Best Book Forward
Best Book Forward
Helen Gambarota
Karen Swan on Three Summers
1 hour 10 minutes Posted Jun 11, 2026 at 1:00 am.
Introduction to Karen Swan and Three Summers
Introduction to Three Summers
The Inspiration Behind the Story
The Art of Creating Characters
Exploring Female Characters
Exploring Male Perspectives in Writing
Navigating Difficult Scenes in Writing
The Glamour of Post-War Italy
Introduction to Elena Ferrante's My Brilliant Friend
Transition to New Book Recommendations
Life Lessons from Literature
The Power of Literature and Personal Growth
Reflections on Literature and Learning
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1:10:30
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Show notes

In this week’s episode I am joined by Karen Swan to talk about her brilliant new novel, Three Summers which is out today in paperback (link below). This episode was a pure joy to record, we actually spoke for nearly two hours as we got chatting before we hit record and I think we could have easily nattered for another hour too.

In this episode, Karen talks about finding the perfect setting for Three Summers, I think we need a Best Book Forward retreat there, how she balances writing emotionally tense scenes and of course the five books that shaped Karen’s life which were.

Karen’s Book Choices:


Books by Karen Swan


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See you next Tuesday for our next teaser episode which will be followed with the main episode on Thursday.

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