That Summertime Sound

Few novels take place in Columbus, Ohio, and since I live there I often notice when they do. Columbus is overlooked, many times for good reason, as it is not LA, NYC or Seattle. It is in fact a bland and lusterless place to anyone passing through but for me, that is part of the attraction. On closer inspection, you can find a natural surrealism here, that kind of odd balance that it takes to live through everyday and which James Thurber so aptly described in his testaments. I was afraid Matthew Specktor's book might just be another easy put down of a dull midwestern city, another cheap shot. Instead, there is an awakening compassion for the people of Columbus. There are the usual put downs, the narrator calls the locals "thick people" which we are and the lack of amusements are duly noted. But the book captures for me, an accurate picture of a time and place with characters who are just growing up, weighing options and discovering what they love best. The passion for music and excitement for new bands, the difficulty and intoxication of those early romances, it's all here. I will definitely be on the lookout for Specktor's next work.

Author Matthew Spektor sets The Great Gatsby on its head. In this novel, the protagonist, rather than being a Midwesterner among East Coast elites, is a West coast elite among Midwesterners. Here's the central irony: the allure of Columbus, Ohio is as profound for the young man as the glamorous world of Gatsby is to Nick Carraway. He has come to Columbus for a reason: to hunt down and experience for himself a rock band that he knows and loves only through their recordings. The movie is saturated with music from the 1980's. The more you know about it, the more intense your enjoyment of the book will be. I know nothing about it, but still found myself utterly engrossed. The books is brainy, poetic, and ambitious. I can't wait for his next one.

One author's Columbus was another reviewer's Ann Arbor was my Iowa City. Although the specifics were varied and the timing a few years off, this novel took me back to an earlier, more heavylicious time of my early adulthood, when soundtrack choice was crucial and every humid day was ripe with possibility in terms of potential adventure, mind-alteration and maybe, just maybe actual connection/understanding with a kindred soul of the opposite sex. So much more than mere nostalgia trip, this book took me on a trip to an internal time and place in a way that few others have. The writing is a joy to read, and the attention to detail, both cosmetic and emotional, is remarkable. Effective without resorting to sentimentality, the craftsmanship here is to be applauded, and I believe that this debut novel portends a bright future for its author. I'm looking very forward to seeing what comes next.

Columbus as the capital of Oz. Who knew? In 1986 I thought it was Ann Arbor. I, too, was bamboozled. This is a delightful novel that deftly captures that first time when one realizes that despite summer's promise, it won't last forever. Others will summarize the plot and characters better than I; I'll leave that task to them. Specktor's prose is clear and lucid. The narrator has a distinctive (and not always likable) voice. The dialogue is crisp. Interspersed throughout are musical references that provide the soundtrack to the novel. Those of you who lovingly hoard your vinyl from the 80s and remember the play lists from your college radio station circa 1986 will get a nice nostalgic boost. I hesitate to write that last. This novel is more than a bit of easy nostalgia. It truly is an examination of what it means to move from obsession to affection to acceptance (but never resignation.)

"That Summertime Sound" is a hilarious road-tripping, music-obsessed, mid-western crack-pipe of a coming-of-age novel chronicling the misadventures of a boy in love with an Ohio rock band. Romance, fires, drinking, drugs, and hilarity ensue. The writing is beautiful but not heavy, and Specktor creates a perfect mix of humor and pathos that make this novel a quick, satisfying read.