Latest Read

My father took to reading my copy of Quantum while he was here, so I read another book in the meantime.  I picked up Summer People by Brian Groh on July 23, 2009 at the Merrimack Public Library book sale in New Hampshire last summer, but didn't feel the urge to read it then. This bit of light summer reading was perfect for this time of fatigue and convalescence.

It was OK.  This quick read, requiring no intelligence or thought whatsoever-- is one of those washover books that is indispensable during times of illness, frequent interruptions, plane rides and such.  So, from that standpoint it was good.  As something more than a time-passer, however, it did not offer me much.Though the novel focuses ostensibly on a beach-side community in Southern Maine, there really is not that much solid description of the area. Had I not carried many images of the place from my own time there to fill in as I read, I'm not certain that the picture would have been very clear.  The characters, too, disappointed.  Is it too old-fashioned to wish for at least one character with whom the reader can sympathize, or at least feel a bit of fondness for?  All of the characters here are unappealing, with the exception perhaps of Eldwin, the hard-drinking, former punk pastor who befriends the novel's--dare I be so harsh?--lazy, self-obsessed, whiny, messy, self-pitying protagonist, even whose drawing skills and interest in graphic novels, are not sufficient to redeem him, at least in this reader's eyes.  If he were horrible and knew it, that would be fine, but he instead is horrible and believes that he is good.  

When he finds out that the job he has accepted for the summer is more than he bargained for, and that was, in fact, was misrepresented to him, he is not strong enough to leave it.  Deciding to stick with it, however, he is also not capable of performing it with any commitment or will; in short, he does a lousy job, and keeps making excuses for the lousy job that he's doing. As an example, the guy has all kinds of free time, but can't seem to trouble himself to pick up the mail each day, causing the woman he's caring for to miss various social occasions to which she's been invited, which wouldn't be so bad if he had other things for her to do, but he's constantly complaining about how bored he is with her TV watching, and the fact that they have nothing to do.  He's simply not a likeable character, but neither is he mean enough to be decidedly unlikeable either, which makes him annoying and boring.  In short, he, like all of the other characters in the book, is completely lackluster.  

All that aside, if you're not feeling well, or need an easy read, this isn't so bad. I've read worse.