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A review by book_beat
The Myth of Perpetual Summer by Susan Crandall
4.0
CRANDALL DELVES INTO ONE FAMILY’S FAULTS, AGAINST 1960s SOUTH BACKDROP
Susan Crandall's "The Myth of Perpetual Summer" starts with the 25 year-old protagonist, Tallulah James, seeing her younger brother's face on the evening news for his involvement with a murder. This one page prologue sparks Tallulah's trip back home to Mississippi and introduces the heart of this story and her 1960s childhood.
Crandall writes so effortlessly. The reader doesn't realize the depth of these topics (infidelity, mental stability, neglect) at first, which is a credit to Crandall's ability to write from the perspective of a child narrator transitioning to an adult. Tallulah's childhood is set in the 1960s South. The topics of race, feminism, the Vietnam War are all orbiting around this small southern town and the prominent James family.
There was only one element I didn't enjoy: the rhythm of the narrative. It started slow at first; introducing many characters and different timelines. Once I grasped the story it was hard to put down. Toward the end of the book, there was a slight detour for Tallulah's character. While it was somewhat necessary for her growth, it made the story feel like it was starting over at the end.
"Myth" included many wonderful story elements: strong family (specifically sibling) relationships, a romance storyline that felt natural, and characters that are complex or "gray." Crandall tackles generational sins and diseases and how they effect the next generation. She clashes familial faults with the antiquated notion of propriety.
This idea of a perfect family, town, country, etc. cannot exist. It is an illusion to believe that one can ignore the noise of life and proceed unaffected. One can only hope to accept what is and build on what is true.
Susan Crandall's "The Myth of Perpetual Summer" starts with the 25 year-old protagonist, Tallulah James, seeing her younger brother's face on the evening news for his involvement with a murder. This one page prologue sparks Tallulah's trip back home to Mississippi and introduces the heart of this story and her 1960s childhood.
Crandall writes so effortlessly. The reader doesn't realize the depth of these topics (infidelity, mental stability, neglect) at first, which is a credit to Crandall's ability to write from the perspective of a child narrator transitioning to an adult. Tallulah's childhood is set in the 1960s South. The topics of race, feminism, the Vietnam War are all orbiting around this small southern town and the prominent James family.
There was only one element I didn't enjoy: the rhythm of the narrative. It started slow at first; introducing many characters and different timelines. Once I grasped the story it was hard to put down. Toward the end of the book, there was a slight detour for Tallulah's character. While it was somewhat necessary for her growth, it made the story feel like it was starting over at the end.
"Myth" included many wonderful story elements: strong family (specifically sibling) relationships, a romance storyline that felt natural, and characters that are complex or "gray." Crandall tackles generational sins and diseases and how they effect the next generation. She clashes familial faults with the antiquated notion of propriety.
This idea of a perfect family, town, country, etc. cannot exist. It is an illusion to believe that one can ignore the noise of life and proceed unaffected. One can only hope to accept what is and build on what is true.