September is the month of the literary season. Among the 490 books that come out or have been released, there is a lot of talk about some. Amélie Nothomb’s novel, that of Virginie Despentes – besides, it’s really great – and a few others. I could tell you about it too, but do these books need it? For today I have chosen to
I already told you about this author when Betty was released, her first novel inspired by the life of her mother. It had been a real crush hence my impatience to read The summer when everything melted.
The story takes place in 1984 in a small town in Ohio. District attorney Autopsy Bliss, whose faith in justice has been shaken, places a curious ad in the local newspaper. He invites the Devil to visit him. The next day, his son Fielding meets a young black teenager in court who introduces himself as the Devil. Fielding takes him home, since, after all, it was his father who invited him.
The story is special, I grant you. We obviously wonder about this young boy. Is Sal a lost teenager or a fallen angel? In any case, Sal arrived at the same time as a heat wave. It doesn’t take much for a resident of the city, Elohim – whose first name means God – to see Sal as the ideal culprit and to accuse him of all evils. This little man, always dressed in white, becomes a preacher of Breathed and leads dozens of inhabitants suffocated by the heat wave into his delirium. Sal may be who he claims to be. Who knows ? In any case, if the threat hangs over his head, he is quickly adopted by the Bliss family.
In The summer when everything melted it is a question of good and evil, of course religion, racism, homophobia as well as free will. If certain dramas happen, is Sal really responsible? This novel is poignant – but it was just a little dust in my eye. I am thinking in particular of the story of Grand, Fielding’s older brother. This novel, as Bettyalso shows the dark side of men, this reading is not a long calm river.
Frankly, this new novel by Tiffany McDaniel is the kind of book that grabs you and doesn’t let go, that makes you think and runs through your head long after you’ve turned the last page. And that, to me, is a good book. We find And in addition it is well written and very poetic. What else do you want ?
For the weeks to come, I promise, I will tell you about other literary releases, but from Tours this time! Big teaser, isn’t it?
And for other reading tips, go to my blog: http://mademoisellemaeve.wordpress.co