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The Summer They Came [Paperback]

William Storandt (Author)
3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)

Price: $19.00 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
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Book Description

May 14, 2002
There was a time when the seaside town of Long Spit was known only to a few wealthy families and a straggle of New England beachgoers. But when gay developers from Man-hattan, searching for a new place for summer shares and tea dances, get a look at its gently curving beaches, they hatch an ingenious plan to transform the sleepy Rhode Island hideaway into the next gay hotspot. If only someone would tell the townsfolk.

As a contingent of gym-buffed and cell-phone-toting vacationers descends on the village, some locals are outraged, others strangely titillated. Hollis Wynbourne, a reclusive antiques dealer and longtime subject of gossip, is drawn from his cocoon by the sight of sunbathing beauties; wealthy Wesley Herndon suddenly finds the town overrun with his two favorite attractions, frisky hunks and yachts of pedigree; and Anthony, a callow eighteen-year-old, embarks on a sentimental education he never expected to get in his own backyard. An uproarious send-up of both small-town provincialism and the absurdities of contemporary gay life, The Summer They Came will capture you with its portrait of a town you thought you knew, run amuck.

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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

How did places like Provincetown and Fire Island become the gay travel destinations and hot vacation spots that they are? How did the local townspeople react when they discovered that their town was "going gay"? Storandt explores these very questions in a bitingly funny, extremely clever novel, his first. Developers from New York, tired of the worn-out scenes of Fire Island and sick of the traffic to Provincetown, discover a sleepy New England coastal town with pristine beaches, wonderful mansions, and almost no tourists. They decide themselves to promote this town as the latest, greatest gay hot spot. At first the locals are bewildered, then amused, and some even elated at the boom in the town's economy. Some, however, are not happy at seeing men holding hands on their Main Street, and when the town's first gay bar is being built, the factions take sides and face off. Storandt's stereotypical portrayal of both big-city gays and New England yachting bluebloods are often spot-on, and despite the stereotypes, and amidst the hilarity, he manages some tender, engaging moments. Michael Spinella
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

“The Summer They Came is filled with characters so sharply defined that by the time you reluctantly turn to the last page, you’ll miss being part of their lives.” —Ben Tyler, author of Tricks of the Trade

“What a wonderful book, full of Yankee Cranks, City Slickers, Clam-Chowder Liberals, and one achingly tender, nubile teen waitboy. Buy this book (because no one will lend it to you), and then leave it behind for your host. You’ll definitely be invited back.” —Doug Guinan, author of California Screaming

“The Summer They Came is an enviable way to launch a literary career. I look forward to Storandt’s next novel.” —Ben Tyler, author of Tricks of the Trade

Product Details

  • Paperback: 272 pages
  • Publisher: Villard; 1 edition (May 14, 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0375759093
  • ISBN-13: 978-0375759093
  • Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5 x 0.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 6.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,169,187 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews
5 star:
 (6)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
 (4)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.7 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Uh, I don't think so ..., October 5, 2002
By 
DonMac "butchm" (Lynn, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   
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This review is from: The Summer They Came (Paperback)
I read this over several days while commuting to work, so that may have done it a disservice since there are MANY one dimensional characters here. After a the first couple of days, it was hard to keep them straight. That being said, however, my commute reading was not inspiring me to keep reading it AFTER I got home either. This story just kind of sits there. The characters are either stereotypes or paper-thin; you really don't care about most of them. Also, the aggressiveness of taking over this town almost had me routing for the residents.
Not much to keep you interested here. And, one more thing, will book publishers please stop putting a naked torso on EVERY gay novel. It's kind of lame and embarressing at the same time!
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Fine as beach reading, July 25, 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: The Summer They Came (Paperback)
This book has a predictable plot and one dimensional characters presented in lite cuisine prose. Fine for the beach or a rainy afternoon. A book that you will enjoy, but not mind leaving behind in the summer house for next year's renters.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars There's a good book in here somewhere, July 25, 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: The Summer They Came (Paperback)
A third of this book is amusing, fun, and about interesting characters. The rest is filled with boring stereotypes and cliches that finally made it unreadable. Every gay man is not sex-obsessed, cruising the dunes, and explaining to dumb straights the intricacies of glory holes and back rooms. I've nothing against a good dollop of sex but this book is over the top. Save your money and read Joe Keenan, Stephen McCauley and Jim Grimsley.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
THE HELICOPTER rattled along, a thousand feet above the arrow-straight beach. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
tea dance
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Long Spit, Front Street, Signal Hill, New York, Crab Hole, Ray Hardman, Sam Jenkins, Sand Flea, Jim Priestly, Labor Day, Artie Kinzie, Dot Bradley, Frankie's Slice, Helen Boothroyd, Hollis Wynbourne, New England, Sand Box, Yankee Gulch, Mark Blais, White Wings, Bart Connors, Betsy Haring, Decency Committee, Lattie Teachout, Leo Robbia
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