Summerlings

Summerlings

Adult fiction
"For us boys, the summer of 1959 was as cataclysmic as a
meteor. Washington's historic plague, our wild neighborhood party,
and my first acquantance with death--these are the things I remember
so vividly from that bright season, along with the accompanying
feelings of fear, revelation, and wonder."
From the first paragraph of Lisa Howarth's Summerlings (quoted
above) you can tell that it is going to be a coming-of-age novel.
This subgenre bears a special burden--to transport the reader to both
a world that no longer exists and the innocent sensibility of
childhood. In the tradition of Summer of '42, it succeeds beautifully
on both counts.
The summer of '59 is drawing to a close. Narrator John (8) is
rattling around in his home, feeling like an only child. His big
sister, Liz, is away at camp. It was a time when kids spent summer
days running around with chums and buying cool treats from the ice
cream man instead of zoning out on electronics or being shepherded
from one adult run class or activity to another. John and his pals--
Max, Ivan, and tomboy Beatriz (who reminds me of myself that summer)--
have quite a bit to keep them occupied.
For one thing there's the infestation. One day John and Ivan
wake up to find their whole neighborhood festooned with huge spider
webs. Unlike the adults, who view the development with disgust and
alarm, John and his friends see major collecting opportunities. Plus
some of these spiders might be venemous. They have a score to settle
with a bully they've nicknamed Slutcheon.
Then there's their neighborhood inhabited by people with very
diverse backgrounds. The euphoria of World War II being over has
disipated in the face of the Cold War and Communist paranoia. The
Soviet Union was winning the space race. Khrushchev had threatened to
bury America. Then Castro had taken over in Cuba.
"...There was a lot of fear in America. Everyone believed that
there was a very good chance that the world would soon blow up. At
school we practiced three scary civil-defense drills for different
attack scenarios, but even we boys knew that Washington would be the
first place annihilated, and nobody would survive. So the Cold War
caused our neighbors to be nervous and suspicious of each others.
The divisiveness is getting in the way of the boys' vacation
fun. They want everyone to get along like the television characters
of the then popular Leave It To Beaver show. They want to create a
mini version of the Marshall plan. When Ivan's Aunt Elena, on whom
the boys have wicked crushes, suggests a neighborhood party the kids
are all over the idea. But can a group of children with no experience
in party planning (and no expertise in food sanitation) put together a
festival that will unite a deeply divided and nervous neighborhood?
Read the book and see.
On a purrrsonal note, I woke up to see a note from Eugene. He wanted
me to go to the town office (which just opened yesterday) to register
one of his motorcycles. It was easy peasy to go by the new rules and
super low risk. And it was good practice for my quest tomorrow. I
was glad I went early because we now have serious wind and rain now.
But they promise good weather tomorrow. :-)
Every morning Tobago gets up early and has breakfast and watches TV
with Eugene. She's given up on trying to get me out of bed when he
goes to work. Now she comes in and cuddles and goes back to sleep.
Seeing her sweet face and hearing her purr song makes getting up for
another pandemic day a lot more happier. (Jules)
See how having a cat companion starts hoomans' days off happy? Don't
forget this is kitten season. A new best buddy could be as close as
your nearest shelter. Remember--you can't buy love, but you can adopt
it. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to the municipal workers all over
America who are taking care of the people's business.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway



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