“Edward said that his research was spurned by his own, how did he describe it, spooky childhood experience in the hollers…” No one was supposed to know about those childhood experiences, and “spooky” didn’t begin to cover the horror crawling out of his memories like an oozing swamp.
As kids Andrew Blur and Eddie Fulton are inseparable. From swearing blood brotherhood at age eleven to applying “for the same graduate program” to work on the same thesis, “friends meant nothing in comparison to what [Andrew] and Eddie were to each other.” Subsequently, Andrew is demoralized when Eddie leaves for college early and refuses to allow Andrew to join him right away at Vanderbilt. More puzzling, Eddie gets a housemate, Riley Sowell, when Eddie does not need the money from another to help with the rent, having inherited a fortune from his deceased parents. Most shattering, however, is the fact that Eddie allegedly commits suicide while at college before Andrew arrives. It is a death which overwhelms Andrew, one he refuses to believe, and he becomes determined to get to the root of the truth of what happened to his best friend who has left his fortune to Andrew.
SUMMER SONS (2021; 384 pp.) is the first novel by writer and critic Lee Mandelo and it is being heralded as a successful Southern gothic tale of the supernatural and much more.
Mandelo quickly establishes the tenor of SUMMER SONS as Andrew, filled with grief, makes clear to university officials his intention to carry on Eddie’s thesis work on “regional occult folklore.” More significantly, it quickly becomes apparent Andrew is plagued by a ghost/haunt/revenant which is trying to gain possession of him. Its occasional grisly appearance is quite startling. SUMMER SONS, however, is much more than a horror novel. The book frequently takes on aspects of a mystery as it is riddled with puzzles as Andrew tries to find out what happened to Eddie and who may be responsible, while often discovering important work, books he utilized, and personal items belonging to Eddie have all disappeared.
SUMMER SONS is also deeply concerned about relationships. There is an on-going thread in the novel concerning Andrew and Eddie in regards to a critical and horrifying experience they shared when younger as well as a question as to what their bond truly was and whether it transcended mere friendship. Andrew not only inherits Eddie’s fortune, but Eddie’s roommate, Riley Sowell. In his pursuit of truth, Andrew also begins to get involved with Riley’s cousin, Sam Halse, a garage mechanic and drug deliverer as well as the head of a “rough crowd” of hard drinking, drug taking, drag racing twenty-some year-old males which Eddie became a part. These relationships all put Andrew at considerable and increasing unease.
SUMMER SONS is a very slowly paced novel which is likely to put off readers who just want to get on with the story and engross themselves purely in the horror of the novel. There is also a somewhat considerable amount of repetition throughout the work as Andrew meets dead end after dead end. However, the pace Mandelo adopts allows for readers to get to know the story’s characters in rich detail and to both care and speculate about them. Mandelo skillfully knows when to insert a truly chilling moment into the story and how to slowly escalate the tension involving the paranormal which Eddie and then Andrew both investigate and which obviously involves both of the boys, especially Eddie, on a very personal level.
Also tying the book’s personal relationships to the supernatural elements and the aura of mystery which surrounds the novel is Andrew (and formerly Eddie’s) “sixth-year Ph.D” peer mentor, Thom West, who is “doing research on occult fiction and the Southern gothic,” and academic adviser, Dr. Jane Troth. The author’s insight into academic life at Vanderbilt adds a further layer to the story.
As the chronicle of SUMMER SONS continues to move forward small revelations and clues begin to be exposed about the phantom which threatens Andrew and the hidden and oft times pernicious backgrounds and motivations of some of the characters. Additionally, Andrew takes an essential step accepting his sexuality as well as acting upon it with one of the characters who may very well surprise readers.
Mandelo quickens the pace of the novel for the latter portion. Events begin to take on a more sinister character—both supernaturally and in real life—tied together as they have been throughout the novel. The discovery there is more than just a ghost involved in the story involving Eddie and Andrew but the lives of generations of two local families heightens the book’s tension. As such, in a process of elimination, the truth about Eddie’s death and the awesome evolution taking place within Andrew becomes more and more clear and ominous.
Readers’ patience will be more than fulfilled as SUMMER SONS has a deadly, fiery, nail-biting climax which results in mysteries solved and also brings the book to a most satisfying and promising end. For a debut novel, Lee Mandelo makes quite an impact.
Summer Sons
4.2 | 701 ratings
Price: 17.71
Last update: 12-06-2024
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Top reviews from the United States
Eclectic Reader
“Accursed Ground”
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