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The Summer Son
He owed a lot of people, but I was the only one left to collect. I told myself that I didn’t care about him, only about what he owed me, whatever that was.
I even tried to believe it.
When Mitch Quillen’s life begins to unravel, he fears there is no escape. His marriage and his career are both failing, and his relationship with his father has been a disaster for decades. Approaching forty, Mitch doesn’t want to become a middle-aged statistic. When his estranged father, Jim, suddenly calls, Mitch’s wife urges him to respond. Ready for a change, Mitch heads to Montana and a showdown that will alter the course of his life. Amid a backdrop of rugged peaks and valleys, the story a violent episode that triggered the rift, thirty years of miscommunication, and the possibility of misplaced blame. In Craig Lancaster’s powerful novel, The Summer Son, readers are invited into a family where conflict and secrets prevail, and where hope for healing and redemption is possible.
I even tried to believe it.
When Mitch Quillen’s life begins to unravel, he fears there is no escape. His marriage and his career are both failing, and his relationship with his father has been a disaster for decades. Approaching forty, Mitch doesn’t want to become a middle-aged statistic. When his estranged father, Jim, suddenly calls, Mitch’s wife urges him to respond. Ready for a change, Mitch heads to Montana and a showdown that will alter the course of his life. Amid a backdrop of rugged peaks and valleys, the story a violent episode that triggered the rift, thirty years of miscommunication, and the possibility of misplaced blame. In Craig Lancaster’s powerful novel, The Summer Son, readers are invited into a family where conflict and secrets prevail, and where hope for healing and redemption is possible.
242 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 25, 2011
87 people are currently reading
679 people want to read
About the author
Craig Lancaster
29 books427 followersWhen Craig Lancaster moved to Montana in 2006, at the age of 36, it was the realization of a dream he’d harbored since childhood, one that he figured had been overtaken by events, as so many dreams are.
“I have these incredibly vivid memories of visiting Montana with my folks on family vacations, and following my dad, an itinerant laborer who worked in the oil and gas fields of the West when I was a kid,” Lancaster says. “It was such a vast, beautiful, overwhelming place. From the first time I saw Montana, I wanted to be a part of it.”
Craig was born on February 9th, 1970, in Lakewood, Washington. Adopted at birth, he grew up in suburban Fort Worth, Texas, with his mother and stepfather and siblings. His stepfather, Charles Clines, was a longtime sportswriter at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, a connection that led to Craig’s career as a journalist, a profession he followed to a series of newspaper jobs across the country — Texas, Alaska, Kentucky, Ohio, Washington, California and, finally, Montana.
A couple of years after Craig’s arrival in the Big Sky State, he began chasing another long-held dream: that of writing novels. His first completed novel, 600 Hours of Edward, was born in the crucible of National Novel Writing Month, that every-November free-for-all of furious writing. He completed an entire first draft, nearly 80,000 words, in November 2008. In October 2009, it was published by Riverbend Publishing of Helena, Montana, and has since gone on to be selected as a Montana Honor Book and a High Plains Book Award winner.
His follow-up, The Summer Son, was released in January 2011 by AmazonEncore, to similar acclaim. Booklist called the new novel “a classic western tale of rough lives and gruff, dangerous men, of innocence betrayed and long, stumbling journeys to love.”
Lancaster’s work delves deeply below the surface of its characters, teasing out the desires and motivations that lead us through our lives.
“It’s all too easy to turn people into caricatures, but the truth is, we humans are pretty damned fascinating,” he says. “For me, fiction is a way at getting at truth. I use it to examine the world around me, the things that disturb me, the questions I have about life — whether my own or someone else’s. My hope is that someone reading my work will have their own emotional experience and bring their own thoughts to what they read on the page. When I’m asked what my stories mean, my inclination is turn the question around: What do they mean to you?”
“I have these incredibly vivid memories of visiting Montana with my folks on family vacations, and following my dad, an itinerant laborer who worked in the oil and gas fields of the West when I was a kid,” Lancaster says. “It was such a vast, beautiful, overwhelming place. From the first time I saw Montana, I wanted to be a part of it.”
Craig was born on February 9th, 1970, in Lakewood, Washington. Adopted at birth, he grew up in suburban Fort Worth, Texas, with his mother and stepfather and siblings. His stepfather, Charles Clines, was a longtime sportswriter at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, a connection that led to Craig’s career as a journalist, a profession he followed to a series of newspaper jobs across the country — Texas, Alaska, Kentucky, Ohio, Washington, California and, finally, Montana.
A couple of years after Craig’s arrival in the Big Sky State, he began chasing another long-held dream: that of writing novels. His first completed novel, 600 Hours of Edward, was born in the crucible of National Novel Writing Month, that every-November free-for-all of furious writing. He completed an entire first draft, nearly 80,000 words, in November 2008. In October 2009, it was published by Riverbend Publishing of Helena, Montana, and has since gone on to be selected as a Montana Honor Book and a High Plains Book Award winner.
His follow-up, The Summer Son, was released in January 2011 by AmazonEncore, to similar acclaim. Booklist called the new novel “a classic western tale of rough lives and gruff, dangerous men, of innocence betrayed and long, stumbling journeys to love.”
Lancaster’s work delves deeply below the surface of its characters, teasing out the desires and motivations that lead us through our lives.
“It’s all too easy to turn people into caricatures, but the truth is, we humans are pretty damned fascinating,” he says. “For me, fiction is a way at getting at truth. I use it to examine the world around me, the things that disturb me, the questions I have about life — whether my own or someone else’s. My hope is that someone reading my work will have their own emotional experience and bring their own thoughts to what they read on the page. When I’m asked what my stories mean, my inclination is turn the question around: What do they mean to you?”
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 179 reviews
July 29, 2017
Wow, I was really blown away by this book. The author has such a understated way with his writing and yet it packs an emotional punch.
Mitch is a man who has grown up with a volatile, aggressive, taciturn man for a father, a man he only sees over his long summer holidays due his parents divorce when he was only very small. This book features Mitch at the age of eleven, as well as at age 39, and goes between the time periods. It is done very well, and gives a lot of insight as to why things happened the way they did, and what made Mitch's dad, Jim, the man he is.
I could relate to this book on so many levels, families and their dynamics can be very tricky, and if this book doesn't make you want to open up communication in your own family, I don't know what will!
This is a difficult book to quantify though, it is very thoughtfully written, it doesn't shy away from difficult topics and yet some of the passages in this book brought me to tears as well.
Highly recommended read.
I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book. Thank you to THE Book Club.
Mitch is a man who has grown up with a volatile, aggressive, taciturn man for a father, a man he only sees over his long summer holidays due his parents divorce when he was only very small. This book features Mitch at the age of eleven, as well as at age 39, and goes between the time periods. It is done very well, and gives a lot of insight as to why things happened the way they did, and what made Mitch's dad, Jim, the man he is.
I could relate to this book on so many levels, families and their dynamics can be very tricky, and if this book doesn't make you want to open up communication in your own family, I don't know what will!
This is a difficult book to quantify though, it is very thoughtfully written, it doesn't shy away from difficult topics and yet some of the passages in this book brought me to tears as well.
Highly recommended read.
I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book. Thank you to THE Book Club.
February 8, 2020
Für Mitch läuft es nicht so besonders, weder im Job, noch in seiner Ehe. Dann ruft auch noch seiner Vater an und seine Frau Cindy versteht den Hilferuf eines ängstlichen Vaters, der mit seinem Sohn reden möchte aber nicht weiß wie. Sie fordert ihn auf zu reagieren, ihn zu konfrontieren und zu klären, was schon Jahrzehnte zwischen ihnen steht.
Jim will nicht sagen, warum er nach all den Jahren anruft. Mitch kann ihm nicht verzeihen, was er ihm, seiner Mutter und Jerry angetan hat, hasst ihn für die Wochen im jenem Sommer, den er bei ihm verbracht hat.
Aber als Mitch nicht nur seine, sondern überraschenderweise auch Jim's, Vergangenheit aufarbeitet, muss er alles was er geglaubt hat in Frage stellen.
Was für eine bewegende Geschichte. Zwei Männer, die versuchen 30 Jahre Missverständnisse zu klären, wobei beide ungern darüber reden was passiert ist. Das Ganze ist wirklich bewegend und insgesamt lässt es sich angenehm lesen, obwohl Vieles krass und brutal ehrlich dargestellt wird.
Die Gespräche zwischen Vater und Sohn fand ich toll. Jim's Haltung, sein ständiges "du weißt 'n Scheiß!" lassen darauf schließen, dass da mehr dahinter steckt. Mitch's Erinnerungen an jenen Sommer sind aber so authentisch und greifbar dargestellt, obwohl es Jahre zurückliegend im ländlichen Amerika spielt, dass ich mich immer wieder gefragt habe, was mit diesen Menschen nicht stimmt.
Mitch, der früh seinen Bruder, irgendwie auch den Vater und dann seine Mutter verloren hat, hat mir dann wirklich Leid getan. Erst recht, als die Einblicke in seine Gedanken zusammen mit der Situation des 11-Jährigen ein komplexes Bild ergeben.
Vor allem die Szene, wie Jerry gegen den Kühlschrank fliegt, eindeutige Geräusche aus dem Schlafzimmer und der Vater der ruft Mitch solle aufhören zu heulen, war extrem.
Insgesamt ist das Ganze ist dann noch komplexer als vermutet.
Kelly's Briefe, die Geschichte des jungen Jim, die Ketten, die Hölzer, die Scheune, können einem nur zu schaffen machen. Vor allem als sich dann erschließt, was später mit Mitch passiert ist.
Auch ihre Art, verständnisvoll und interessiert, trägt dazu bei, obwohl sie nur so einen kleinen Teil der Geschichte einnimmt.
Die Situation mit Cindy lässt die Frage aufkommen was genau Betrug ist. Vor allem im Vergleich zu allem was vorher mit Jim war, scheint die Aufmerksamkeit und Intimität bedeutender als das Körperliche.
Hat mir fast besser gefallen, als die Geschichte um Edward. Auf jeden Fall werde ich nach noch mehr Büchern des Autors Ausschau halten.
Jim will nicht sagen, warum er nach all den Jahren anruft. Mitch kann ihm nicht verzeihen, was er ihm, seiner Mutter und Jerry angetan hat, hasst ihn für die Wochen im jenem Sommer, den er bei ihm verbracht hat.
Aber als Mitch nicht nur seine, sondern überraschenderweise auch Jim's, Vergangenheit aufarbeitet, muss er alles was er geglaubt hat in Frage stellen.
Was für eine bewegende Geschichte. Zwei Männer, die versuchen 30 Jahre Missverständnisse zu klären, wobei beide ungern darüber reden was passiert ist. Das Ganze ist wirklich bewegend und insgesamt lässt es sich angenehm lesen, obwohl Vieles krass und brutal ehrlich dargestellt wird.
Die Gespräche zwischen Vater und Sohn fand ich toll. Jim's Haltung, sein ständiges "du weißt 'n Scheiß!" lassen darauf schließen, dass da mehr dahinter steckt. Mitch's Erinnerungen an jenen Sommer sind aber so authentisch und greifbar dargestellt, obwohl es Jahre zurückliegend im ländlichen Amerika spielt, dass ich mich immer wieder gefragt habe, was mit diesen Menschen nicht stimmt.
Mitch, der früh seinen Bruder, irgendwie auch den Vater und dann seine Mutter verloren hat, hat mir dann wirklich Leid getan. Erst recht, als die Einblicke in seine Gedanken zusammen mit der Situation des 11-Jährigen ein komplexes Bild ergeben.
Vor allem die Szene, wie Jerry gegen den Kühlschrank fliegt, eindeutige Geräusche aus dem Schlafzimmer und der Vater der ruft Mitch solle aufhören zu heulen, war extrem.
Insgesamt ist das Ganze ist dann noch komplexer als vermutet.
Kelly's Briefe, die Geschichte des jungen Jim, die Ketten, die Hölzer, die Scheune, können einem nur zu schaffen machen. Vor allem als sich dann erschließt, was später mit Mitch passiert ist.
Auch ihre Art, verständnisvoll und interessiert, trägt dazu bei, obwohl sie nur so einen kleinen Teil der Geschichte einnimmt.
Die Situation mit Cindy lässt die Frage aufkommen was genau Betrug ist. Vor allem im Vergleich zu allem was vorher mit Jim war, scheint die Aufmerksamkeit und Intimität bedeutender als das Körperliche.
Hat mir fast besser gefallen, als die Geschichte um Edward. Auf jeden Fall werde ich nach noch mehr Büchern des Autors Ausschau halten.
Read
April 18, 2011My review from the Missoula Independent:
After finishing The Summer Son, I began wandering my balcony (it's actually the roof, but I prefer to call it a balcony), wracked by two contradictory reactions at once, which, for a book reviewer, is not a good sign. My thoughts were:
1.) This is an unusually probing, terrifically paced character study;
2.) This is a hyperbolic, badly conceived novel.
I kept reminding myself that I would not begin a review on such a vague note. A few days and much balcony-wandering later, however, my analysis remained unchanged. Let me explain.
In his second published novel (his first was the acclaimed 600 Hours of Edward), Billings resident Craig Lancaster has written an uneasy saga of secrets, frustration, sudden violence and generational angst; in other words, he's written a book about family. Once again Lancaster shows himself an astute psychologist of people coping with elusive problems, in a book that proves memory is just as insurmountable as any mental illness.
The summer son and narrator of the title is Mitch Quillen, a man struggling with his existence as a father, a husband and, especially as a son. After some cryptic phone calls from his irascible father, Jim, Mitch travels to Billings to confront his past and uncover a mystery that has been plaguing him since boyhood.
"Now I was going away," Mitch confides, "because I hadn't tried enough or succeeded enough. Because my father had wrenched an opening in our lives big enough for my wife to push me through." So commences Mitch Quillen's descent into bad recollections, during which an 11-year-old Mitch joins his father's drilling crew, connects with older brother Jerry, meets some new friends and survives a series of unwholesome situations that would turn anyone into a frazzled neurotic.
Bouncing between Mitch's discontented adulthood (marital strife, unsavory job, aloof father) and part of the summer of 1979 (spent mainly watching his father enraged), Lancaster's tale follows the double trajectory of past and present, as Mitch pieces together why Jim was/is a terrible father, while backtracking to show just how terrible a father Jim really was/is. Altogether, it's a fine balancing act, supported by the author's taut structure. As Jim's combustible, blue-collar rage threatens to engulf everyone in his vicinity, Mitch unearths much more than he intended. And none of it is pleasant.
The major problems of the novel seem to reside in the middle chapters, adding superficial layers to Jim: Jerry flees for the Marines, Mitch's stepmother leaves Jim, Jim sinks into alcoholism, punches some people and takes on a drifter who will go on to give the book its final revelation. But unless one is stimulated by the ins and outs of drilling for natural gas or needlessly obfuscating conversations between father and son, there is nothing here of substance. The "twists" that are supposed to propel the action forward are not so much classic shifts of fate as theatrical upheavals. Instead of getting a pie in the face, we are hit on the back of the head with a bakery.
Dramatic? Yes. Convincing? No.
Likewise, halfway through you have a pretty strong inkling that the author has planned some massively redeeming episode to explain Jim's degeneracy, but by the time he gets around to forgiving Jim on behalf of Mitch, it's too late: For the reader, he's already unforgivable. Except as Lancaster's attempt to pile on Jim's vile attributes in order to make his eventual vindication reverberate, several dozen intervening pages could have been scissored away and left a far more powerful work.
Still, Lancaster is superb at characterization, writing in a practical idiom that is perfect for capturing the intricacies of parental cruelty and love. Although Mitch comes off as a somewhat grating wreck, Jim is intimately crafted, an all-too-human working class guy in the throes of a dirty history that he cannot escape; entirely unlikeable, but almost cathartically satisfying. Lancaster's great feat in The Summer Son though, is how straightforwardly he presents a story with all the elements of an ultra-depressed indie tragedy—existential brooding, brutality, anger, heartbreak, etc.—and somehow makes it entertaining. Like Jim Quillen, it is unpolished, not without its irreconcilable flaws and, occasionally, enlightening.
Whatever its faults (over-ambitious plotting at the expense of naturalistic storytelling comes to mind), this book is a fitfully insightful prompt that dormant secrets are always an inch away, ready to destroy or to transform. Someone once remarked that you can get over anything except childhood, and Lancaster illustrates this point with an abundance of stark honesty in the tormented form of Jim Quillen. All in all, The Summer Son is a story about extraordinarily authentic individuals somehow maneuvering in a painfully cinematic world.
After finishing The Summer Son, I began wandering my balcony (it's actually the roof, but I prefer to call it a balcony), wracked by two contradictory reactions at once, which, for a book reviewer, is not a good sign. My thoughts were:
1.) This is an unusually probing, terrifically paced character study;
2.) This is a hyperbolic, badly conceived novel.
I kept reminding myself that I would not begin a review on such a vague note. A few days and much balcony-wandering later, however, my analysis remained unchanged. Let me explain.
In his second published novel (his first was the acclaimed 600 Hours of Edward), Billings resident Craig Lancaster has written an uneasy saga of secrets, frustration, sudden violence and generational angst; in other words, he's written a book about family. Once again Lancaster shows himself an astute psychologist of people coping with elusive problems, in a book that proves memory is just as insurmountable as any mental illness.
The summer son and narrator of the title is Mitch Quillen, a man struggling with his existence as a father, a husband and, especially as a son. After some cryptic phone calls from his irascible father, Jim, Mitch travels to Billings to confront his past and uncover a mystery that has been plaguing him since boyhood.
"Now I was going away," Mitch confides, "because I hadn't tried enough or succeeded enough. Because my father had wrenched an opening in our lives big enough for my wife to push me through." So commences Mitch Quillen's descent into bad recollections, during which an 11-year-old Mitch joins his father's drilling crew, connects with older brother Jerry, meets some new friends and survives a series of unwholesome situations that would turn anyone into a frazzled neurotic.
Bouncing between Mitch's discontented adulthood (marital strife, unsavory job, aloof father) and part of the summer of 1979 (spent mainly watching his father enraged), Lancaster's tale follows the double trajectory of past and present, as Mitch pieces together why Jim was/is a terrible father, while backtracking to show just how terrible a father Jim really was/is. Altogether, it's a fine balancing act, supported by the author's taut structure. As Jim's combustible, blue-collar rage threatens to engulf everyone in his vicinity, Mitch unearths much more than he intended. And none of it is pleasant.
The major problems of the novel seem to reside in the middle chapters, adding superficial layers to Jim: Jerry flees for the Marines, Mitch's stepmother leaves Jim, Jim sinks into alcoholism, punches some people and takes on a drifter who will go on to give the book its final revelation. But unless one is stimulated by the ins and outs of drilling for natural gas or needlessly obfuscating conversations between father and son, there is nothing here of substance. The "twists" that are supposed to propel the action forward are not so much classic shifts of fate as theatrical upheavals. Instead of getting a pie in the face, we are hit on the back of the head with a bakery.
Dramatic? Yes. Convincing? No.
Likewise, halfway through you have a pretty strong inkling that the author has planned some massively redeeming episode to explain Jim's degeneracy, but by the time he gets around to forgiving Jim on behalf of Mitch, it's too late: For the reader, he's already unforgivable. Except as Lancaster's attempt to pile on Jim's vile attributes in order to make his eventual vindication reverberate, several dozen intervening pages could have been scissored away and left a far more powerful work.
Still, Lancaster is superb at characterization, writing in a practical idiom that is perfect for capturing the intricacies of parental cruelty and love. Although Mitch comes off as a somewhat grating wreck, Jim is intimately crafted, an all-too-human working class guy in the throes of a dirty history that he cannot escape; entirely unlikeable, but almost cathartically satisfying. Lancaster's great feat in The Summer Son though, is how straightforwardly he presents a story with all the elements of an ultra-depressed indie tragedy—existential brooding, brutality, anger, heartbreak, etc.—and somehow makes it entertaining. Like Jim Quillen, it is unpolished, not without its irreconcilable flaws and, occasionally, enlightening.
Whatever its faults (over-ambitious plotting at the expense of naturalistic storytelling comes to mind), this book is a fitfully insightful prompt that dormant secrets are always an inch away, ready to destroy or to transform. Someone once remarked that you can get over anything except childhood, and Lancaster illustrates this point with an abundance of stark honesty in the tormented form of Jim Quillen. All in all, The Summer Son is a story about extraordinarily authentic individuals somehow maneuvering in a painfully cinematic world.
November 3, 2010
Craig Lancaster is the master of character-driven fiction. His writing feels effortless, though I know it's anything but. From the very first page, I was pulled into the world of Mitch Quillen, a man whose troubled relationship with his father has clouded every aspect of his adult life. He searches for answers, confronting his father and reliving his past. I was swept along with him, pulled by the power of Lancaster's words.
This book will make you feel and make you care. To the very last page - and an ending that will blow you away - Lancaster will hold you captive.
** I was lucky to receive an ARC of The Summer Son. In no way did that alter my review. **
This book will make you feel and make you care. To the very last page - and an ending that will blow you away - Lancaster will hold you captive.
** I was lucky to receive an ARC of The Summer Son. In no way did that alter my review. **
March 30, 2019
I'll be back to talk about this when I feel a bit better. I think I have a lot to say.
Okay, what is it now? March 30th. I can't say I feel a lot better but it's review day and I'm getting this done while it's still fresh in my mind. Tonight I will begin "Edward Adrift" and then later I'll read "Edward Unspooled."I bought them both. "Summer Son" was the ONLY book by Craig Lancaster that our library system had. I shake my head.
After I read the first "Edward" it was glaringly clear to me I'd be reading all his work. Yeah. No question there. Then I found out we share a birthday. I know! Wait. It gets better. Up until I was well into my 20s (do not ask me how this happened) I thought somehow I was the only one born on that particular day. I know. I know. I know how weird that sounds. I am actually laughing a bit as I type that. Alice Walker is also born on that day. MANY people THE WORLD OVER are born on that day. Math is my friend. I get it. I know. Yes, I know.
Somewhere I read that this is Craig Lancaster's most autobiographical work. Well. I dunno what to tell you. It's a dark piece of work, it's dark, but man oh man, I know those people. I know those people. This is one of those novels I love and try to force people to read and they say, "Pam! Why do you read this dark stuff? Why?" And they are annoyed at me. So be forewarned, there are some dark things in here. Please read "Edward" first.
This isn't a flawless novel or a huge great work but it's a five star novel for me. I really want to hear what this author has to say, I'm all ears. He also makes me want to write more than just reviews and long letters. We shall see. We shall see.
If you have any old (or recent) trauma this novel could be a trigger on more than a few fronts so avoid if that's an issue.
I wish I could be more pithy but honestly, this illness has beat the pith from me. I wanted to get this written before I read the next book.
Have y'all read "600 Hours of Edward" yet? No? And the reason for that is? Ha. So patent. I am so very patient. Not at all.
In brochospasm I depart,
Pam/Fishgirl
Okay, what is it now? March 30th. I can't say I feel a lot better but it's review day and I'm getting this done while it's still fresh in my mind. Tonight I will begin "Edward Adrift" and then later I'll read "Edward Unspooled."I bought them both. "Summer Son" was the ONLY book by Craig Lancaster that our library system had. I shake my head.
After I read the first "Edward" it was glaringly clear to me I'd be reading all his work. Yeah. No question there. Then I found out we share a birthday. I know! Wait. It gets better. Up until I was well into my 20s (do not ask me how this happened) I thought somehow I was the only one born on that particular day. I know. I know. I know how weird that sounds. I am actually laughing a bit as I type that. Alice Walker is also born on that day. MANY people THE WORLD OVER are born on that day. Math is my friend. I get it. I know. Yes, I know.
Somewhere I read that this is Craig Lancaster's most autobiographical work. Well. I dunno what to tell you. It's a dark piece of work, it's dark, but man oh man, I know those people. I know those people. This is one of those novels I love and try to force people to read and they say, "Pam! Why do you read this dark stuff? Why?" And they are annoyed at me. So be forewarned, there are some dark things in here. Please read "Edward" first.
This isn't a flawless novel or a huge great work but it's a five star novel for me. I really want to hear what this author has to say, I'm all ears. He also makes me want to write more than just reviews and long letters. We shall see. We shall see.
If you have any old (or recent) trauma this novel could be a trigger on more than a few fronts so avoid if that's an issue.
I wish I could be more pithy but honestly, this illness has beat the pith from me. I wanted to get this written before I read the next book.
Have y'all read "600 Hours of Edward" yet? No? And the reason for that is? Ha. So patent. I am so very patient. Not at all.
In brochospasm I depart,
Pam/Fishgirl
June 3, 2012
I was fortunate to catch this as a Kindle Daily Deal on Amazon.com, and after I downloaded it, I read this book in four hours. I could not put it down because it resonated with me on two different levels: First, I completely understand how difficult it is to be estranged from parents and how that estrangement also affects other close, personal relationships such as the relationship between Mitch and his wife, and the lack of closeness he felt with his twin children. Secondly, like Jim Quillen, I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse.
In the beginning of the book, I felt that the author did a wonderful job of baiting the story and it didn't take long for me to bite, desperate to know just what the hell could've possibly happened between Mitch and his father to bring them to a place where they barely spoke to each other. The way the story alternated between time periods kept the pace on a steady march towards the truth, and I liked how it took time, hard work, and a huge emotional investment on Mitch's part to unravel it all.
I have to say I was very surprised by how accurate the author was in creating the character of Jim Quillen. I can say as a childhood sexual abuse survivor that, after the abuse, I immediately put up strong, thick walls that rarely let anyone get close to me unless I personally invite them in. Trust has to be earned, and someone has to be extremely loving, patient, and persistent to overcome my overwhelming desire to keep them at arm's-length in an effort to not be hurt by them. I have sometimes started fights in a concentrated effort to make sure no one sees how vulnerable I truly feel, and, like Jim, I am a perfectionist in everything I do, and sometimes demand perfection from others in an effort to cover up the fact that inside I feel flawed and imperfect.
The end reveal by Toby to Mitch made perfect sense to me, and if there's anyone who has trouble understanding why Jim went to the extreme of killing Brad, I will tell you that the number one fear of someone who's been abused is the same thing happening to their child. To be completely transparent and honest, if I caught anyone trying to abuse my child, I wouldn't hesitate to do the same thing that Jim did to Brad. Not one second.
So, I wish to commend the author for what I feel, based on my own experience, is a faithfully researched representation of the long-term effects of sexual abuse that haven't been successfully dealt with, and the different ways some survivors desperately try to cope with (or escape memories of) the abuse, like with Jim's drinking. The same with an estrangement from a parent leading to difficulties in other relationships. The parent-child relationship can be such a complicated one, and the things that happen to us in childhood can continue to negatively affect us - and the people around us - long after we've entered our adult years.
(Can I just say, even though it ended badly, that my favorite part of the story was the game of Sorry between Mitch and his dad? I mean, who cheats at Sorry? What a scream!)
In my humble opinion, I feel the story was very well constructed with some very interesting characters and a storyline that quickly grabbed me and drew me in. My only difficulty with this book is that adult Mitch sometimes came across as a real whiner, which was annoying. His wife, Cindy, didn't make much of an impact on me, sadly, and I can't say I felt one way or another about whether or not Mitch was able to save his marriage to her. I also found it hard to believe that someone like Jim would have saved those letters from his sister, Kelly, and unfortunately, that was a crucial part to the story. I think he would have seen her ability to go to their adopted mother's funeral, and her ability to move on with life with seemingly little difficulty, as a complete betrayal. He certainly didn't strike me as the sentimental type, regardless.
All in all, however, I was extremely impressed with this page-turner of a book. I absolutely give this book 5 stars, and I highly recommend it.
In the beginning of the book, I felt that the author did a wonderful job of baiting the story and it didn't take long for me to bite, desperate to know just what the hell could've possibly happened between Mitch and his father to bring them to a place where they barely spoke to each other. The way the story alternated between time periods kept the pace on a steady march towards the truth, and I liked how it took time, hard work, and a huge emotional investment on Mitch's part to unravel it all.
I have to say I was very surprised by how accurate the author was in creating the character of Jim Quillen. I can say as a childhood sexual abuse survivor that, after the abuse, I immediately put up strong, thick walls that rarely let anyone get close to me unless I personally invite them in. Trust has to be earned, and someone has to be extremely loving, patient, and persistent to overcome my overwhelming desire to keep them at arm's-length in an effort to not be hurt by them. I have sometimes started fights in a concentrated effort to make sure no one sees how vulnerable I truly feel, and, like Jim, I am a perfectionist in everything I do, and sometimes demand perfection from others in an effort to cover up the fact that inside I feel flawed and imperfect.
The end reveal by Toby to Mitch made perfect sense to me, and if there's anyone who has trouble understanding why Jim went to the extreme of killing Brad, I will tell you that the number one fear of someone who's been abused is the same thing happening to their child. To be completely transparent and honest, if I caught anyone trying to abuse my child, I wouldn't hesitate to do the same thing that Jim did to Brad. Not one second.
So, I wish to commend the author for what I feel, based on my own experience, is a faithfully researched representation of the long-term effects of sexual abuse that haven't been successfully dealt with, and the different ways some survivors desperately try to cope with (or escape memories of) the abuse, like with Jim's drinking. The same with an estrangement from a parent leading to difficulties in other relationships. The parent-child relationship can be such a complicated one, and the things that happen to us in childhood can continue to negatively affect us - and the people around us - long after we've entered our adult years.
(Can I just say, even though it ended badly, that my favorite part of the story was the game of Sorry between Mitch and his dad? I mean, who cheats at Sorry? What a scream!)
In my humble opinion, I feel the story was very well constructed with some very interesting characters and a storyline that quickly grabbed me and drew me in. My only difficulty with this book is that adult Mitch sometimes came across as a real whiner, which was annoying. His wife, Cindy, didn't make much of an impact on me, sadly, and I can't say I felt one way or another about whether or not Mitch was able to save his marriage to her. I also found it hard to believe that someone like Jim would have saved those letters from his sister, Kelly, and unfortunately, that was a crucial part to the story. I think he would have seen her ability to go to their adopted mother's funeral, and her ability to move on with life with seemingly little difficulty, as a complete betrayal. He certainly didn't strike me as the sentimental type, regardless.
All in all, however, I was extremely impressed with this page-turner of a book. I absolutely give this book 5 stars, and I highly recommend it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 17, 2017
"It's OK, honey," she said, as I lay beside her, my shoulders gently heaving, the sobs finally beginning to fade. "It happens, sometimes."
"No," I spluttered. "No! You don't understand!"
"I do, though." She turned to me, wearing a smile that took away the breath I'd fought so hard to recapture. "I get it. It happens."
I shook my head, unable to interrupt even if I'd wanted to, and she continued. "It's this - this Craig Lancaster." She picked up the book that lay beside me, the final pages stained with my tears. "I'm not blind, you know. I've seen the pattern. Whenever you read a book by Craig Lancaster, you're reduced to a blubbering, shivering wreck."
And she was right, you know. The Summer Son does it again. A breathtaking story of fathers and sons, secrets and silences, a landscape of bleak beauty that Lancaster brings to life as vividly as Cormac McCarthy evokes his own border country, a series of journeys, both real and mental, that make you feel, when you put down the book for the last time, that you've finally, truly arrived.
"No," I spluttered. "No! You don't understand!"
"I do, though." She turned to me, wearing a smile that took away the breath I'd fought so hard to recapture. "I get it. It happens."
I shook my head, unable to interrupt even if I'd wanted to, and she continued. "It's this - this Craig Lancaster." She picked up the book that lay beside me, the final pages stained with my tears. "I'm not blind, you know. I've seen the pattern. Whenever you read a book by Craig Lancaster, you're reduced to a blubbering, shivering wreck."
And she was right, you know. The Summer Son does it again. A breathtaking story of fathers and sons, secrets and silences, a landscape of bleak beauty that Lancaster brings to life as vividly as Cormac McCarthy evokes his own border country, a series of journeys, both real and mental, that make you feel, when you put down the book for the last time, that you've finally, truly arrived.
February 10, 2023
A tale of family and different sides to the same story. A worthwhile read.
January 13, 2011
I guess I will start with WOW!!! I normally read vampire/supernatural books. This has none of that in it and yet held my attention just as intently. I couldnt help but be amazed at the quality of writing in this novel. While there are skips through time it is all clearly defined so you can keep up. The charcters who are so wonderfully written reveal things to you at just the right pace to keep you intrigued and involved in the story. You come to care and grow attached to these charcters the more you read just as you should when your reading a great novel. I dont want to give any clues about the book while telling you all how wonderful it is because you have to read it for yourself. What I will say is the book teaches you a lot about perspective. You see things from your side, your thoughts, and your memories but that isnt always how someone else might see the same thing. Very real, very well written, and very much worth while to read.
July 27, 2017
after 600 hours of edward I started to read this book with gusto at first I felt a little dissapointed as I wasn't swept away in the world of The Summer Son quite like I was Edward. I had to persevere as I had the belief that Craig's book would not dissapoint me and I was right. It was a thought provoking and brilliantly written book with an ending that really did take me by surprise. never again will I doubt Mr Lancaster
July 24, 2017
I'll start with the same old confession that despite all good intentions, I have still not read this author's Edward series of books. I know, I'm a bad person and I do promise to get there eventually. I have however read a couple of his previous stand alones and thoroughly enjoyed them so I knew that this book had a good chance of joining them on my great books list. I am happy to say that I wasn't wrong.
This is very much a character driven book and, to pull this off, the characters have to be spot on. Luckily, this is something that this author really excels at and the two main characters in this book are indeed brilliantly crafted.
We meet Mitch, married father of twin girls, on the whole, his life is ticking along mostly OK but there is something in his past that has always affected him and it has now started to really impact in his present, especially with respect to his marriage. Then, out of the blue, his father Jim starts calling him. Over and over without actually saying anything. This confuses him and he tries to press him on what he actually wants to talk about but isn't getting anywhere with this approach. His wife suggests that he go visit, maybe a face to face meeting will get to the bottom of things, maybe father and son could even take the time to work through their past and reconnect. The rift between the two happened 30 years ago and they have never got over it. Told in the present as Mitch tries to get through to Jim, and in the past, that Summer where things imploded, this is the most wonderful book; very emotional in parts. Have tissues ready throughout, but especially towards the end as we really get to what really happened to cause the rift so many years ago.
I finished this book last night and haven't recovered from it yet. I doubt I will for a little while yet as it was quite an emotional ending that shocked the heck out of me, at the same time, leaving me with complete understanding. To say I was rewarded for my investment in these characters would be a gross understatement. Oh and invested I very much was; completely, totally, willingly. Frustratedly at times too I have to admit. It's a story of secrets and lies, truths withheld to protect the innocent, of a father trying his best against adversity and a son not quite grown up enough to understand the complex nature of life and relationships. Of peeling back the layers to get to the core. All the way through the book, you knew that there was something that sparked the whole rest of time, I knew it had to be big but I was left completely gob smacked as the truth started to come to light. I was left open jawed and with rather weepy eyes. I am so glad I chose to leave the end of the book to a time when I was on my own rather than at the bowls green, watching my brother play, which is where I do a lot of my reading these days.
All in all, a thoroughly satisfying, if at times harrowing, read that left me both satisfied and feeling bereft at the end. My thanks go to TBC for the chance to read this book.
This is very much a character driven book and, to pull this off, the characters have to be spot on. Luckily, this is something that this author really excels at and the two main characters in this book are indeed brilliantly crafted.
We meet Mitch, married father of twin girls, on the whole, his life is ticking along mostly OK but there is something in his past that has always affected him and it has now started to really impact in his present, especially with respect to his marriage. Then, out of the blue, his father Jim starts calling him. Over and over without actually saying anything. This confuses him and he tries to press him on what he actually wants to talk about but isn't getting anywhere with this approach. His wife suggests that he go visit, maybe a face to face meeting will get to the bottom of things, maybe father and son could even take the time to work through their past and reconnect. The rift between the two happened 30 years ago and they have never got over it. Told in the present as Mitch tries to get through to Jim, and in the past, that Summer where things imploded, this is the most wonderful book; very emotional in parts. Have tissues ready throughout, but especially towards the end as we really get to what really happened to cause the rift so many years ago.
I finished this book last night and haven't recovered from it yet. I doubt I will for a little while yet as it was quite an emotional ending that shocked the heck out of me, at the same time, leaving me with complete understanding. To say I was rewarded for my investment in these characters would be a gross understatement. Oh and invested I very much was; completely, totally, willingly. Frustratedly at times too I have to admit. It's a story of secrets and lies, truths withheld to protect the innocent, of a father trying his best against adversity and a son not quite grown up enough to understand the complex nature of life and relationships. Of peeling back the layers to get to the core. All the way through the book, you knew that there was something that sparked the whole rest of time, I knew it had to be big but I was left completely gob smacked as the truth started to come to light. I was left open jawed and with rather weepy eyes. I am so glad I chose to leave the end of the book to a time when I was on my own rather than at the bowls green, watching my brother play, which is where I do a lot of my reading these days.
All in all, a thoroughly satisfying, if at times harrowing, read that left me both satisfied and feeling bereft at the end. My thanks go to TBC for the chance to read this book.
July 24, 2017
This book flits back and forth from past to present and takes us into the the lives of Mitch and his dad Jim. After receiving a few odd phonecalls from his father Mitch decides he needs to pay him a visit. Theit relationship hasn't been the easiest and spent lots of time estranged but Mitch feels his father is trying to reach out to him he just needs to find out why.
Every time I get my hands on a Craig Lancaster book I make sure I take my time reading it. He has such a wonderful style of writing that instantly draws you in.
Every time I get my hands on a Craig Lancaster book I make sure I take my time reading it. He has such a wonderful style of writing that instantly draws you in.
January 10, 2011
Anyone who had a difficult, distant and even antagonistic relationship with one or both parents would have a hard time with the idea that perhaps the parents were impossibly tough or emotionally impenetrable for the good of their children. Yet, it happens, whether or not it seems fair or just. And the process of accepting that — and then finding out why — is fertile ground for fiction that, in my opinion, hasn't been turned over and tilled enough.
Craig Lancaster, in his second novel, takes on that very challenge and succeeds marvelously at peeling back truths that most people can't or won't face, let alone tentatively poke at. It's quite a departure from his debut, "600 Hours Of Edward," a standout novel of subtle familial depth that was sometimes overshadowed by its whimsical charm.
There's nothing whimsical in "The Summer Son," an often grim slog into the wounded heart of a fractured father-son relationship. Mitch Quillen, closing in on 40 and increasingly unhappy, doesn't realize his discontent is rooted in the summer of his 12th year, when his father — whom he saw only every other summer — abruptly sent him home and all but cut off contact. He doesn't realize it, that is, until the old man, now pushing seventy, reaches out in emotionally strangled fashion. That leads Mitch to Jim Quillen's home in Billings, Montana, to sort out ... well, if there's anything left to sort out.
Is there ever. Lancaster builds the tension masterfully through the use of split narrative, paralleling events in that strange summer of 1979 with the present day, twenty-eight years later. In the earlier narrative, Mitch is caught up in a war of wills between his itinerant water-driller dad and his headstrong older brother, and spends most of what should be a male-bonding summer feeling afraid and off-balance — until it abruptly ends in one night that he doesn't understand and can't confront.
In the present-day narrative, the balance of power is reversed. Mitch has worked up the courage to confront his father head-on, and the old man, while still full of bullying bluster, seems to be craving the coming storm. And does it ever come. And come again and again. Little by little, the secrets of the corrosive past eat through the civilized reserves of both men until there's nothing left to tear down — and everything left to save.
Set against the dry land and dirt-poor small towns of Utah and Montana, the confrontation of proud generations bring to mind the epic work of the modern-day masters of Western literature — Doig, Ford, Watson, McGuane, even a little Louis L'Amour.
In "The Summer Son," Lancaster delivers a tale as potent and powerful as a roundhouse right of righteous truths, of hearts as big and open and parched as a grazing range, and of stubborn faith in the possibility of improbable triumph.
Craig Lancaster, in his second novel, takes on that very challenge and succeeds marvelously at peeling back truths that most people can't or won't face, let alone tentatively poke at. It's quite a departure from his debut, "600 Hours Of Edward," a standout novel of subtle familial depth that was sometimes overshadowed by its whimsical charm.
There's nothing whimsical in "The Summer Son," an often grim slog into the wounded heart of a fractured father-son relationship. Mitch Quillen, closing in on 40 and increasingly unhappy, doesn't realize his discontent is rooted in the summer of his 12th year, when his father — whom he saw only every other summer — abruptly sent him home and all but cut off contact. He doesn't realize it, that is, until the old man, now pushing seventy, reaches out in emotionally strangled fashion. That leads Mitch to Jim Quillen's home in Billings, Montana, to sort out ... well, if there's anything left to sort out.
Is there ever. Lancaster builds the tension masterfully through the use of split narrative, paralleling events in that strange summer of 1979 with the present day, twenty-eight years later. In the earlier narrative, Mitch is caught up in a war of wills between his itinerant water-driller dad and his headstrong older brother, and spends most of what should be a male-bonding summer feeling afraid and off-balance — until it abruptly ends in one night that he doesn't understand and can't confront.
In the present-day narrative, the balance of power is reversed. Mitch has worked up the courage to confront his father head-on, and the old man, while still full of bullying bluster, seems to be craving the coming storm. And does it ever come. And come again and again. Little by little, the secrets of the corrosive past eat through the civilized reserves of both men until there's nothing left to tear down — and everything left to save.
Set against the dry land and dirt-poor small towns of Utah and Montana, the confrontation of proud generations bring to mind the epic work of the modern-day masters of Western literature — Doig, Ford, Watson, McGuane, even a little Louis L'Amour.
In "The Summer Son," Lancaster delivers a tale as potent and powerful as a roundhouse right of righteous truths, of hearts as big and open and parched as a grazing range, and of stubborn faith in the possibility of improbable triumph.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 3, 2017
I read Craig Lancaster's two other novels about his delightful character Edward, and despite knowing that there was no connection I think I spent the first quarter of the book looking for him in other characters (he's not there, nor should he be).
Once I got a little way into this brilliant book I was completely lost in the story, in the wonderful writing and in the real characters and was anxious to see how the troubled relationships panned out. I ended up really, really rating the book, infact it's among my all time reads.
A fabulous story of misunderstandings and the ultimate love of a parent. Unreserved 5 stars
Once I got a little way into this brilliant book I was completely lost in the story, in the wonderful writing and in the real characters and was anxious to see how the troubled relationships panned out. I ended up really, really rating the book, infact it's among my all time reads.
A fabulous story of misunderstandings and the ultimate love of a parent. Unreserved 5 stars
June 30, 2013
Loved it..I give it four and a half stars..I felt like getting up and applauding when I finished. So raw and real and poignant. Hoping to read a lot more by this author in the future.
July 19, 2017
Having previously read and enjoyed Craig Lancaster's Edward books, I was excited to read this.
A story about the relationship between a troubled father and son, which threatens to ruin the marriage of the son. Mitch and his father Jim, have been estranged for almost thirty years so when Jim contacts Mitch out-of-the-blue, Mitch has anything but love to show for his father. Sensing that this relationship is the foundation for Mitch's troubles, Mitch's wife encourages him to visit his father and mend the broken ties. Mitch reluctantly agrees.
The story skips between the summers Mitch spent with his father, when his parents divorced and the present. We see how the once strong relationship between the father and son becomes estranged.
Craig Lancaster has a brilliant way of exploring relationships between characters. He makes you feel love, hate, resentment, humour and happiness between characters. A beautifully written story exploring a difficult relationship between father and son. Throughly enjoyable!
A story about the relationship between a troubled father and son, which threatens to ruin the marriage of the son. Mitch and his father Jim, have been estranged for almost thirty years so when Jim contacts Mitch out-of-the-blue, Mitch has anything but love to show for his father. Sensing that this relationship is the foundation for Mitch's troubles, Mitch's wife encourages him to visit his father and mend the broken ties. Mitch reluctantly agrees.
The story skips between the summers Mitch spent with his father, when his parents divorced and the present. We see how the once strong relationship between the father and son becomes estranged.
Craig Lancaster has a brilliant way of exploring relationships between characters. He makes you feel love, hate, resentment, humour and happiness between characters. A beautifully written story exploring a difficult relationship between father and son. Throughly enjoyable!
July 17, 2017
Mitch, a young boy whose parents have divorced, spends alternate 3-month long summer vacations with his terse, no nonsense father. Thirty years later he returns to face the deep-seated resentments, anger and bitterness that have caused his own marriage to flounder. Slowly the story unfolds, told through the voice of his 11-year-old self and the adult he has become, and all his wrong assumptions, bitterness and misunderstandings are heartbreakingly confronted as he learns the truth about what really happened and why.
I did find some of the descriptions of the working procedures of exploratory drilling a little boring, but I realise it was necessary in order to appreciate the hard life and character of Mitch's father - and maybe I learnt something in the process!
An unusual, interesting story, beautifully told, it held my attention all the way through Mitch's discovery of how little he really understood about his dad.
I did find some of the descriptions of the working procedures of exploratory drilling a little boring, but I realise it was necessary in order to appreciate the hard life and character of Mitch's father - and maybe I learnt something in the process!
An unusual, interesting story, beautifully told, it held my attention all the way through Mitch's discovery of how little he really understood about his dad.
July 29, 2017
Craig Lancaster has the knack of creating characters that get under your skin alongside stories that challenge and move you. Mitch is very different from the much loved Edward [do read those books!!] but reading the essay at the end there is much of Lancaster's own past meshed into this fictional story; there is truth in many of the situations and a real sense of the places Mitch visits.
The book is not always an easy read and some might question the way the relationship between Mitch and his dad, Jim, develops but knowing people with similar relationships with family I don't feel this is jarring.
There are secrets, confusion and a mystery but at the heart this is very much a character-led read and I thoroughly enjoyed walking the road with Mitch as we flipped between his childhood and present day story. I look forward to reading the next work by this excellent author.
The book is not always an easy read and some might question the way the relationship between Mitch and his dad, Jim, develops but knowing people with similar relationships with family I don't feel this is jarring.
There are secrets, confusion and a mystery but at the heart this is very much a character-led read and I thoroughly enjoyed walking the road with Mitch as we flipped between his childhood and present day story. I look forward to reading the next work by this excellent author.
March 22, 2020
A middle-aged Mitch is in a rocky marriage with two young children and has always had a bad relationship with his father, who lives in another state. Mitch doesn't understand exactly why the relationship with is father has been so nonexistent for years, but he also holds a grudge from childhood. His mother is gone, his job is shaky, and suddenly his father begins calling frequently, saying seemingly nothing of import.
Mitch's father is an unhappy and harsh man, who hires workers for his drilling business in the west, many of which don't last. When Mitch was a youngster, he spent a summer with his alcoholic father and the drilling business. He wants desperately to please his father, to hear some approval.
The story alternates between the summer of his childhood with his father and 2007 when he must find out what his father wants or needs. This is a good read!
Mitch's father is an unhappy and harsh man, who hires workers for his drilling business in the west, many of which don't last. When Mitch was a youngster, he spent a summer with his alcoholic father and the drilling business. He wants desperately to please his father, to hear some approval.
The story alternates between the summer of his childhood with his father and 2007 when he must find out what his father wants or needs. This is a good read!
July 19, 2017
This story doesn't so much unfold as it is excavated. Mitch and his father are as far apart from each other as possible, and the animosity and hurt are palpable. As secrets emerge, and are scrutinized, the reader pieces together the causes of the pair's rift at the same pace as Mitch does. The narrative is plain speaking, the memories raw. Alternating between past and present, you get a great sense of the painful journey both men have taken. Craig Lancaster has a way of telling stories like no other. He sees the extraordinary in the ordinary and tells human stories without sensationalism. His easy style is addictive, his fly on the wall tellings engaging. Its like watching a disaster on the TV unfolding, you can't stop watching- or reading, in this case- you just have to know how it ends.
July 30, 2017
I cannot possibly do justice to this astounding book. Rich and insightful, it’s the beautiful yet tough story of a man reconnecting with his father, a complicated and difficult man. In the process, he’s working his way back into his own disintegrating marriage. It’s in a league of its own and I absolutely loved it. The Summer Son is not for those wanting a fast-paced, easy read. This is a tale that Lancaster unfolds gradually in his perfect prose. I didn’t want it to end and found the personal essay about Lancaster’s own father at the end added immensely to the read. Highly recommended - it’s a stunner.
July 14, 2017
A fantastic story that spans over 30 years and the relationship of a son and father. During the course of the story lives are compared, mistakes are made and truths uncovered.
I really enjoyed the way this book cut between the here and now and his recollections from being a child. Examples of how sometimes we think we have memories or know the answer but this might not be the case.
The descriptions and detail really helped the story jump off the pages and the story remained about the relationship between father and son and how what happens in your past shapes your future.
I finished this book with questions as I wanted to know more and what came next, always a sign of a fantastic read. I found the book wrapped up and ended quite quickly but based on the story this was it was fitting and I was pleased not to see a happily ever after ending.
I would definitely recommend this book.
I really enjoyed the way this book cut between the here and now and his recollections from being a child. Examples of how sometimes we think we have memories or know the answer but this might not be the case.
The descriptions and detail really helped the story jump off the pages and the story remained about the relationship between father and son and how what happens in your past shapes your future.
I finished this book with questions as I wanted to know more and what came next, always a sign of a fantastic read. I found the book wrapped up and ended quite quickly but based on the story this was it was fitting and I was pleased not to see a happily ever after ending.
I would definitely recommend this book.
July 28, 2017
Fabulous and fascinating story about an estranged father and son trying to come to terms with their fractured relationship. In the very capable hands of Craig Lancaster the back and forth between past and present is seamless and brings the story to life on the page. With characters you quickly come to care about 'The Summer Son' is an emotional and moving book that slowly reveals the secrets of the past piece by piece as the story progresses.
Very different to Craig's previous 'Edward' series of books, but written in the same recognisable and very readable style, this is a book that I enjoyed immensely and is one that I highly recommend.
A wonderful 4.5 stars.
Thank you to TBC for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book.
Very different to Craig's previous 'Edward' series of books, but written in the same recognisable and very readable style, this is a book that I enjoyed immensely and is one that I highly recommend.
A wonderful 4.5 stars.
Thank you to TBC for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book.
July 29, 2017
Thoroughly enjoyed this book & the story line had me gripped very quickly.
I am able to relate to some of the subject matter personally and feel it was portrayed in an excellent manner.
I don't like to write about the storyline in any detail in my reviews as you can read the description for this but I would encourage you to read it.
I am able to relate to some of the subject matter personally and feel it was portrayed in an excellent manner.
I don't like to write about the storyline in any detail in my reviews as you can read the description for this but I would encourage you to read it.
July 30, 2017
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Mitch Quillen gets some vague phone calls from his father, so he decides a visit in order to find out what is going on. Mitch hasn't been getting on with his father since a fall-out when he was a child, after he spent a summer with his dad. The story unfolds by alternating between the past and the present day. A rollercoaster of emotions experienced with this book.
The quality of writing is amazing. Highly recomended and a full 5 stars from me for this one.
The quality of writing is amazing. Highly recomended and a full 5 stars from me for this one.
August 7, 2017
Slow to start but not long to get hooked . A story of a fractured relationship between father and son and told in alternating chapters of past and present , craig Lancasters writing skills brings the characters to life and what follows is a story of betrayal , secrets , loss and love . A moving and interesting read 4.5 stars from me . Thanks to tbc reviewers for my copy
March 20, 2021
This book has the feels. A dysfunctional family exploring the past while dealing with the present. Great characters throughout. Lancaster’s writing is solid.
May 28, 2025
I’ve enjoyed every book I’ve read by this author. He does a great job creating deep characters who have good and bad traits, just like all of us. And this really shines true in this book.
July 24, 2017
Superb, emotional read - highly recommended 5*
An emotional tale of sorrow, misunderstandings and a family falling apart, stemming from a 30 year period of miscommunication between father and son. Healing is slow, as they make their peace, but the shocking end shows the son how far his father went to protect his entire family.
I've never read anything before by Craig Lancaster, but loved this book and couldn't put it down. Will definite be reading his other books. Also, thank you Craig fir sharing your own Father!s life story as a separate essay.
And thank you to TBC for giving me the opportunity to enjoy and review this book.
An emotional tale of sorrow, misunderstandings and a family falling apart, stemming from a 30 year period of miscommunication between father and son. Healing is slow, as they make their peace, but the shocking end shows the son how far his father went to protect his entire family.
I've never read anything before by Craig Lancaster, but loved this book and couldn't put it down. Will definite be reading his other books. Also, thank you Craig fir sharing your own Father!s life story as a separate essay.
And thank you to TBC for giving me the opportunity to enjoy and review this book.
July 25, 2017
This is the 1st book that I've read by this author but it won't be the last. Loved this story
This book is about Mitch and the relationship that he has with his father. The story dips into the last summer 1979 that Mitch spent with his father. We learn why they were estranged and how they overcome this.
Would recommend
This book is about Mitch and the relationship that he has with his father. The story dips into the last summer 1979 that Mitch spent with his father. We learn why they were estranged and how they overcome this.
Would recommend
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