Have you ever read Jerome K. Jerome's classic Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) from 1889? In it, three Englishmen decide to sail along the River Thames, despite the fact that none of them has much experience with boats. The dog Montmorency accompanies them. This fictional story is told in a wonderfully humorous and sarcastic way by one of the participants. It's a short book, and it's well worth seeking out, even if you don't know much about boats or the Thames yourself.

I thought of Jerome's book as soon as I saw the premise for The Narrowboat Summer. In this book, three WOMEN and a dog are involved in boating along the canals of England.

Number One is Anastasia's canal boat and her home. Anastasia's current challenge is that she needs to have surgery. And Number One needs to undergo some repairs. Anastasia has to find someone to manage the boat and to sail it along the canal system in England, to reach the repair site, while she attends to her health concerns. Enter two strangers, Eve and Sally, who happen upon the scene because of the antics of Noah, Anastasia's dog. Both Eve and Sally are at crossroads in their own lives. This is an unusual situation. Even though the three women don't know one another at all, and the two newcomers don't know much about boats, they reach an agreement: Eve and Sally will motor the boat and will take care of Noah for the summer while Anastasia seeks the medical attention she needs. This story is already interesting.

Anastasia is well known among the other folks who live and work along the canals. An entire culture exists here: one that most readers probably won't know about, and one that Eve and Sally have to learn about as they go. Eve Warburton is a business executive who has just been let go by a corporation, after spending 30 years of her career with it. Sally Allsop is a housewife, the mother of two, and a part-time classroom assistant, who just told her husband Duncan that their marriage is over. After 25 years, she's ready to take "a gap year," at least. Both women are in their 50s and are very different people. They are both unsure of their next moves. This gig to help Anastasia will also help Eve and Sally decide on their own new directions.

And so we follow Eve and Sally with Number One as they navigate the canals and tunnels carved throughout the English countryside. They meet interesting folks along the way. Occasionally they get reports from or about Anastasia. This storyline may sound like a bucolic yet boring one, but it isn't. Naturally, the lingering question in all of our minds is: What will happen when the boat is delivered and when Anastasia is released from the hospital? We expect, of course, that both Number One and Anastasia will survive their respective journeys. If so: what, then?

Author Anne Youngson is masterful at her storytelling. She reveals bits of character background as plot progress is made. These revelations include some true surprises for both the readers and for the Number One crew. Youngson also supplies a satisfying ending for the readers -- one that ironically represents a brand-new beginning for the characters.

Whenever I finish reading a book, I do my best to find a new home for it. Either I pass it on to a friend (if I really liked the story), or I donate it to a local library book sale (if I didn't). Today, I'm reluctant to part with The Narrowboat Summer. I know some friends who would probably enjoy reading it as much as I did, but I don't want the book to leave me just yet. I don't want the characters to pass out of my sight.

Admittedly, I don't often read books more than once. I have a feeling that I might want to read this one again, though, sometime in the coming months. Maybe I should save it for the first glorious snowstorm of winter.

Although some similarities can be found with Three Men in a Boat, no reference to the older classic is ever mentioned here, not even in the acknowledgements. (Maybe the connection was deemed to be so obvious, especially to British readers, that a note might act as an insult to the intelligence of the audience.) The Narrowboat Summer turns out to be the more detailed and the more compelling book, between the two. Still, reading the books as a bonded pair would not be a bad idea at all.