Windchill Summer: A Novel

by Norris Church Mailer

“A CAPTIVATING READ . . . WINDCHILL SUMMER HAS ALL THE ELEMENTS. . . . A LITTLE MYSTERY, SOME HUMOR,
[AND] A DASH OF CHARM.”
–The Denver Post

“WONDERFULLY SATISFYING AND APPEALING . . . It’s the summer of 1969 in a place called Sweet Valley, Arkansas. Cherry and Baby [are] soon to be college seniors at the dinky university just a few miles away. . . . It all looks like a pleasant, predictable American life, but a long second look reveals that things aren’t exactly what they seem to be. . . . [Mailer] loves her characters, and we fall in love with them, too.”
–The Washington Post Book World

“IN GENTLY ROLLING SOUTHERN CADENCES, MAILER CAPTURES THE HORMONAL UPS AND DOWNS OF YOUNG WOMEN TEETERING ON THE VERGE OF ADULTHOOD.”
–Entertainment Weekly

“THIS WINSOME COMING-OF-AGE NOVEL OFFERS MUCH TO MANY. Cherry, the narrator, is my kind of good-looking, straight-talking, and able to describe what it’s like to get amorous when you’re wearing ten thousand petticoats. Most important, she’s willing to decide for herself what’s true.”
–ELIZABETH BERG

“SMOOTHLY WRITTEN, SWEETLY SENTIMENTAL.”
–The New York Times Book Review

Genres: Fiction

432 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Best known as the last spouse (and then widow) of writer Norman Mailer.

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book the first time twenty-odd years ago. All I remembered was that it took me from Sweden to Germany seemingly in one blink - I was so mesmerized by the story that I just read it straight through, almost without looking up. So... now that I'm older, I decided to reread it to see if it was as good as I remembered it. My answer?
Both yes and no.
I love the writing style. Love how the writer bring you close to the characters, with some parts being almost in diary-form. The language flows along with the story, making it fun and easy to read. Plot-wise, I guess there is a main plot in the murder of the girl small-town Carlene, who was known but not really a friend of the main character, Cherry. There's also Cherry's own story, about how she, as a young Christian girl discovers love in the mysterious and handsome Tripp Barlow, who brings with him both drugs and the revelation that the world is bigger and more complex than Cherry could ever imagine. Along with this, we follow some other characters, among them Baby, who is Cherry's best friend and an outsider, as she's Filippino in a society where the Americans have come to look with suspicion at those who are Asian (due to the Vietnam war).

I'm loving the setting, and I'm loving the descriptions, and I love how the tales are just woven together with both Asian folklore and the hippie culture, whilst taking a clear stand against the atrocities of the Vietnam war. This is all very well done. Then, just at the end, things sort of... happen. And not in a good way. The story starts to feel rushed and a little simple, and as loose ends must be tied together, it feels like it's done almost sloppily, just to finish the damned thing, already. This brings the grade down a bit... but it's still a great book, and I still recommend it!

[Jayne Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think apart from one or two characters, everyone in this book was nice. Loads and loads of really nice characters getting along together. Even the nasty ones had a nice side. In such a book I would have expected little tension and few reasons to read to the end, but that’s not the case. After a slowish start, this really builds momentum, and became unputdownable. One of the most graphic accounts of the Vietnam War experience I have read, and a whodunit that would be hard to guess. It was like climbing down a worm-hole right back to the 1960s. A really great read.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently re-read this and remembered why I once liked it so much. A richly layered Southern coming-of-age story set in the summer heat of Arkansas circa 1969, it tells the story of small-town friends caught up in a murder. I enjoyed the scene-setting details of a Southern town during a time of hippies, moon-walks, and boys returning from Vietnam changed men. While her husband Norman Mailer is far more famous, Norris Church Mailer has her own style that I quite enjoyed.

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

From my father's library...which means lots of character development. With the setting in a small southern (Arkansas) town, we know it will be a difficult story, and more so taking place during the Viet Nam war. Nonetheless, it did not bring me 'down'. The themes of friendship, of questioning the norm in a healthy way and character growth made it feel more positive on the whole.

[Sarah Zeigler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this five stars because the crafting was superb. It may not be a great work of literature, but as a tightly interwoven narrative to read in the summer, it is absolutely perfect. The Vietnam War and its effects on communities as seen through the eyes of an unconventional, college-age heroine in a rural Arkansas town.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book! A small town in Arkansas is the setting. The time is 1969. Boys are dying in Viet Nam, and the ones who make it back alive aren't doing too well. The author does a good job of capturing the mood of that time, and her two young protagonists are quite charming.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was my first book in English and I loved it. I learned new word from this book: pot;))

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This really is a good book. It has been several months since I finished reading it and I still think of it from time to time, wishing I could spend a little more time in the intriguing town of Sweet Valley, Arkansas. Mailer did an exceptionally good job of crafting a vivid world populated by larger-than-life characters. Our narrator, Cherry, quickly feels like an old friend telling you all about the latest happenings. The cast is enormous: the story follows countless members of the community, and yet their individual stories are all so distinct that it never feels like a struggle to keep them straight. There is an overarching plot, true, but the true pleasure of this book is its slow-paced meandering through the complex lives of its characters. It ties in with various historical events, such as the moon landing, the war in Vietnam, and the general air of change of the late 1960s. Big things are happening in the world, but life in Sweet Valley goes on.

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read this book three times, and it really never gets old.

The main setting of Sweet Valley, Arkansas, is so richly described that you feel you're right there with Cherry, feeling the warm breeze blow off the lake and smelling the brine of the pickle plant. The interwoven narratives are each more fascinating and heartbreaking than the last, and the glimpses into the horrors of the Vietnam war are done tastefully but without flinching. It's also nice to finally have a protagonist in their early 20s to relate to-- most often, it seems, protagonists are either young teens or in their 30s, but seeing a 21-year-old going through all of this feels grounded and realistic.

[Emma · Rating 1 out of 5]

Going by the synopsis this little gem (which I stumbled across in a charity book shop) sounded just the thing I enjoy. I was majorly disappointed. Maybe it would have improved had I stuck with it but I dragged myself through 70-odd pages and decided that life's too short and my to-read list is too long for books I don't enjoy. Boring, thin and empty.

[Ian Tymms · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some beautiful character portraits and parts were very readable. At its best, a cross between “Catcher in the Rye” and “Grapes of Wrath”. And whilst I’m very sympathetic to the anti-Vietnam war message, at some point the need to make a point seemed to take control of the narrative and subtlety and complexity unraveled.

[Melissa A]

It was ok.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't the best book I've read, but it was pretty gripping and gave some perspective on what it might be like to be a kid during the Vietnam era, with friends and family being drafted... it was a coming of age book but not too cliche.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute coming of age story set in Vietnam era. I liked how the characters were brought to life... Great beach book.

[Tori · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a long read but is still enjoyable (I loved it)

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! Great historical fiction with a little mystery, romance, drama and everything else thrown in. Takes place during the Vietnam War...couldn't put it down.

[Gammagray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting, but odd book.