human history behind her. So too, Dent has placed a loaded emphasis on the importance of the friendship between Birdy and her best friend Heather – a relationship that the reader can not help but root for as much as that between Birdy and the love interest, James. Indeed, the cast of characters that support Birdy are engaging and quirky in their own right – from the excruciatingly awful (ex)boyfriend Tim to the fiery owner Russell – and this layers the charm onto this novel yet further.  Dent clearly knows both the landscape and the characters that she writes about. Scotland almost appears as another character in the novel – but she does not fall into stereotypes but instead depicts the magnificent beauty of Scotland, away from the tourist hotspots in Edinburgh and Loch Ness. What is more, Dent’s prose is not frenetic, but comforting, letting the romance and Birdy’s – albeit stressful – situation unfold gently rather than build to a frenzy, giving her time to flesh out the storylines and relationships between the characters to give the novel its charm. 

Simply put, this novel is the perfect escapist novel, either during or post-lockdown and is set to place Dent squarely on the map as a novelist capable of universally compelling fiction. It’s a cosy and sweet read, without being saccharine, and served up with a heavy side of wit and charm. We’re already excited to see what Dent does next.