tommooney's review against another edition
3.0
THE SUMMER THAT MELTED EVERYTHING by Tiffany McDaniel.
Hard to know how to sum this one up. I guess it is as an excellent story told by a poor storyteller.
A small town lawyer sends a letter to the local paper inviting the devil to town. Days later a 13 year old black kid turns up in ragged overalls spouting biblical language and claiming to be the devil. This onsets some kind of mass hysteria in town, people going crazy with the heat and fear.
The main problem I have with the book is the prose. McDaniel is one of those writers who takes three paragraphs to write one sentence. You could hack away 200 adverbs and the story wouldn't suffer at all. Whether that's poor editing or creative-writing-class syndrome I'm not sure.
I don't want to sound too negative because it is a book worth reading. But only just.
Hard to know how to sum this one up. I guess it is as an excellent story told by a poor storyteller.
A small town lawyer sends a letter to the local paper inviting the devil to town. Days later a 13 year old black kid turns up in ragged overalls spouting biblical language and claiming to be the devil. This onsets some kind of mass hysteria in town, people going crazy with the heat and fear.
The main problem I have with the book is the prose. McDaniel is one of those writers who takes three paragraphs to write one sentence. You could hack away 200 adverbs and the story wouldn't suffer at all. Whether that's poor editing or creative-writing-class syndrome I'm not sure.
I don't want to sound too negative because it is a book worth reading. But only just.
dmwhipp's review against another edition
1.0
Hanging it up at 34% in. Though set in the 1980s, this book felt like it took places decades before and the writing was poetic and metaphorical to the point of distraction. So far it's touched on the topics of good and evil, racism, legal injustice, mental illness, homophobia, child abuse, mob mentality, infidelity, animal abuse... and I'm only a third of the way in. I've read depressing and/or heart wrenching books that I've loved and found beautiful and compelling. But I'm calling it quits on The Summer That Melted Everything because I find it itchy, dismal, clunky, bleak. Up to this point it has provided zero entertainment or enjoyment.... in fact, each time I set it down I felt relief and the thought of picking it up again evoked dread. Maybe I'll return to it one day, but right now I don't feel like spending precious time reading something I so intensely dislike. Done.
kinseyelise's review against another edition
3.0
An engaging story with a very interesting narrator. This book went in directions I didn't expect. One person can make a huge difference in the life of a small town. For good or for evil.
isstar's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
luarentaylor's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. Poetic. Daring. One long, lyrical, unsolved riddle. All of it: gradually engulfing like a swelling tide, with waves that crash hard whether you're ready or not.
This novel is incredibly touching, and devastatingly beautiful in its own saturated way, and so much grander than itself. It's fiercely relevant to its unique world just as well as it is to our own, speaking on powerful topics like fear, race, religion, ignorance, love in its many forms, homophobia, and other phobias and abuses.
This is definitely one I would recommend to anyone.
“Sometimes this world is like red fences in the snow. There ain't no hiding who we really are.”
This novel is incredibly touching, and devastatingly beautiful in its own saturated way, and so much grander than itself. It's fiercely relevant to its unique world just as well as it is to our own, speaking on powerful topics like fear, race, religion, ignorance, love in its many forms, homophobia, and other phobias and abuses.
This is definitely one I would recommend to anyone.
“Sometimes this world is like red fences in the snow. There ain't no hiding who we really are.”
morgakar's review against another edition
5.0
This tore me apart; it's seriously dark and haunting. I can't remember the last time a book left me in tears like this.
Trigger warning for homophobia, racism, and abuse.
Trigger warning for homophobia, racism, and abuse.
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
5.0
Finished reading: July 21st 2016
“The heat came with the devil. It was the summer of 1984, and while the devil had been invited, the heat had not. It should've been expected, though. Heat is, after all, the devil's name, and when's the last time you left home without yours?”
*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***
Spoiler
Wow. It doesn't happen often, but this book left me speechless. The reviews were definitely right; this debut by Tiffany McDaniel is simply brilliant! I have to be honest and say I wasn't sure it was going to be for me, because I normally don't really like stories with a 'strong' religious touch... But The Summer That Melted Everything turned out to be so much more than that. I still feel overwhelmed by this story and the feelings it managed to provoke; the prose is just THAT strong. In fact, both the excellent writing, the hint of magical realism and the discrimination/intolerance theme turned The Summer That Melted Everything into one of the best books I've read so far this year. Through the eyes of the main character Fielding Bliss and that dreadful summer of 1984 in the town Breathed, Ohio, we get to see a whole different version of the 'fairy tale' 80s. Racism, discrimination, AIDS, intolerance... The heat brings out the worst in the inhabitants of Breathed, and not just because of the rumor that the devil has come to town in the form of a black boy. Each chapter starts with a quote from Paradise Lost and alternates between an older Fielding and the young Fielding during that summer in 1984. And both Fielding and the other main characters are without well developed and intriguing characters! There are many different elements to the story, but Tiffany McDaniel did an excellent job of interconnecting them (the increasingly unbearable heat being a great symbol for the rising tensions). In short, I can say The Summer That Melted Everything is without doubt a must-read for any fan of contemporary and literary fiction with a touch of magical realism.
During the summer of 1984, the lives of those living in Breathed, Ohio, have changed forever. It all started when Autopsy Bliss, the local prosecutor, invited the devil in an article and not soon after a bruised and tattered thirteen-year-old boy showed up out of nowhere claiming to be the devil himself. Fielding Bliss is the one that found him and when he brings Sal home, he is welcomed into the Bliss family assuming he is a runaway. But not everybody is happy to welcome Sal into their town. In fact, more and more people seem to suspect his claim to be the devil, especially after an unbearable heat wave rolls into town at the same time Sal showed up. The increasing temperatures only make tensions rise even further, and when strange accidents start to happen, the town starts pointing their fingers to that strange black boy; believing that Sal is exactly who he claims to be and that he has to be punished. Will the heat drive them to do something terrible?
This book turned out to be even better than I hoped. Not only is the prose simply brilliant, but it also addresses quite a few important themes in such a way that it can definitely be called an eye-opener. These themes are mixed with a touch of magical realism that only made this story that much more original; the intriguing and well developed characters and the descriptions making it really easy to enjoy this book. The Summer That Melted Everything will be published tomorrow and is without doubt worth the read!
P.S. Find more of my reviews here.
mandapandaca's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
esteeves's review against another edition
5.0
I don't write reviews, but this time I feel like I have to. Not many books are able to actually make me emotional but I have to say, this book did just that. While the description talks of the devil this story truly is so much more. It's a story about good vs. evil, about family, friendship, grief and above all it is about love. McDaniel writes in such a way that you feel for characters you know in your heart you are supposed to hate. They have done horrific things and it leaves you questioning who is the devil? What is evil? What will it take to push me over the line from good? This story is one I recommend to anyone who wants to just FEEL. It's the winter of 2019 but here I am still trapped in Breathed, Ohio in the summer of 1984 and melting all over again.