The Fortnight in September by R. C. Sherriff

The Fortnight in September follows the Stevens family as they head out for their annual vacation on the coast of England. With their three children in tow, the parents are feeling the effects of time on their little family and their carefully planned yearly trip. Mr. and Mrs. Stevens first honeymooned here, and ever since, they’ve returned to the same guest house as part of a proud tradition.

Their treasured guest house, where they always stay, is also feeling the impact of time passing, a little worse for wear, especially since it’s now being kept only by half of the landlord couple, a widowed, elderly woman.

As the two weeks pass, Sherriff pivots back and forth between narrators — it’s a familiar approach, warming the reader to each character in turn as they meditate on their lives, each other, and the changes they’ve experienced, all while looking ahead to the possibilities of the future. Particularly evident to the parents is the likelihood that this might be their last trip together as a unit of five. With Mary now twenty years old and Dick working at seventeen, their time under the same roof is dwindling. But they all work hard to hang on to the balance between pragmatism and optimism in their tender reflections.

The Fortnight in September is quaint but not twee — nostalgic but not sappy. It’s a simple story about ordinary people, but the extraordinary comes into play through the beautiful way Sherriff sketches out each character fully and with such care. This one will stick with me.