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End of Summer
A young boy. An old man. And a journey of the heart.
My fraternal twin, Michael, died two hours after birth, drowning from fluid in his lungs. When I was two, my Mom and Dad were killed in a head-on collision with a tractor-trailer. I was reared by Granddaddy and Granny, who had lived with my folks in the same rented home. I remembered neither my parents’ lives nor their deaths. I suppose that’s a blessing and a curse. My grandparents had provided details my young mind could understand, but I pushed them away. I did not want them.
Back in that field after thirty years, I stood poised at the edge of an abyss.
End of Summer is a poignant, literary novel that explores the mysteries of life, love and death through the eyes of a nine year old boy...interpreted by the man he grew to be.
A deeply moving and passionate book, Michael Potts’ End of Summer is a poignant literary novel about childhood and memory. This is contemporary Southern fiction at its best. In textured language and with heartfelt attention to detail, Potts’ nuanced portrayal of rural life in southern Appalachia and a young boy’s initial encounter with death reminds us that life at the economic margins can be culturally and spiritually rich, and that even as absences and losses sometimes damage us, these can also strengthen and redeem.
- Michael Colonnese, Ph.D.
Author of Sex and Death, I Suppose
and Temporary Agency
My fraternal twin, Michael, died two hours after birth, drowning from fluid in his lungs. When I was two, my Mom and Dad were killed in a head-on collision with a tractor-trailer. I was reared by Granddaddy and Granny, who had lived with my folks in the same rented home. I remembered neither my parents’ lives nor their deaths. I suppose that’s a blessing and a curse. My grandparents had provided details my young mind could understand, but I pushed them away. I did not want them.
Back in that field after thirty years, I stood poised at the edge of an abyss.
End of Summer is a poignant, literary novel that explores the mysteries of life, love and death through the eyes of a nine year old boy...interpreted by the man he grew to be.
A deeply moving and passionate book, Michael Potts’ End of Summer is a poignant literary novel about childhood and memory. This is contemporary Southern fiction at its best. In textured language and with heartfelt attention to detail, Potts’ nuanced portrayal of rural life in southern Appalachia and a young boy’s initial encounter with death reminds us that life at the economic margins can be culturally and spiritually rich, and that even as absences and losses sometimes damage us, these can also strengthen and redeem.
- Michael Colonnese, Ph.D.
Author of Sex and Death, I Suppose
and Temporary Agency
ebook
First published November 22, 2011
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About the author
Michael Potts
10 books159 followersMichael Potts is a writer of Southern Fiction, Southern Gothic, horror, and poetry originally from Smyrna, Tennessee. He is the author of End of Summer (Tullahoma, TN: WordCrafts Press, 2011), a Southern Fiction novel, and the horror novels Unpardonable Sin (WordCrafts, 2014) and Obedience (WordCrafts, 2016). His poetry chapbook, From Field to Thicket, won the 2006 Mary Belle Campbell Poetry Book Award of the North Carolina Writers' Network. WordCrafts Press also published his book, Aerobics for the Mind: Practical Exercises in Philosophy that Anybody Can Do in 2014. His creative nonfiction essay, "Haunted," won the 2006 Rose Post Creative Nonfiction Contest of the NC Writer's Network. He is a 2007 graduate of Middle Tennessee State University's program, "The Writers' Loft," and is a 2007 graduate of the Odyssey Writing Workshop held at St. Anselm's College in Manchester, NH. He has authored many scholarly publications, and is currently Professor of Philosophy, Methodist University, Fayetteville, North Carolina. He and his wife, Karen, live in Coats, NC, with their three cats.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 16, 2012
Jeffrey Conley returns to his childhood home in Tennessee to attend his Granny's funeral. As he roams the property, he recalls memories of the summer when he was nine years old. It was that summer that his world would change forever when he faces the most difficult loss of his life, the death of his Granddaddy. Since the age of two, Jeffrey was raised by his grandparents, his parents had been killed in a head-on crash with a tractor-trailer. He has no memory of his parents' lives nor their death, but his grandparents had provided him with the details of their lives and death. Life with his grandparents was good, he felt safe and loved with them. But as Jeffrey grows older, he is obsessed about death (the exact cause of death), and he also obsesses about the physical heart to the point where it becomes a fetish, because hearing a woman's heartbeat is arousing to him. As his obsession grows, his wife, Lisa, becomes concerned and when Jeffrey begins to feel like he is getting out of control, he goes to a psychologist for counseling sessions and is diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, which is a mild form of autism. As he returns to his childhood home thirty years later, Jeffrey seeks out his favorite place on the property, The Thicket, his own little piece of Eden, where by reliving his childhood memories he will face his obsessions, the most difficult loss in his life, and hopefully find acceptance and peace of mind.
End of Summer is a poignant and moving story that will tug at your heartstrings. The story is told in the first person narrative by Jeffrey, and alternates between flashbacks to his childhood (age 9) and his present age (39). The storyline is intriguing and thought provoking, as the author interweaves Jeffrey's childhood and adult obsession of death and the physical heart with the most difficult loss that changed his life and molded the man he became. The attention to detail in the flashbacks to Jeffrey's childhood in the 1960s is phenomenal. The author transports the reader back to that decade to the Southern Appalachian country way of living. With lazy summer days spent in the fields or sitting on the porch swing, to Sunday supper with the family after attending church, to the old black and white television shows like The Three Stooges and Red Skelton, to going to Sears in Nashville for new dress shoes, to reading issues of Reader's Digest, and the old-fashioned red Coca-Cola machine, the author provides the reader with flashbacks to the 1960s Americana. As Jeffrey journeys through the memories of his childhood, he will realize how the changes in his life that long ago summer are both enlightening and heart wrenching, as he realizes that he can't hide or deny that changes and death do occur in life, and that the cherished memories of lost loved ones will always remain with him.
End of Summer is an inspiring and thought provoking Southern fictional novel of one man's journey to overcome his obsession with death and find peace through the power of cherished memories.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from WordCrafts Press Publishers in exchange for my honest review, and for hosting a virtual book event.
Virtual Book Event: On Wednesday, May 16, 2012, Jersey Girl Book Reviews hosted a virtual book event for author Michael Potts with an Author Interview.
http://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot...
http://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot...
End of Summer is a poignant and moving story that will tug at your heartstrings. The story is told in the first person narrative by Jeffrey, and alternates between flashbacks to his childhood (age 9) and his present age (39). The storyline is intriguing and thought provoking, as the author interweaves Jeffrey's childhood and adult obsession of death and the physical heart with the most difficult loss that changed his life and molded the man he became. The attention to detail in the flashbacks to Jeffrey's childhood in the 1960s is phenomenal. The author transports the reader back to that decade to the Southern Appalachian country way of living. With lazy summer days spent in the fields or sitting on the porch swing, to Sunday supper with the family after attending church, to the old black and white television shows like The Three Stooges and Red Skelton, to going to Sears in Nashville for new dress shoes, to reading issues of Reader's Digest, and the old-fashioned red Coca-Cola machine, the author provides the reader with flashbacks to the 1960s Americana. As Jeffrey journeys through the memories of his childhood, he will realize how the changes in his life that long ago summer are both enlightening and heart wrenching, as he realizes that he can't hide or deny that changes and death do occur in life, and that the cherished memories of lost loved ones will always remain with him.
End of Summer is an inspiring and thought provoking Southern fictional novel of one man's journey to overcome his obsession with death and find peace through the power of cherished memories.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from WordCrafts Press Publishers in exchange for my honest review, and for hosting a virtual book event.
Virtual Book Event: On Wednesday, May 16, 2012, Jersey Girl Book Reviews hosted a virtual book event for author Michael Potts with an Author Interview.
http://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot...
http://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot...
April 23, 2013
Jeffrey Conley is back in his childhood home to attend his grandmother's funeral. As he roams aimlessly through the property, he recollects a particular summer when he was 9 years old living with his grandparents. He was brought up by his grandparents, since his parents had died in a car crash when he was just a baby. He has no memories of his parents. He only knows what his grandparents has told him.
The story is told from his point of view. The plot shuttles between his 9 year old self and his present self. Jeffrey has been obsessed with death ever since he saw a rabbit's life give out as a result of his grandpa shooting it. He spends lavish amount of time researching about death and the functioning of hearts, so much to the extend that he has a fetish towards a woman's beating heart!
Worried over his growing obsession towards these topics, his wife requests him to consult a psychologist. It is revealed that Jefrrey suffers from Asperger's syndrome. After around 30 years, he visits his childhood home and his childhood memories are relived where he finds out the root of his obsession and hopefully will find his peace of mind.
The plot was refreshing. The innocence of a 9 year old boy was heartwarming and disarmingly touching. The plot did get a little bland after a while. I felt it was way too detailed for it to be convincing. For a middle aged man to remember every single detail: ranging from what he ate to the color of the shirt he wore to church in the summer when he was 9 years old is practically next to impossible.
The plot did pick its pace at the last part, when substantial events occur which would change young Jeffery's life. All in all an intriguing book with a realistic ending.
The story is told from his point of view. The plot shuttles between his 9 year old self and his present self. Jeffrey has been obsessed with death ever since he saw a rabbit's life give out as a result of his grandpa shooting it. He spends lavish amount of time researching about death and the functioning of hearts, so much to the extend that he has a fetish towards a woman's beating heart!
Worried over his growing obsession towards these topics, his wife requests him to consult a psychologist. It is revealed that Jefrrey suffers from Asperger's syndrome. After around 30 years, he visits his childhood home and his childhood memories are relived where he finds out the root of his obsession and hopefully will find his peace of mind.
The plot was refreshing. The innocence of a 9 year old boy was heartwarming and disarmingly touching. The plot did get a little bland after a while. I felt it was way too detailed for it to be convincing. For a middle aged man to remember every single detail: ranging from what he ate to the color of the shirt he wore to church in the summer when he was 9 years old is practically next to impossible.
The plot did pick its pace at the last part, when substantial events occur which would change young Jeffery's life. All in all an intriguing book with a realistic ending.
April 17, 2012
Taken from my blog:
End of Summer is told by Jeffrey, both as an adult and young child. As an adult, Jeffrey is made to confront certain elements of his personality that prove unusual to his wife. This causes him to reflect on a certain summer when he was nine years old, in which his life took a dramatic change and ultimately helped shape him into the man that he becomes.
While the plot sounds interesting and certainly contains a lot of potential, I'm not convinced about how well it has actually been executed. Much of what Jeffrey describes during his summer as a young boy is meticulously detailed; almost to the point of it being a little too much. I also found many of the events during the first two thirds of the book to be mundane; just a child recounting his summer routine such as feeding the dog or going out to play in the woods for the day. Nothing overly remarkable happens.
However, it did did pick up pace later on. The last third of the novel, describing the massive changes that begin to occur within the relationships that mean the most to this young child, are pretty enlightening and also sometimes heart-wrenching. Though it missed the mark with some of the dialogue between the characters, which I found robotic at times and ultimately fell short of properly illustrating the emotions that the people around Jeffrey would have been feeling.
Altogether End of Summer is a good story with a lot of heart, but the plot was a little too loose to grab my full attention.
End of Summer is told by Jeffrey, both as an adult and young child. As an adult, Jeffrey is made to confront certain elements of his personality that prove unusual to his wife. This causes him to reflect on a certain summer when he was nine years old, in which his life took a dramatic change and ultimately helped shape him into the man that he becomes.
While the plot sounds interesting and certainly contains a lot of potential, I'm not convinced about how well it has actually been executed. Much of what Jeffrey describes during his summer as a young boy is meticulously detailed; almost to the point of it being a little too much. I also found many of the events during the first two thirds of the book to be mundane; just a child recounting his summer routine such as feeding the dog or going out to play in the woods for the day. Nothing overly remarkable happens.
However, it did did pick up pace later on. The last third of the novel, describing the massive changes that begin to occur within the relationships that mean the most to this young child, are pretty enlightening and also sometimes heart-wrenching. Though it missed the mark with some of the dialogue between the characters, which I found robotic at times and ultimately fell short of properly illustrating the emotions that the people around Jeffrey would have been feeling.
Altogether End of Summer is a good story with a lot of heart, but the plot was a little too loose to grab my full attention.
December 7, 2012
End of Summer is a story told by a grown man as he returns to his childhood home and recalls memories of the summer he was nine years old. That summer his life and world changed with the death of his granddaddy. When Jeffrey was two his parents were killed in a crashed with a tractor trailer and he was raised by his grandparents. As Jeffrey grows up, his obsession with death and the cause of death grows. He also has a heart obsessions, the sound of a beating heart is a turn on for him. His wife, Lisa, becomes concerned and encourages him to seek help. A psychologist diagnosis him as having Aspergers Syndrome. By returning to his childhood home he hopes to face his obsessions and find peace.
Michael Potts wrote a story that will tug at your heart strings. The meticulous details of Jeffrey’s life at age nine made me feel as if I was living with him, feeling his joys and his sorrows. Jeffrey’s grandparents truly gave him a warm, safe, and loving childhood. The descriptions of the lazy summer days working in the garden, going on bike rides, and the Sunday suppers showed just how normal Jeffrey’s life was. Even when faced with the coming death of his granddaddy, the aunts made him register for school and get ready to continue his everyday life.
End of summer is a wonderful Southern fiction novel. The story of a man’s journey from childhood to adulthood trying to deal with his obsessions. I loved this novel. It pulled me in and made me keep turning pages until the very end of the story. If you are looking for a heart tugging story this is for you.
Michael Potts wrote a story that will tug at your heart strings. The meticulous details of Jeffrey’s life at age nine made me feel as if I was living with him, feeling his joys and his sorrows. Jeffrey’s grandparents truly gave him a warm, safe, and loving childhood. The descriptions of the lazy summer days working in the garden, going on bike rides, and the Sunday suppers showed just how normal Jeffrey’s life was. Even when faced with the coming death of his granddaddy, the aunts made him register for school and get ready to continue his everyday life.
End of summer is a wonderful Southern fiction novel. The story of a man’s journey from childhood to adulthood trying to deal with his obsessions. I loved this novel. It pulled me in and made me keep turning pages until the very end of the story. If you are looking for a heart tugging story this is for you.
March 28, 2012
Primarily set during a languid Southern summer, End of Summer is a deeply emotional story told through the lens of childhood.
Even as a grown man, Jeffrey is still preoccupied by death. Seeing the fragility of living things everywhere about him, he collects memorabilia like skulls, reads books on death, treats his wife’s heartbeat as a personal fetish. Beyond his seemingly morbid fascination with death, Jeffrey is in fact haunted by memories that have molded his identity literally since his birth, when his fraternal twin died mere hours after entering the world.
... More at http://ireadanything.tumblr.com/post/....
Even as a grown man, Jeffrey is still preoccupied by death. Seeing the fragility of living things everywhere about him, he collects memorabilia like skulls, reads books on death, treats his wife’s heartbeat as a personal fetish. Beyond his seemingly morbid fascination with death, Jeffrey is in fact haunted by memories that have molded his identity literally since his birth, when his fraternal twin died mere hours after entering the world.
... More at http://ireadanything.tumblr.com/post/....
June 13, 2012
The premise of the plot in this story was very intriguing to me for two reasons. First, my family hails from Tenn. and second I am married to a man who has odd behaviors also from his upbringing. I was very much looking forward to it. But the dialogue was so descriptive it was hard to get through. Needed more character development. I found myself wanting to get involved with them but just couldn't. It was almost there but in the end just wasn't.
October 18, 2015
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book through First Reads in exchange for an honest review.
Great southern fiction. Very interesting main character introduced, but then the focus shifts to the boy, and while I enjoyed reading his thoughts and experiences, I missed the adult story line. I also felt like it ended a little abruptly, but overall I really enjoyed it.
Great southern fiction. Very interesting main character introduced, but then the focus shifts to the boy, and while I enjoyed reading his thoughts and experiences, I missed the adult story line. I also felt like it ended a little abruptly, but overall I really enjoyed it.
March 29, 2016
I loved this book! It reminded me of my childhood in Rush, KY - I met many of my family members in memory here. I am grateful for the adult recount of many of my own childhood fears and dreams. Thank you!
June 29, 2021
There was little character development in over 250 pages; it was really just a brief setup, then over 200 pages of flashbacks with excruciating (and often unnecessary) details, then a return to the present where everything is neatly tied up and conclusions are drawn but none of it feels earned. All of the protagonist's angst is healed when he revisits a favorite place from his childhood. I'm not saying there isn't a way to sell that premise, but this isn't it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews