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A review by fionamclary
Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I love summer horror, and Summer Sons might be the warmest I've read yet. There's just something about the intensity of the heat, the hauntings that persist despite the long days and bright sun. This is a dark and beautiful story about loss, the dark inheritances of the South, and the particular grief of the queer childhood friendship that ended with everything unspoken.
From the beginning, it's obvious that Andrew's on the wrong track with his focus on the gang of street racers and drug dealers and his pointed ignoring of the polished academic side of Eddie's life. But this works well as it builds up the subtle dynamics of class, race, and sexuality that influence the decisions of the characters. This book is a subtextual love letter to the working-class queers of the rural South, and I recognized many of the characters from the four years I spent in the South for undergrad. Sam and Riley often sounded exactly like the queer and trans folks I met there, watered by long humid summers and bent into shape by a vivid mix of repression and community care. Armored with a permeable exoskeleton, harsh at times, practical, funny as hell, and with boundless self-knowledge.
There could certainly have been more of an explicit discussion of how racism and slavery factored into the old families' legacies, but there is only so much room in a book. Also, just a personal thing for me, but there was far too much car. If you like car, then you will probably enjoy this book more.
I'm definitely going to read more from Lee Mandelo. The Woods All Black has been on my TBR for a bit, anyway.
From the beginning, it's obvious that Andrew's on the wrong track with his focus on the gang of street racers and drug dealers and his pointed ignoring of the polished academic side of Eddie's life. But this works well as it builds up the subtle dynamics of class, race, and sexuality that influence the decisions of the characters. This book is a subtextual love letter to the working-class queers of the rural South, and I recognized many of the characters from the four years I spent in the South for undergrad. Sam and Riley often sounded exactly like the queer and trans folks I met there, watered by long humid summers and bent into shape by a vivid mix of repression and community care. Armored with a permeable exoskeleton, harsh at times, practical, funny as hell, and with boundless self-knowledge.
There could certainly have been more of an explicit discussion of how racism and slavery factored into the old families' legacies, but there is only so much room in a book. Also, just a personal thing for me, but there was far too much car. If you like car, then you will probably enjoy this book more.
I'm definitely going to read more from Lee Mandelo. The Woods All Black has been on my TBR for a bit, anyway.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Murder, Toxic friendship
Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Slavery, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Death of parent