Midsummer

Rating:
Summary: Trite narcissism; stock characters; unoriginal plot devices.
Review: ...because I can't imagine buying this book for full price.

Midsummer actually gave me a headache. Seriously. At times the authur jumps around from character to character's thoughts like a rabbit on speed, giving little snippets of brain sneezes, which don't add to the scene as far as I can tell. (I refuse to dignify them by calling them thoughts. I am convinced no character in this book can actually form a coherent thought. Except the poor dog. )

The narration is silly and trite, making the book even harder to trudge through. The author seems to be trying to be fresh and invigorating in her useage of tense and speech, but I found myself yawning every time I picked up this book. I couldn't care less about the outcome of the character's lives, because they all seemed so shallow, immature, and vapid. Personality quirks put in to make the characters seem more interesting seemed forced and were rather .... well, stupid. (Calling them "silly" just doesn't sound strong enough.) Interaction seemed forced. Character development was predictable and... forced. For goodness sake, the entire book seemed forced, making me wonder if the author was under pressure for a deadline, or was under stress while writing this piece of junk.

I'm sure Clements is a wonderful writer under most circumstances, but Midsummer insulted my intelligence and stole valuable time.

I figure most people will ignore this negative review, and I'm fine with that. However, I hope people will first check out the book at their local library before buying to make sure it is to their liking. It certainly saved me cash.

Rating:
Summary: Light Summer Read
Review: Based on the customer reviews, especially the reference to Gatsby and The Big Chill, I purchased this book and read it. I was not as impressed as the previous readers. It was an easy, light summertime read....but I found most of the characters to be self-absorbed, immature and completely neurotic. I could see possibly hanging out with Susie, Kay, Dodge and maybe Billy....but Elise and Ron were irritating and mean spirited and I can't imagine most people could put up with them for one weekend, let alone a whole summer. That said, the writing was very evocative of the Hudson Valley and the easy feeling of warm summer weekends and Ms. Clements character development (regardless of whether you liked the characters or not) was excellent.

Rating:
Summary: HUH?
Review: I admit I read the WHOLE book. Why I still am not sure. The 1st chapter was very confusing. Later as I met all the characters I could not help thinking how these 40 somethings(!) who supposedly had creative type jobs etc could maintain such self-absorbed, boring and alcohol dependent life styles. Did anyone else think they all seemed emotionally stuck in their early 20s? I remembered being at times like this when we were in college and right afterwards (thinking about sex all the time etc) but somewhere along the line moved on.....the only character I really liked was Dodie. At least she was productive.

Rating:
Summary: Character sketches disguised as a book
Review: Lord, was I ever sorry I wasted time on this book. I thought it would be just the thing for summer reading, and the rave by Michael Cunningham sealed the deal. Unfortunately, the book turned out to be a dud.

Plot? Nonexistent. Point of View? All over the place. Character development? Fragmented and ultimately pointless. Really, Marcelle Clements has done little more than throw a bunch of characters together, have them tease each other sexually (but never really do anything about it) and then take them home to New York. I'd love to know what the point was to the whole thing--just as I'd like to know why the poor puppy was killed at the beginning of the book. If that was a portent, it didn't work. (I don't think I'm ruining anything for readers to reveal this minor point.) Someone else pointed out that the 24-year-old Billy was constantly treated as a child in this book, a point that I found extremely irritating. All the other characters (except for the Lolita-like au pair) are boring Baby Boomers who have forgotten what romance is all about.

All in all, "Midsummer" is a time waster. Go read Micheal Cunningham's "The Hours" instead for a real winner of a book.

Rating:
Summary: Trite narcissism; stock characters; unoriginal plot devices.
Review: This book had the most irritating dialogue of any book that I have read in the last couple of months. How can all of these educated and creative people have such a dull vocabulary and have so little to talk about? The characters seemed really static: everyone envied smug Susie, Billy was treated like a child even though he is a 24 year old man, Ron, the irritating boor had no apparent redeeming qualities, Kay was morose and tragic over something that happened in the distant past, Elise was a neurotic who made art on the side, and Dodge Moriarty, the brooding, black-clad, brilliant artist was a cliched and caricaturized blend of James Dean and Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty (coincidence?) from _On the Road_. Clements even managed to work in the two predominate working class cliches from the last 300 years of western literature with the gruff, browbeaten Dodie and the preternaturally wise 17 year old au pair, Claudine. At first I thought that the author was taking these stock characters, these standard issue, moderately successful, pretentious, middle-aged New Yorkers so that she could take a paradigm and delve into the inner workings of the characters, but the character development was minimal at best. The plot didn't seem to go anywhere. There would be periodic bursts of intrigue, but there was no follow through.

I really wanted to like this book. I really wanted to find a deeper, more literary meaning, and all I got was neurotic narcissism and trite platitudes about life. I would recommend this highly to insomniacs!

Rating:
Summary: Undercurrents
Review: When five Manhattanites rent a luxurious estate on the Hudson River for the summer, the lazy weekends stretch ahead of them, relief from the city heat.

Friends since their days at school, Kay and Susie are the first to arrive. The plan is Susie's and Kay cooperates gladly, planning to spend the entire summer at the estate, her Monday through Friday solitude graced by lively weekends with the others. There is Dodge, an artist, Ron a comedian cum college drop out and Elise, a sculptor about to have her first significant show, all arriving within hours of each other. Kay's twenty-something son, Billy, rounds out the eclectic mix.

The weekenders are inordinately preoccupied with sex, in thought if not in deed. Awash in expectations and unrequited fantasies, they indulge in a series of quasi-connections, acting out small dramas as if practicing for real life. Kay is unexpectedly attracted to Billy, a situation she finds appalling, although he is quite willing, tempted by the siren call of the older woman. Yet neither is prepared to face their exquisite dilemma or its ramifications. Elise, the resident neurotic with her innate paranoia, circulates, drawn to the others as if in search of rejection, her abrasiveness a catalyst on the household dynamic. Meanwhile, Claudine, the exhibitionistic au pair from next door, drops in to swim and play tennis.

As the summer wears on, the weekenders indulge in personal angst, questioning the future and the nature of loneliness at a certain age, marriage, divorce and children already behind them; but on Friday evenings, as the sun sets on the ethereal beauty of their vacation estate, the roommates toast to another weekend of relaxation and whatever adventures await them.

These long summer weekends present unique opportunities, challenging these New Yorkers to overcome their innate ambivalence long enough to take action. Their uncertainty is key to the plot, missed opportunities that are more memorable than actual experience. The estate has the charm of a doll's house, the rooms at once bright and merry with laughter, and then quickly cast into darkness with the onset of boredom.

Clements captures the yearning, the faux adolescence for all but Billy, who is delighted to be released from his own awkward youth. Prematurely adopting middle-aged attitudes, the housemates barely ripple the surface of the summer, a time-out from real life, proving, once more, that you can't go home again. Luan Gaines/2004.

Rating:
Summary: "Midsummer" Fun and Sexuality
Review: With a touch of "The Great Gatsby" and a touch of "The Big Chill" - Marcelle Clements "Midsummer" is a wonderfully sexy, interesting and full novel with a cast of characters that you will remember. The gorgeous setting of a Hudson River estate is a perfect backdrop for these amazingly different and yet intoxicating group of people that Ms. Clements brings together during the summer. 25 years after college, this reunited group deals with heartbreak, loss and that little thing we call life with humor, sex appeal and a good ole' dose of intrigue.

It's a fun and flirty book that makes for the perfect beach read. Give it a shot --- think you'll love the sexy and fun tone.

Cheers!

Rating:
Summary: "Midsummer" Fun and Sexuality
Review: With a touch of "The Great Gatsby" and a touch of "The Big Chill" - Marcelle Clements "Midsummer" is a wonderfully sexy, interesting and full novel with a cast of characters that you will remember. The gorgeous setting of a Hudson River estate is a perfect backdrop for these amazingly different and yet intoxicating group of people that Ms. Clements brings together during the summer. 25 years after college, this reunited group deals with heartbreak, loss and that little thing we call life with humor, sex appeal and a good ole' dose of intrigue.

It's a fun and flirty book that makes for the perfect beach read. Give it a shot --- think you'll love the sexy and fun tone.

Cheers!