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3.34 AVERAGE
3.34 AVERAGE
"Summerlong" in 2012, in the college town of Grinnell, Iowa - and all is not necessarily well. It is a summer full of (lots of) sex, plenty of drugs (i.e., pot) and not too much relationship rock n' roll.
Don and Claire Lowry, who married young and had two children, have decided their marriage has come to a gradual halt. Claire feels restless, anxious, and wants more. Don wants little more than the life he had before with his family, as his real estate business slows down and the grand home he has built slips into foreclosure. Not too far away from the Lowrys, handsome, fit, attractive actor Charlie Gulliver steps into his childhood home after abruptly escaping his theatrical life out west. His father, once a well-known professor at the local college, is now in a retirement home slipping away into dementia, and his mother has escaped her husband and the town with another man. Charlie has, somewhat reluctantly, come to his parents' home to rebuild what they left behind in pieces. Meanwhile, a passionate young woman referred to as "ABC" (her name is Amelia Benitez-Coors) lives with - and acts as companion to - quiet, 90-something Ruth Manetti in Ruth's rambling home in Grinnell. ABC has returned to her college town in the wake of her lover, Philly's tragic death - hoping to find her way back to Philly in the spiritual world, one restless way or another. She frequently smokes pot with Ruth on the porch and ponders how she is going to do so.
As the book unfolds, the lives of each of these characters becomes curiously intertwined. ABC inevitably acts as a common link and catalyst among all of the characters in the novel: Ruth, Don, Claire, and Charlie. It is almost as if her tenuous dance along the tightrope of life in the here and now (during that sultry, steaming hot summer in Grinnell) and the ever-beckoning, spiritual world with Philly acts as a tease, through her, to each and every one of them as they consider the alternate avenues their individual lives could take. Life can turn on a dime, as the old saying goes - and during this summer, all of them must come to terms with the various directions their lives could go, ponder how they got to where they currently are, and consider the far-reaching implications. The decision making is a struggle for all of them. The only one with some surprising clarity is Ruth, who has reached the (near) end of her life and now watches and observes these adults bouncing and bumbling off of one another with slight, wry humor and bewilderment... as flitting and careless as the fireflies she frequently sees in the summer night air.
Bakopoulos has written the book in short, fast-paced chapters, so reading moves swiftly. Unfortunately, there also seems to be a disconnect among the pages at times; one event seems to bleed into the next almost so abruptly as to cause the reader to back-track, wondering if they missed something. Character motivations are not always clear - or, if they are, not exactly realistic or believable. He does inhabit the worlds of his characters completely, and I like that he kept it focused on 5 main people, beginning the novel with them being disparate, then coming together in odd and unexpected ways. Overall, I could see where Bakopoulos was going with this book, and the ending/resolution made sense (and honestly, the final pages were quite beautiful), but I also confess that I felt a bit empty and disconnected to these characters throughout. This is why I am hesitant to up my rating on this book to 4 stars (maybe 3.5). Some of Claire's frustrations felt a bit too trite, unemotional, and predicable at times. Being 42 years old myself, I had to really stretch to convince myself that Don and Claire were simultaneously having a mid-life crisis of sorts at the (still-young) age of 38.; though I suppose it could happen to anyone facing their 40s, occasionally. All in all, "Summerlong" fits the bill for a decent, leisurely summer read filled with plenty of relationship angst and bouts of steamy sex, and Bakopoulos shows a lot of promise as a novelist.
Don and Claire Lowry, who married young and had two children, have decided their marriage has come to a gradual halt. Claire feels restless, anxious, and wants more. Don wants little more than the life he had before with his family, as his real estate business slows down and the grand home he has built slips into foreclosure. Not too far away from the Lowrys, handsome, fit, attractive actor Charlie Gulliver steps into his childhood home after abruptly escaping his theatrical life out west. His father, once a well-known professor at the local college, is now in a retirement home slipping away into dementia, and his mother has escaped her husband and the town with another man. Charlie has, somewhat reluctantly, come to his parents' home to rebuild what they left behind in pieces. Meanwhile, a passionate young woman referred to as "ABC" (her name is Amelia Benitez-Coors) lives with - and acts as companion to - quiet, 90-something Ruth Manetti in Ruth's rambling home in Grinnell. ABC has returned to her college town in the wake of her lover, Philly's tragic death - hoping to find her way back to Philly in the spiritual world, one restless way or another. She frequently smokes pot with Ruth on the porch and ponders how she is going to do so.
As the book unfolds, the lives of each of these characters becomes curiously intertwined. ABC inevitably acts as a common link and catalyst among all of the characters in the novel: Ruth, Don, Claire, and Charlie. It is almost as if her tenuous dance along the tightrope of life in the here and now (during that sultry, steaming hot summer in Grinnell) and the ever-beckoning, spiritual world with Philly acts as a tease, through her, to each and every one of them as they consider the alternate avenues their individual lives could take. Life can turn on a dime, as the old saying goes - and during this summer, all of them must come to terms with the various directions their lives could go, ponder how they got to where they currently are, and consider the far-reaching implications. The decision making is a struggle for all of them. The only one with some surprising clarity is Ruth, who has reached the (near) end of her life and now watches and observes these adults bouncing and bumbling off of one another with slight, wry humor and bewilderment... as flitting and careless as the fireflies she frequently sees in the summer night air.
Bakopoulos has written the book in short, fast-paced chapters, so reading moves swiftly. Unfortunately, there also seems to be a disconnect among the pages at times; one event seems to bleed into the next almost so abruptly as to cause the reader to back-track, wondering if they missed something. Character motivations are not always clear - or, if they are, not exactly realistic or believable. He does inhabit the worlds of his characters completely, and I like that he kept it focused on 5 main people, beginning the novel with them being disparate, then coming together in odd and unexpected ways. Overall, I could see where Bakopoulos was going with this book, and the ending/resolution made sense (and honestly, the final pages were quite beautiful), but I also confess that I felt a bit empty and disconnected to these characters throughout. This is why I am hesitant to up my rating on this book to 4 stars (maybe 3.5). Some of Claire's frustrations felt a bit too trite, unemotional, and predicable at times. Being 42 years old myself, I had to really stretch to convince myself that Don and Claire were simultaneously having a mid-life crisis of sorts at the (still-young) age of 38.; though I suppose it could happen to anyone facing their 40s, occasionally. All in all, "Summerlong" fits the bill for a decent, leisurely summer read filled with plenty of relationship angst and bouts of steamy sex, and Bakopoulos shows a lot of promise as a novelist.
This book started out quite promising, but did not live up to it. The first few chapters showed a terrific ear, and really captured the ennui that can slip into a marriage or a family. The initial pictures of a talented, intelligent wife struggling to find her voice as her kids neared their teen-age years were very well-drawn. By the time we got through our nth session of pot-smoking with the younger crowd, the book was just a slog. I almost stopped reading with 40 pages left because I just didn't care. The characters were mostly boring and the ending was just a little bit too pat.
I really loved this book - it is snarky and a painfully honest look at mid-life in American suburbs. This book could have easily been written by several hundred thousand couples living in America, right now, and that's what I love about it. It's unapologetic tone. Consumed this 354 pg. book in two days.
I'm not sure I can yet be coherent. I read this book in less than 48 hours, and I'm still weeping from the ending. I could try to explain the masterfully woven plot, the majesty of language, the heartbreaking depth of these characters...
But I read this book in less than 48 hours and I'm still weeping from the ending and that's why you should read it.
But I read this book in less than 48 hours and I'm still weeping from the ending and that's why you should read it.
I don't know why I liked this book, but I really enjoyed it. The writing style was easy and flowing, the story just this side of too implausible.
The story of two incredibly miserable late thirty somethings, married to each other, who befriend two people of the opposite sex and about twelve years their junior. Found this really fun on audiobook, the narrator does well reading the lines and bringing out the humor in this very dark book (as it really is quite funny!). The ending left me a little flat, but this audiobook hit the right balance of funny and sad and thoughtful for the most part.
Heartbreaking. Wistful. Beautiful. The slow build of summer reminded me a lot of Ron Carlson's short story "Towel Season" and the relentlessness of the story reminded me of Jane Smiley's novel "Age of Grief." At times I needed to put it down, take a walk, and come up for air but even with all the heaviness and heartbreak the writing made me keep reading. Not for the faint of heart but a really worthwhile read.
Described as a "deft and hilarious exploration of the simmering tensions beneath the surface of a contented marriage" and a hold I placed I thought based on a summer beach reads list, this was much darker and disturbing than I expected. Although the story was engrossing to read (3 stars?), it was about mostly miserable people that I never came to like very much (2 stars.) There were some insights I liked, like the almost 90 year old character Ruth telling the middle aged man he was at the hardest time of his life. "Midlife is when you have to accept what you've created, knowing that the life you have is the only one you will live." Then she tells him that can be terrifying. Until you accept it. Too close to home for this middle aged woman maybe?!?