The Heat of the Sun

by Louis D. Rubin Jr.

With perfect pitch and an unerring eye for detail, Rubin transports readers to Charleston, South Carolina, 1940, in a riveting tale of romance and mystery. When a rookie newspaper reporter comes to Charleston to be near his fiance, he discovers a shocking truth about her past and her father's sordid business deals.

439 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1955

About the author

Louis Decimus Rubin Jr. was born into a Jewish family in Charleston, South Carolina, on November 19, 1923. He studied for two years at the College of Charleston, served in the Army during World War II (1939–1945), and earned a BA in history at the University of Richmond.

Louis D. Rubin is a writer, editor, publisher, educator, and literary critic, and perhaps the person most responsible for the emergence of southern literature as a field of scholarly inquiry. He served on the faculty of Hollins College (now Hollins University) in Roanoke, Virginia. He coedited Southern Renascence, an important compilation of southern studies; founded the journal Hollins Critic; established the Southern Literary Studies series at the Louisiana State University Press; cofounded the Southern Literary Journal; cofounded Algonquin Books, a literary press that showcases emerging southern writers; and promoted the early work of important southern writers, including Clyde Edgerton, John Barth, and Virginia writers Lee Smith and Annie Dillard.

Reviews

[Michael Stein]

My family, LDR again. Loved this mix between Charlestonian society, detective story, and comedy. Although (in my opinion) his most plot-driven (and therefore less incisive), it was still a fun read that helped me learn more about my grand-uncle.

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up Rubin’s “The Heat of the Sun” after reading both “Small Craft Advisory” and “Uptown/Downtown in Old Charleston.” The stores and themes shared in all of his writing is very similar. If you enjoy the sight smells and sounds of Charleston you will enjoy his beautiful descriptions of the Holy City. Rubin’s love of boats, literature and writing are spread throughout the novel. He also uses his perspective of growing up in a Jewish blue collar family to gain insight on the divisions of class in Charleston. Many of the events in the novel are actual historical events and he brings you into the story with each event. What I enjoy most about Rubin’s writing is he has a gift of an honest voice. He is passionate about literature and writing. At the end of the novel there is a section of writing that I felt Rubin was using his true voice and the writing was brilliant. He had a very clear message he was trying to deliver in this book and it came through in this section. I was reading more intently than any other point in the novel. He is a very talented writer with a wonderful life perspective but his story lines stink. The whole novel was way too predictable. There was a moment when I thought I was reading Dorthea Benton Frank’s “Return to Sullivans Island.” Again I love Franks writing but predictable plots using the same boring characters don’t make a novel. Rubin continues to use the same stories over and over when it is the characters and the plot that needs to be less predictable. Only at the conclusion did Rubin give a detailed description of each character. Not sure why it was not included in the 400 pages before it. Jim Igoe to me was the best described character and he was only a small part of the story. Rosy of course was likeable but predictable and corny.

I had the same thoughts after reading “Uptown/Downtown in Old Charleston” Rubin’s essays are creative and very well written and his contribution to southern literature is immense. However, I think he is an extremely talented novelist and I wish that he would write another novel like “Small Craft Advisory,” because I love his writing

[Harrison Glaze · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m afraid my rating doesn’t properly reflect how much I genuinely enjoyed this novel. It’s a funny, tender, evocative trip to Charleston in 1940, with a gorgeously rich sense of place, winsome leads, and—since our heroes are a CofC English professor and a cub reporter—lots of delightful Easter eggs for the litterateur. The characters and central mystery are, though charming, a little too thin and predictable to justify more than three stars; but this was a fun read (from a well-known literary scholar clearly having a lot of fun writing it) and one I don’t regret.