February Book Club.....Summertime

Summertime was a compelling read, beautifully written and skilfully crafted to create a great sense of anticipation of the disasters that occurred. .
I loved the tension of the town celebration at the beginning of the book acted out against the backdrop or the gathering storm. Tensions and pressure built up to the dramatic climax which shattered the town, the prejudices and many lives.
Did Vanessa have any personal link to the veterans and did she gather any personal testimonies of life in those times?
I loved the book. One of the best yet from Book Club - thank you!

Can I be really cheeky and ask did all of SUMMERTIME go, because I did wonder if there was any left can I please have one. if not it will teach me to read the book page earlier and I might be lucky.

I did buy the Gransnet Survival book it has just arrived, have opened it and looked at it and thought yes I will read it probably over the weekend.

I think Summertime is an excellent book. I knew nothing of the Labor Day hurricane and will now do some research to learn more. There are certainly some parallels to be drawn with Hurricane Katrina. Although we are in the UK I think it's a shame that there have been no films, documentaries or dramas covering this event in American history - at least none that I know of.

SPOILER ALERT!

Just one question.... I expected Henry to survive but I wondered if there would be any backlash because he'd abducted Jimmy when making his escape. Dwayne thought his nephew was out of harm's way and not heading back into danger.

As Henry was mostly responsible for their fate, were you not tempted to let Jimmy live as well?

Thanks for a great read.

I've started reading it & can't believe how well it evokes the time & place

This is the kind of book that I might glance at in a shop on my way to the crime section so thanks so much book club for giving me the opportunity to find out what I would have missed.
The story really is gripping - I've been carrying the book with me to snatch moments to find out what happens next. The writing is very atmospheric and Vanessa has created characters that we do care about. It really is a page-turner.
The history is skilfully woven into this fictional account and like many other readers, I was shocked that I knew nothing of the plight of the veterans.
An excellent read.

A great read! I worried about the characters, Missie, Henry and Doc especially. I was shocked by the way the veterans were treated. The progress of the hurricane was totally gripping. It was one of those books I didn't want to put down, but also I didn't want to finish, it was so absorbing.The atmosphere of the area and the time is painted so vividly you really feel you are there.

I thoroughly enjoyed this very gripping book. The characters were so well drawn that you really cared about what happened to them. Based on a true story of the Thirties,it really brought home the terrible treatment of the black community,many of whom had served in the Great War and had received better treatment in foreign countries than they did at home. The description of the hurricane was so vivid that you could almost 'see' the action as it unfolded and you were certainly kept guessing about the fate of the main characters. I would thoroughly recommend this book.

I just received my book, thank you so much! I shall start reading it tonight.

Thank you Gransnet for this book. It was a great read, what can I add to what other reviewers on here have said ?
I am so glad Missy survived when I thought she had not ! It was done in such a good way, not slushy or cliched, but crisp, deep and colourful. I loved the range of emotions that Vanessa got in there from the old magic entwined with deep mistrust and yet joy and hope. Wonderful book.

Absolutely engrossing book, you can feel the atmosphere of oppression and the tensions between the characters are so vivid.
Best book I've read in ages.

What a great read, thank you.
Hard to put this book down. I liked the fact it was based around a true story.
Will look out for more books written by this author. Have passed book to Mum to read.

What a terrific book! Summertime has been my best read for ages. The tangled lives of the inhabitants of Herons Key are cruelly exposed by the great tsunami of 1935. Vanessa LaFaye has written such a well researched book which thoroughly deserves all the praise which it is receiving. I often judge a book which I have just finished by wanting to know what happened next, and I most certainly do!! Any chance Vanessa? Thank you gransnet for choosing such a great book for February and thank you to Vanessa for writing it.

harrigran my thoughts exactly George Gershwin came to mind looking at the wonderful cover of the book and Ella Fitzgerald singing the song.
I loved the book and will not say any more so as not to spoil it for other people who have not finished it. Excellent read Vanessa congratulations.

Gransnet, thank you. A brilliant book. Full of descriptions that filled my head with the characters, places and events taking places. A social study of life in the South, the black/white divide and apartheid all woven into a great tale set around actual historical events. It has inspired me to find out more about the veterans. Like cathisherwood I am keen to know what Vanessa Lafaye is having published next.

I finished Summertime this morning and thoroughly enjoyed it. I have read The Help too but found this book far superior.
I was filled with horror at the treatment of the veterans and also the way that the black community were refused help in their hour of need. The characters were so well described I could picture how they looked from Missy and Henry to Hilda and Nathan.
The book started with an alligator making off with the baby Nathan but poor child, worse was to come.
The description of the veterans camp was so vivid that at times I felt I could practically smell it.
When I first picked up the book I could hear "summertime" from Porgy and Bess in my mind but soon realised, unlike the song, the living was not easy.
Thank you for the opportunity to read this thought provoking book and will be passing it on to my sister.

What an interesting book. The plight of the veterans is surely another shameful well kept secret in Americas past. I am pleased that although the book is based on fact all the characters are fictional as I hate it when authors characterise real people who have no way of commenting on how they have depicted.
The force of the storm was devastating and I would like to ask Vanessa if she ever felt scared by hurricanes she experienced while living in Florida
I would also like to thank her for including the further reading appendix - it was such an fascinating event and deserves to be more widely known about.
Can I also ask what she intends researching for her next book - cant wait

An absolutely brilliant book. I completely got 'into' it. A really vivid and compelling read. Thank you Gransnet for my copy - I will now share this with my Mum, as I do with all the books I am lucky enough to get from you - still an avid reader at the age of 82!

Excellent book. Superb build up to the storm with great characterisations. I really felt I was there sharing it all with them.

A truly wonderful read.

I have jus finished "Summertime" and I feel (SPOILER ALERT FOR THOSE WHO HAE NOT YET FINISHED THIS BOOK) exhausted and buffeted by the tsunami type ending, although this was made slightly better by finding some of the characters alive.
The writing was so vivid that I was living it with them.
This came as a shock after the interesting story leading up to it.
Very clever of the Author to take a factual event and turn it into
a fictional book.
Definitely a book ready to be made into a film.
Thank you Gransnet for my copy.

I finished this book this morning at 6 o'clock. It has been a gripping read, very difficult to put down. I know it has been compared to 'The Help', but I found it vastly superior. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read the story.
I would like to ask Vanessa whether any of her family has recounted to her any of their experiences from the time of segregation. I was horrified to read of the treatment of war veterans, and that 'coloureds' were refused entry to shelters in the real-life hurricane on Labour Day.

Excellent book, great, interesting read which held me gripped. The descriptions of the way of life and the storm itself were brilliant and the fact it is based on real happenings made it all the more exciting. Thank you very much for a most enjoyable few reading days!

I know that this book is based on factual happenings and the writing is wonderfully descriptive of the power of nature. The characters are well drawn and the story is full of tension and the horrors of war and also segregation and all the injustice associated with that.

I like books which give me insights and this one certainly does. It is a thought provoking read and hard to think that the author now lives in Wiltshire which must feel like a million miles from Florida!

Only about 100 pages to go now, it`s been a great read.