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Summertime
- Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
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Summertime
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Summary
Florida, 1935, and the residents of Heron Key are preparing for the Fourth of July barbecue, little realising how much their world is about to change. Domestic helps Missy and Selma are dismembering the alligator that tried to snatch the baby Missy was watching, before they can get ready for the party.
Henry, a returned soldier from WW1, is hoping that his comrades in his construction team will not disgrace themselves in front of an already fiercely judgemental community. Hilda Kincaid, is squeezing into a frock, wondering how she will face another night of public humiliation as her husband toys with Doreen from the golf club. And Sheriff Dwayne Campbell - laughing stock since his wife gave birth to their mixed-race son - is squaring up to deal with any troublemakers and prove he can control the town, even if he can't control his wife...
Tensions simmer at the party and in the early hours of the morning, a woman is found half-beaten to death. As whites turn on blacks, the finger of suspicion points at one man. And while wild accusations are made, far over the Atlantic a tropical storm changes direction and turns towards Florida, increasing in speed by the second. As the hurricane beacons are lit along the Keys, the town folk prepare themselves as they always do, unaware that the approaching storm is beyond anything they have ever experienced. In one night, Heron Key will change forever.
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What listeners say about Summertime
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lozzhaylee
- 11-09-15
Summertime
Very evocative and absorbing story, well told. Would definitely recommend to others. Quite grisly in parts.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- sarah
- 06-04-15
Gripping story
Excellent story brought to life by a wonderful story teller. Recommended read. Based on true events it's an exceptional and heart rending tale of people in the south living together.
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18 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Lesley
- 17-06-15
A moving fictional account
I found this book a little hard to get into, then I couldn't stop listening. As the disaster unfolds the listener is gripped by the events and totally involved in the characters and their fight for survival. The narration was excellent.
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15 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Lucy
- 26-07-15
A great find
I bought this as part of a sale and what a great find. The story is great and the performance is done so well. Based on true events, it is an excellent capture of a day in the life of a community in 1930's deep south USA.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Karen Croan
- 16-10-17
Excellent book
This was an unexpected pleasure. Although based on a true story, it was one I wasn't aware of & I found it very interesting. I also happened to be listening to this when Harvey, Irma, Jose & Katia were wreaking havoc, and living in Scotland, I was really interested in the descriptions of what it would be like. The loss of all your clothes during a storm and the disorientation & difficulty in finding safety due to loss of landmarks & buildings were unknown to me, so it was an education.
The characters were well drawn & I particularly liked the development of the police chief's nephew who was a favourite by the end of the book. The different treatment of ethnic groups & the refusal to give shelter at the height of the storm was shocking & unforgivable. The refusal to behave in the same disgraceful manner when situations were reversed was admirable. I doubt that i would have been so noble!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sue
- 11-05-16
Great story well told
A beautiful story of love and hate set in the Florida Keys in the Thirties and centring on the love between Henry and Missy, the shameful treatment of a group of coloured war veterans, and the impact of a monster hurricane. Brilliantly written by Vanessa Lafaye and brilliantly read by Adjoa Andoh.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Francesca
- 30-07-15
Wonderful!
The narrator is the best I have come across on audible totally bringing to life the characters if this story.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Kaggy
- 21-06-16
History given the Hollywood treatment
This book is OK if you don't mind a serious subject given the 'Pearl Harbour film' type treatment. This may have been a true event but the characters in this story are stereotypical and basically two-dimensional good and bad guys. There are some well-written scenes, for example Hilda's suffering at the hands of her philandering husband in the searing Florida heat, and the lynching scene is dark and suitably harrowing. Unfortunately I found the storm scenes strangely boring and finally skipped the last few chapters to find out what happened at the end. If I saw this at the cinema I think I could enjoy it in the same way I enjoyed a yarn like Independence Day, but as a book tackling racism in the South, it needed more substance, pace and originality.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ann D
- 28-09-15
Great story - totally engrossed
Having read some reviews, I nearly didn't choose this book. Some said it was v slow to begin with. I disagree. I enjoyed the way the characters were drawn at the beginning. Any book that begins with a woman trying to save a child from a horrible death in the jaws of a crocodile can't be considered as slow. The description of the hurricane was fast paced and exciting and I cared about what happened to the characters because of what I learnt about them earlier in the story. I loved the southern accents used by the reader - especially Jimmy who was at first annoying then endearing and ultimately heroic and probably, after Henry and Missie, one of my favourite characters
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Hannah Lane
- 14-07-16
Couldn't get into this book
I just couldn't get into this book. Whilst it was quite an interesting story I didn't connect with the characters or the storytelling.
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