Summerlong

By: Dean Bakopoulos

Narrated by: Luke Daniels

Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

One night Don, a father of three, leaves his house for an evening stroll only to wake up the next morning stoned and sleeping in a hammock next to a young woman he barely knows. His wife, Claire, leaves the house on this same night to go on a midnight run - only to find herself bumming cigarettes and beer outside the all-night convenience store. As the summer lingers and the temperature rises, this quotidian town's adults grow wilder and more reckless while their children grow increasingly confused. Claire, Don, and their neighbors and friends find themselves on an existential odyssey, exploring the most puzzling quandaries of marriage and maturity. When does a fantasy become infidelity? When does compromise become resentment? When does routine become boring monotony?

©2015 Dean Bakopoulos (P)2015 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Funny, Quirky, Poignant

Yes, it’s a book about suburban angst. It is a GOOD book about it, however. It is funny and poignant. There are a lot of great insights into life and love. The character of Ruth, the pot-smoking old lady, was especially enjoyable. She seemed like the “Greek chorus” of the book, delivering many of the meaningful passages about life and love. BUT then she’d break out with something really funny or quirky, especially considering she is almost 90 years old:

(Be aware = adult language ☺ )
“I would see him out there every morning and our nods and hellos soon became friendly exchanges. It was summer. He’d just arrived, hadn’t taught his first class yet, and one day, I just . . .”
Ruth smiles.
“What?” ABC says, still brushing.
“I blew him,” Ruth says.
ABC shrieks with a kind of shock and begins to laugh. Ruth’s slender shoulders shake with laughter too, silent laughter. It takes ABC almost five minutes to recover.
“In some ways, it’s terrible, but now, it’s just, well, it’s just a fact.”
“Where did you blow him? Right there on the path? Oh my God!”
“That’s what they said then. It was 1982. They said ‘blow job.’ They said, ‘She blew him.’ Isn’t that still what they say?”
“I guess so. Sometimes we say oral sex.”
“Oral sex? Sounds clinical.”
(Kindle Locations 2796-2803).

I do have to say that the first half of the book was kind of slow. That is why I only rated it 3 stars instead of 4 or 5. In the second half, the plot really comes together and it becomes a compelling read. SO, it’s definitely worth the time!

Loved!

I loved this book. It was like Richard Russo meets Jonathan Tropper meets American Beauty. I often spend hours on Audible looking for a good book. I've either read or listened to so many that it's difficult to find another that catches my attention. This one was buried deep within the list and I'm so glad I kept digging until I found it. I highly recommend it.

Please don't waste a credit on this

What disappointed you about Summerlong?

The story was about a writer (wife) and another writer (deceased professor) and another kind of writer (the deceased professor's son), and an English major, plus a cheesy real estate agent. They smoked a lot of weed and acted totally immature. Writers writing about writers, especially ones using drugs is nothing new, so that was boring, but then there was a bizarre twist about trying to reach a dead loved one. And the mixed up love triangles... it kind of seemed like Bakopoulos dropped some acid and wrote down a mixture of a wet dream and his trip.

What was most disappointing about Dean Bakopoulos’s story?

It seemed like he was trying to reach for deeper meaning, but if there was any, it got buried really deep.

Which character – as performed by Luke Daniels – was your favorite?

None, really. Several were quite annoying, in fact. The narration of action was the only tolerable part.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Confusion. I kept listening because I was waiting on something to happen. It should have been called Arrested Development. Everyone from 22 to dead was stuck in adolescence. The kids might have been the most mature characters.

Any additional comments?

I regret wasting a credit on this novel more than anything. Curiosity killed my credit.