- Hardcover: 304 pages
- Publisher: William Morrow (Jun 14 2007)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0061236292
- ISBN-13: 978-0061236297
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 14.7 x 2.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 431 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,906,233 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Short story writer Gayle makes her debut as a novelist with this chronicle of a young, liberal New York lawyer who starts over in the South. The daughter of a famous civil rights champion, Natalie Goldberg stuns her parents by moving to Bibb County, Ga., to work as a prosecutor. The job was initially Natalie's excuse to flee her position at a Manhattan law firm after having an affair with partner Henry Tate and finding herself the scapegoat for a mistake he made. Though Natalie has some trouble acclimating to her new environs, and she butts heads with co-counsel, good ol' boy Ben Maddox, she slowly warms to life in Bibb County while attempting to balance her anti–death penalty stance with her desire to win a capital case. Natalie's dilemmas are perfectly played, and Gayle's economical prose is peppered with sharp sentences (also a few duds: I felt as if I had been born full woman, Athena from Zeus's brow, with heavy breasts and dark pubic hair as curly as that atop my head) and clever fish-out-of-water observations. Don't be fooled by the ditzy jacket art. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Having suffered professional and personal humiliation at the hands of her boss and lover, promising young attorney Natalie Goldberg beats a hasty retreat from the prestigious Manhattan securities law firm where her career precipitously derailed from its fast track and surprises everyone by taking a low-paying, demanding, and unglamorous position as a district attorney in Macon, Georgia. Not only is Natalie a card-carrying Yankee liberal, she is also the daughter of a respected civil rights lawyer, and her sudden career change mystifies her conservative southern colleagues as much as it outrages her father. Alone in a new city, essentially friendless, and nursing a broken heart, Natalie doesn't think things could get much worse until she is appointed cocounsel for a death-penalty case, a position that goes against everything she believes. In this finely crafted debut novel, Gayle evinces a superb mastery of character development, rendering Natalie's various crises of faith with empathic authenticity, endearing humor, and enviable grace. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.5 out of 5 stars (12 customer reviews)
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
My Summer of Southern Discomfort, July 15 2007
By M. deLong - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: My Summer Of Southern Discomfort (Hardcover)
This book is a page-turner from start to finish. I quickly became wrapped up in the life of the protagonist and found myself identifying with her in ways I didn't expect. The plotline combines an interesting legal story that touches on several ethical issues with a great character study of several different people, along with a dash of romance. The characters are rich and multi-faceted, so that they really are true human beings with strengths and flaws. I found myself rooting for so many different characters, including ones that I didn't think I would like as people when I started the book. It is a fun read that it also thought-provoking and inspiring to women. I highly recommend this book.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
Boring, boring, boring, Jun 14 2009
By L. Kito - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: My Summer Of Southern Discomfort: A Novel (Paperback)
There is nothing interesting about this book. Gotten myself half way through it and just won't be finishing it! Just an ordinary story about every day in the life of a young lady.......a lot of details just too much, like how she pays and files her bills. Who cares!
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
flat and disappointing, Dec 2 2007
By readaholic "readaholic" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: My Summer Of Southern Discomfort (Hardcover)
A woman stuck in misery questions herself endlessly for having an affair with a married man. A year after relocating to Macon from New York, Natalie walks through her days in a constant state of self-flagellation. I had to ask why any of the other characters in the book liked her in any way. If I'd had anything else to read over the weekend, I wouldn't have finished the book. Stilted dialogue and an unlikeable heroine, a murder trial that has no real intrigue...very disappointing. The "I helped a battered wife" subplot was a heavy-handed way to try to give the main character some heart and failed miserably. Nothing rang true in this book. Secondary characters were flat as well, especially Ben the prosecutor and Carl the vague love interest. Not a strong character in the entire novel.Dull and extremely disappointing, not to mention a misleadingly light and cheerful cover.
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