Under a Dark Summer Sky

by Vanessa Lafaye Narrated by Karen Chilton

Overview

SUMMERTIME is set in Florida in 1935 in a small town struggling with the effects of the Depression, and at the time of the great hurricane. The racially charged narrative swirls around Missy, with her courageous dedication to duty, who works for the Kincaid family; Henry, a long absent WWI soldier who still loves Missy, the girl he left behind; Henry's sister and Missy's friend Selma with her no-nonsense approach to crises; and Sheriff Dwayne Campbell, whose duty is to protect Henry, but who has personal reasons for wanting Henry to suffer. From the tense opening chapter, this atmospheric story is beautifully constructed and seductive. Vanessa is a natural story-teller, who vividly evokes the landscape, climate, and the people sweating under the broiling Florida sun and the weight of past decisions. As they try to grasp at the small potential for happiness that may still exist for them, their lives are tested to the limit by the devastation of a hurricane. The novel is based on real historical events.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"Lafaye’s debut novel succeeds on the merits of its well-drawn characters, its sense of place, and on the tragic events it details. The author keeps the reader at a distance from the characters, but this serves a greater purpose: a focus on the big picture of a town struggling under the weight of the past. Readers of historical fiction will find this book rewarding." — Library Journal

"Part love-story, part eye-opening insight into a tumultuous time in American history - the years after the First World War, when veterans tried to rebuild their lives and racial tensions ran high." — GOOD HOUSEKEEPING UK

"In one night nature changes this small town more than ever before ... If you love The Help, you'll love this." — CLOSER

"This is Vanessa Lafaye's debut novel, and what a writer she is! She has a talent with words that enables her prose to glide across the page, there are no superfluous words, and each paragraph eases the story along. She is a natural creator of atmosphere and suspense, and with a deft hand she creates credible, yet humanly flawed characters. She also creates a very palpable setting, the heat, the oppressive temperatures and the gurgling, sulphurous swampland all assault the reader's senses.(5 STARS) " — TRIP FICTION

"Lafaye’s debut novel succeeds on the merits of its well-drawn characters, its sense of place, and on the tragic events it details. " — Library Journal

"In her standout debut, Lafaye takes a historical event…and weaves it into a richly imagined tale that also makes a bold statement on race relations in the 30’s." — Publishers Weekly

"Lafaye brilliantly depicts one of the worst disasters in Florida’s history, as well as a turbulent era of segregation and hostility. Her prose makes it feel as if you were in the eye of the storm. Lafaye is a powerful writer and a talent to watch." — RT Book Reviews, 4 1/2 Stars

"In Vanessa Lafaye’s extensively researched novel, set during the great depression, a hurricane exposes the horrific prejudice and hate that lie beneath the placid surface of an upscale town on the Florida keys. The historic 1935 storm hits a shabby camp housing WWI veterans, shattering their hopes of a better life. Henry, one of the vets, is a home-town boy who has returned with the slim hope of reclaiming his life as it was before the war; he is surprised and heartened to find the enduring love of Missy, a lovely young woman who has never forgotten him. A fast-paced page turner." — Anna Jean Mayhew, author of The Dry Grass of August

"A taut and powerful novel....deeply moving. A riveting piece of social history, it’s also a love story and a devastating account of what it’s like to experience such a disaster." — The Daily Mail

"A storming debut novel [that] captures the racial and social tensions in southern America after the First World War. Part social history and part love story, this features the hurricane as a forceful, malevolent character in its own right, whipping through the pages." — The Bookseller

"Under a Dark Summer Sky is a tender love story, an unflinching look at racial tension, and a gripping account of what its like to survive a powerful hurricane on the Florida Keys in the 1930s. A haunting debut novel!" — Ellen Marie Wiseman, author of The Plum Tree and What She Left Behind

Kirkus Reviews

2015-04-02
It's 1935. As a monstrous hurricane bears down on the Florida Keys, black and white residents and a group of World War I veterans building a bridge must face not only the truth of nature's cruelty, but also of man's. In Lafaye's debut novel, she explores Depression-era Florida, following the relationships among Missy, a self-educated African-American nanny; Nelson and Hilda Kincaid, the richest, and most unhappy, white couple in town; Henry, a veteran who has just returned home to work after 18 years away; Dwayne, the town sheriff; and Selma, Henry's sister [10], who has the power to invoke supernatural forces. During the annual town barbecue, tension between black and white residents boils over, and Hilda is beaten nearly to death. Soon the hurricane comes to wipe the slate clean. Lafaye's novel is based on true circumstances, a fact she drives home in an opening historical note. This matters less than she thinks, because the novel is rooted in human relationships, with the hurricane serving more as symbol than climax to the plot. The characters are flawed and interesting, and the descriptions of place and culture are colorful. But somehow the novel fails to achieve any great depth or pathos until the very end, when Lafaye enumerates the lives lost during the storm. This is only a problem because it seems that Lafaye wants this to be more, a story of our nation's racism and the scars it left behind. But the true focus is on individuals and their struggles; the book fails to transcend and become universal commentary. Character-driven drama that, while it doesn't offer any new insights into our country's racist past, explores a unique setting.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170446520
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	06/09/2015
Edition description:	Unabridged

Videos