My Summer of Southern Discomfort

by Stephanie Gayle

Today is Monday. The calls do not come as before. Weeks elapse between them, and when I answer the phone there is no overlap of voices, only my mother's. She spends much of the conversation avoiding mention of the pink elephant trumpeting in the middle of the room. The pink elephant would be my defection to Georgia. When I telephoned with the news of my imminent relocation my father asked, "Georgia, as in the Republic of Georgia by the Black Sea, or Georgia as in the Peach State?" He hoped I meant the former because that Georgia promised unique opportunities to advance the democratic cause of justice. What could Georgia, former land of the Confederacy, offer? Convicting arsonists and thieves in Macon, Georgia, was never Harvard Law grad Natalie Goldberg's dream. The pay is abysmal, the work is exhausting, and the humidity is hell for a woman with curly hair. But when a steamy romance with her high-powered New York boss went bad, Natalie jumped at the first job offered, packed her bags, and headed south. Natalie's leftist Yankee background brands her a conspicuous outsider in this insular community. Her father, a famous civil rights lawyer, refuses to accept her career change—or talk to her. Her best friend begs her to come back home, and Natalie keeps thinking she sees her former lover everywhere. But Natalie's not completely alone. There are a garden-obsessed neighbor, a former beauty queen–turned–defense attorney, and a handsome colleague who has a nervous tic whenever she gets near. And then there's a capital case that has her eating antacids by the truckload. Yep, it's going to be one heckuva long, hot summer. . . .

Genres: Fiction, Southern, Chick Lit, Contemporary, Audiobook, Book Club, Mystery

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Stephanie Gayle is the author of Idyll Threats, Idyll Fears, and Idyll Hands (Seventh Street Books) and My Summer of Southern Discomfort (William Morrow.) She's been twice nominated for a Pushcart prize for her short fiction, which has appeared in Kenyon Review Online, Potomac Review, and Minnetonka Review. She created the popular reading series, Craft on Draft, in Boston.

Reviews

[Theresa]

This book was dull. I know that sounds mean and I'm not trying to be. I'm simply being honest. I was bored -- nothing of much circumstance happens. I kept wondering why this book was written and what the point was. As far as the writing itself it was more than adequate therefore I'm giving it three stars and chalking it up to the fact the story just didn't resonate with me.

3*/ 2.95*

[Susan]

What an strange little book. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop--for some kind of action to start--but it never did. It is just the musings of a displaced Yankee trying to adjust to life in the South. It was oddly calming.

I did appreciated how the author managed to hit on some of the Southern traits that are weird to outsiders without making them seem cartoonish or over-the-top. Very understated, a nice break from the wacky characters and outlandish situations in the string of Southern books I've been reading.

[Debra]

A love affair gone bad sent Natalie from NYC and corporate law to Macon Georgia and the public prosecutor's office. This slim volume follows her as she makes the transition and deals with the sometimes grim realities of her new job.

As another reviewer said, it would have been nice to have skewered the NYC ex, but then, life doesn't tend to be like that. The dangling ends lend verisimilitude to this charming story.

I will be watching for more of her books.

[CarolineFromConcord]

Stephanie Gayle's first novel, "My Summer of Southern Discomfort," was a disappointment to one who had found her mystery series about a gay police chief in a New England village called Idyll more compelling. Nothing much happens in this novel until the very end, and although the author is conscientious about piling on details about people and places, the details are mostly boring. (Our protagonist keeps files for greeting cards, doesn't like to pull her covers all the way up, is angry at herself when she realizes she wore the comfy shoes from her office closet home yesterday, has a squeaky wheel on her grocery cart).

This light beach read is about a young lawyer who flees a corporate firm in New York City, where she fell for a married partner, and lands quixotically in Macon, Georgia's prosecutor's office, a fish out of water. Over the course of the novel, she changes her mind about the work there, the town, and the people, and finds a better guy.

[Janice Torrance]

I liked that this book took place in Macon, GA. Since I am a native Georgian, I was familiar with many of the places mentioned. There wasn't much substance to this story. I only picked it up because of the setting, and I am not sure that is enough for me to recommend it to others.

[Amy]

I have mixed feelings about this book. At first I didn't like it, but I have to say that it slowly got better as the book went along. I do feel like that I've read the middle of a story...I feel like I'd like to read the beginning and the end with a little less patronizing of the southern culture.

[Catherine Spaulding]

I don't get why everyone disliked this book. I thought it was pretty good. It wasn't your usual chick lit romance-type book, it more revolved around a court case (which is probably why I liked it). The other reason I liked it so much was the characters and the way they developed. And, good info on the Georgia legal system.

[Rebekah]

I really enjoyed this book. I am from the South and hearing a Northerner's description of life here versus there was funny. I know this is a work of fiction and did hit the cliche button quite a bit! But it was definitely a good book.

[Mum]

I enjoyed the story once the author stopped trying to be cute. Her "voice" was inconsistent, but generally good. The story did pick up about halfway through.

[Nikkimc]

Just couldn't get into the story. I liked the cover art better than the book.

[Joanne]

A nice little book that was badly covered and marketed. Much more a coming-of-age and fish-out-of-water story than the chick-lis you would expect from the cover. SLow-moving and internally focused.

[Kimberly Rose]

I enjoyed this book. Despite reading many not so promising reviews I found this book was just the right pace for me right now. It did start out a bit slow but that's life sometimes.

[bumblethunderbeast]

potential to be quite good but minimal substance.

[Jeanne Baker Stinson]

This was about a 3 1/3 for me. Fun weekend read at the lake with a little depth. Woman flees New York after she is demoted from her job at a fancy legal firm becasue of something that her boss (and lover) did and then allows her to be blamed for. She moves to the south and finds herself. It has some of the requisite quirky southern characters and some nice personal growth on her part. It is a little unexpected -- doesn't always seem to know what it wants to be. She deals with disappointment from her parents, a new romance, prejudice against women (and elite educated North Easterners), and working a capital case but it is all a little scattered.

[Reita Pendry]

This is a compelling read. The protagonist is a young woman lawyer, a refugee in Macon, Georgia from a major New York law firm where neither her career or her first love affair panned out. In Macon, she finds healing, a job she comes to feel passionate about, and new, loyal friends. Her parents have to get used to what they see as a sell-out. She has to get used to southern cooking, politeness and outdated notions of a woman's place. The move she thought of as running away turns out to be the start of something good, maybe even something wonderful.

[Lisa Marlow]

To me this story was comfort reading. It was about a young woman who decided to take the low road. The one less glamorous, less money and less fame. Reminds me of myself in my thirties. I shall be checking out more of Stephanie Gayle’s work.

[Jamie Patzer Johnson]

Rambling , kept waiting for a twist - never happened

[Barbara Dover]

Interesting information about the legal system in Georgia and landmarks in Macon.

[Bonnie Burkes]

I saw this book recommended in a magazine. I was not impressed. I just kept reading to find something interesting or exciting, only to be disappointed.

[Bridget]

It was ok. Some funny moments. It was hard to feel compassion for the main character, though. Just couldn’t identify.

[Trudy Bodwell]

I love this story. This was my second time to read this book.

[Marissa]

Vapid and anticlimactic.

[Reyna Ramirez]

Terrible. 0 stars. Racist. Do not read.

[Robin]

A strange book but an easy read. Just really didn’t have a plot.

[ReadWithE]

Dnf. Slow and uneventful.

[Helen G]

I enjoyed it

[Sandie]

Liked it enough to finish it, but I'm not looking for any more like it.

[Anne]

Yawn

[Diane Sparks]

Just a fun, short read. I really enjoyed it! Not a classic but certainly enjoyable!

[Lindsey]

3.5 stars