Book description
Winner of The Guardian's Not the Booker Prize
Fielding Bliss has never forgotten the summer of 1984: the year a heatwave scorched the small town of Breathed, Ohio. The year he became friends with the devil.
When local prosecutor Autopsy Bliss publishes an invitation to the devil to…
Why read it?
1 author picked The Summer That Melted Everything as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
I absolutely devoured this book. I found it profoundly upsetting and uncomfortable. It tackled a lot of powerful issues and fear of the ‘other,’ such as homophobia, racism, religion, and AIDS.
Set in the small town of Breathed, the story is about the deeply flawed Bliss family, narrated by an older version of the main protagonist, Fielding Bliss. I loved learning about all their idiosyncrasies, personal troubles, and the impending doom that lingered over them and the entire town. This book stayed with me well after reading it. It’s so shocking, so raw, and so unexpectedly heartbreaking.
From Claire's list on The best horror gems for a perfect late-night read.
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