How to Survive a Summer

Nick White’s debut novel ‘How To Survive A Summer’ is a thought provoking and impressive piece of work that lifts itself from the pages and ingrains itself into the reader’s subconscious.  Written in the first person, we hear the story of Will which progresses through passages of flashback.  Working on many levels, blending genres from self discovery, horror, thriller and mystery whilst pushes this ahead of the game of most novels of this ilk.

The story starts in the present day as Will Dillard is trying to find his footing within his own world.  With a militant feminist best friend Bev and possible new friend Raphael, Will is misplaced and has no real strong convictions.  The novel starts to open up when a cheap horror film based on his experiences at a conversion camp is made leading the main character onto a road of self discovery of his past and present.  This is where things become interesting and masterly handled by Nick White.

As the story flits back and forth, there are times that the novel feels slightly untrue to the time period for which the flashbacks occur.  It really has an American Gothic panache which really captures the heart and feeling of the characters.  The decade felt more 1940/50’s with the family, camp and Mother Maude sequences which overall provides an overall warmth to the book.  This is not a complaint because this is where the book really comes alive and we are dealt with a reflective narrator that is far beyond the stilted emotional Will we are dealing with in the present day. 

The novel has a lot of depth and the characters are alive and breathing within the confines of the pages lifting themselves to a fully realised flesh and blood incarnations.  The past sequences are so fully realised that the writer takes you there and you can see, hear and smell the environment.  It has the feeling of nostalgia, that very few writers are able to capture.  Nick White has really excelled which in my personal opinion, only a handful of writers can really accomplish this.  The two authors that do come to mind are Fannie Flagg and John Irving.  This is what sets this novel above the rest.

As for the present days sections, these are very well handled and due to the character’s emotional growth occurring these sections, we feel these growing and expanding to equal the flashback segments.  This is very ingeniously handled and although I felt that Will was quite irritating from the start, this character grows on you and by the end you are totally invested in him and his journey.

The secondary characters are excellently realised and there are times where I would have liked a little more from them but this has more to do with the style of the piece than lack of writer’s talent.  As the story is seen in the first person and through the eyes of Will, we basically get Will’s version of each of the characters.  On reflection, characters such as his mother , Mother Maude, etc would have a warmer aspect  than the male characters due to the detached nature of his personality. 

This is an excellent novel of self recovery, reflection and fantastically written novel that can be read on multiple levels.  This is a truly mesmerizing piece of work that transports the reader on this road and through the multiple detours keeps its audience on track.  Emotionally invested characters, and the mystery aspects shows an author at his most talented.  Nick White has really made his mark on the world and this could be the one that looks like the start of a wondrous career.    This is a five star rating and a definite must read.