(Originally Published 1991, Mass Market Paperback 600 pages)
If you are a guy who grew up in a small rural town during the 1960s and
70s then there will likely be a lot about Mr. Simmons's book that will
transport you back in time. The protagonists are 5th-and-6th-grade boys
living in the dinky corn farm town of Elm Haven, Illinois. It's a time
where residents had party-phone lines, drunk drivers were a standard
sight, Catholic masses were said in Latin and library's had microfiche
machines. The town was pretty poor but still had a class system.
Mr. Simmons's stories are very well written and usually quite long winded. However, the extra details in 'Summer of Night' enhances the believability of his creation. The young boys act like young boys through most of work. Some of the other reviewers seem to be quite impatient with these embellishments. The story jumps back and forth between the young boys summer escapades that most guys can relate to their own rural lives and a slow building of suspense. Half way through the novel, an unsettling event occurs which blew to smithereens my assumptions of who would eventually live and who would die. It kept me interested and on the edge of my seat for the remainder of the story.
The ending does go off the rails in believing young kids would do and act the way they did, but hey, it is meant as a surreal horror story. There are plenty of scary, suspenseful moments in 'Summer of Night' and is a very enjoyable summer read. As the author Stephen King wrote, "(it's an) American nightmare with scares, suspense, and sweet, surprising nostalgia." It worked for me. I'm glad I read it.
Mr. Simmons's stories are very well written and usually quite long winded. However, the extra details in 'Summer of Night' enhances the believability of his creation. The young boys act like young boys through most of work. Some of the other reviewers seem to be quite impatient with these embellishments. The story jumps back and forth between the young boys summer escapades that most guys can relate to their own rural lives and a slow building of suspense. Half way through the novel, an unsettling event occurs which blew to smithereens my assumptions of who would eventually live and who would die. It kept me interested and on the edge of my seat for the remainder of the story.
The ending does go off the rails in believing young kids would do and act the way they did, but hey, it is meant as a surreal horror story. There are plenty of scary, suspenseful moments in 'Summer of Night' and is a very enjoyable summer read. As the author Stephen King wrote, "(it's an) American nightmare with scares, suspense, and sweet, surprising nostalgia." It worked for me. I'm glad I read it.
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