The Summer They Came : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Fun, but needs more
Review: After reading both of the current spotlight reviews, I decided both were partially right. One complained that the book is chock full of one dimensional characters, and mentions that book publishers should stop putting muscle boys on book jackets. Well, first I've done a fair amount of research on what's selling in gay fiction, and it seems to be books with nearly naked men on the cover and plots that contain 18 year old boys. The Summer They Came has both. Anthony is arguably the main character of this book, and the transformation of the town into a gay beach resort affects him the most personally. For Anthony, the conflicts created by the "gay invasion" result, more or less, in his own trial by fire.

The book does have a lot of characters. Similar to soap opera-ish works like Larry Kramer's Faggots or Armistead Maupin's Tales of The City, William Storandt's work follows a lot of different story lines. Storandt has some charming characters, a lot of them are the town locals, but he would have done well to spend more time defining characters and making them more recognizable. I'd recommend making a character list so you don't have to keep flipping back to figure out who's who. Storandt has two characters named Jim. He also uses similar names like Wesley and Wendell.

As far as use of stereotypes, it's hard to disagree that Storandt falls into the trap of using them, but then I also feel that he's portrayed the culture of a gay beach resort pretty accurately. I suspect the old families of Fire Island were probably pretty shocked with the rather r-rated turn their community took when gay men started arriving in flocks. Storandt builds slowly but steadily to a final stand-off. He's demonstrated that some of the gay men have been troublemakers (specifically, Bart Connors, the media gadfly) and that some of the locals are rallying to support the newcomers. I feel it's a fair portrayal that neither side is completely in the right.

I feel the biggest flaw with the book is that there's no strong resolution. There are some unanswered questions. Storandt brings up the concept of anonymous sex in a variety of ways without ever telling us if the community is just going to "wink" at the practice while counting their cash or whether they're going to mount a backlash to the affront. There seem to be some growning tensions between the developers. There was a near fiasco at the climactic "circuit" party that might have ended the popularity of this new little resort. Perhaps we should all look forward to "The Summer They Came Back."

Rating:
Summary: Fun, but needs more
Review: After reading both of the current spotlight reviews, I decided both were partially right. One complained that the book is chock full of one dimensional characters, and mentions that book publishers should stop putting muscle boys on book jackets. Well, first I've done a fair amount of research on what's selling in gay fiction, and it seems to be books with nearly naked men on the cover and plots that contain 18 year old boys. The Summer They Came has both. Anthony is arguably the main character of this book, and the transformation of the town into a gay beach resort affects him the most personally. For Anthony, the conflicts created by the "gay invasion" result, more or less, in his own trial by fire.

The book does have a lot of characters. Similar to soap opera-ish works like Larry Kramer's Faggots or Armistead Maupin's Tales of The City, William Storandt's work follows a lot of different story lines. Storandt has some charming characters, a lot of them are the town locals, but he would have done well to spend more time defining characters and making them more recognizable. I'd recommend making a character list so you don't have to keep flipping back to figure out who's who. Storandt has two characters named Jim. He also uses similar names like Wesley and Wendell.

As far as use of stereotypes, it's hard to disagree that Storandt falls into the trap of using them, but then I also feel that he's portrayed the culture of a gay beach resort pretty accurately. I suspect the old families of Fire Island were probably pretty shocked with the rather r-rated turn their community took when gay men started arriving in flocks. Storandt builds slowly but steadily to a final stand-off. He's demonstrated that some of the gay men have been troublemakers (specifically, Bart Connors, the media gadfly) and that some of the locals are rallying to support the newcomers. I feel it's a fair portrayal that neither side is completely in the right.

I feel the biggest flaw with the book is that there's no strong resolution. There are some unanswered questions. Storandt brings up the concept of anonymous sex in a variety of ways without ever telling us if the community is just going to "wink" at the practice while counting their cash or whether they're going to mount a backlash to the affront. There seem to be some growning tensions between the developers. There was a near fiasco at the climactic "circuit" party that might have ended the popularity of this new little resort. Perhaps we should all look forward to "The Summer They Came Back."

Rating:
Summary: There'll never be another summer like The Summer They Came!
Review: After reading the other reviews of this fabulous book, I just had to add my two cents. WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COPPERTONE! This book is as delicious as its cover. Enjoy every minute of Storandt's glistening narrative. Afterwards you'll feel fully satisfied and eager for more.

Rating:
Summary: There'll never be another summer like The Summer They Came!
Review: After reading the other reviews of this fabulous book, I just had to add my two cents. WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COPPERTONE! This book is as delicious as its cover. Enjoy every minute of Storandt's glistening narrative. Afterwards you'll feel fully satisfied and eager for more.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining Fast Read!
Review: I read this over several days while commuting to work, so that may have done it a disservice since there are MANY one dimensional characters here. After a the first couple of days, it was hard to keep them straight. That being said, however, my commute reading was not inspiring me to keep reading it AFTER I got home either. This story just kind of sits there. The characters are either stereotypes or paper-thin; you really don't care about most of them. Also, the aggressiveness of taking over this town almost had me routing for the residents.
Not much to keep you interested here. And, one more thing, will book publishers please stop putting a naked torso on EVERY gay novel. It's kind of lame and embarressing at the same time!

Rating:
Summary: Fine as beach reading
Review: I recently read this book as part of a gay book club, & while it certainly isn't deep or provocative, it is entertaining. The characters are somewhat stereotypical, but are still interesting. The plot is somewhat predictable, but I will credit the author for resisting the temptation to wrap everything up in a neat package at the book's end. Pat resolutions are avoided. Also, I appreciated the author's, or proofreader's, attentiveness to spelling & correct grammar - something woefully lacking in too much of today's fiction. As I entitled this review, this book is appropriate for light, entertaining, summertime reading.

Rating:
Summary: Gay Real Estate
Review: This is only summer reading, and it is fine when one takes it for only that. Any more serious reading, for the meaning searcher, will stumble unto the unlikely premise of a few gay developers that end up transforming within a year a restful and forgotten Rhode Island resort. Yeah, forgotten, sure..... The characters described tend to be a little bit stereotyped, and the plot turns way too much around real estate, including the aging queen buying a little palace with private harbor. The coming out/coming of age subplot starts well, but ends up predictable of course. More interesting is the old antique dealer closeted queen transformation, which by itself and with more development could be the seed of a nice book. But as I said before, if what you have in mind is a book to take to the beach, or to the country home of your friends upstate, for the week end, then you might get a few smiles out of it.

Rating:
Summary: SELL IT RIGHT, AND THEY WILL COME!
Review: What if someone wanted to turn a sleepy seacoast town like Long Spit, Rhode Island into the next gay vacation mecca in a single season? How would they go about it? Well, if you happen to be Artie Kinzie, you'd probably place a few very tempting ads in the Advocate and other gay publications for the local bed and breakfasts and hotels without telling them about the ads. And then you'd just wait for the boys to come.

That's what happens in William Storandt's hot summer read. And as a result you meet a very interesting town, as well as the people who live or come there. Some of the townspeople hate the "invaders", some are revitalized, some come out of the closet, and some find love for the first time. But all of them and Long Spit itself make this all too short novel so totally enjoyable.

I realize this is a very short review, but I really want you to discover this book on your own. It was the kind of book I wish would never come to an end - a thoroughly great read for any time of the year.

Rating:
Summary: Fun Summer Fiction about a Fun Fictional Summer Place
Review: Yes, the characters are ridiculously stereotypical and one dimensional, but the plot line is silly and fun and I couldn't set it down. No need for thought provocation here--it's a great mindless read.

Rating:
Summary: Fun Summer Fiction about a Fun Fictional Summer Place
Review: Yes, the characters are ridiculously stereotypical and one dimensional, but the plot line is silly and fun and I couldn't set it down. No need for thought provocation here--it's a great mindless read.