Last Days of Summer

by Steve Kluger

𝘼 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙜𝙤 𝙄 𝙩𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙄 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙮𝙚𝙩

𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡.

𝙉𝙤𝙬 𝙄 𝙙𝙤. 𝙄 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙗𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙤.

SYNOPSIS

Set in the background of World War II, Brooklyn, the book follows Joey Margolis, a young Jewish boy living a troubled life, as he searches for a father, not the neglecting birth father he already has, but one that would never let him down. He then hurls head-on into the life of Charlie Banks, a rising New York Giants baseball star, pestering him with letters and all sort of mischievous antics. Their unexpected bond thus changes the courses of both their lives, and of all the people beside them.

REVIEW

The whole storyline revolves around the main theme of baseball, surrounded by hilarious, but affectionate conversations between each of the characters. I found it quite intimidating at first due to my lack of familiarity with the sport. However, if you look closely at the story, it really isn’t about baseball, not at all. It’s about the growth and bonding between them, the journeys and adventures they go on together, the memories they shared, and about what they were to each other in the end.

As for the writing, it’s an epistolary novel, carried out in a series of newspaper cuttings, letters, postcards, interviews, and short paragraphs. I wasn’t quite used to it at first, but found it quite an easy and heartwarming read once I got used to the unique style.

I’m not planning to elaborate much, (though I probably already have) but I strongly recommend this book to you. It’s simple. Read the book. Will not disappoint.