Two Summers

Two Summers is a pair of novellas set in Belfast, exploring the constraints of the place and the times in which they were born. It follows two young men, Mark and Gem, as they navigate bomb scares, hangovers, broken television sets, and a loving but chaotic home life. The novellas capture the innocence of adolescent boys, their passion, confusion, and yearning.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 208 pages
Publication date: 18 September 2023
Publisher: New Island Books

Summer on the Road

In the summer of 1980, Mark secured a job he had not even applied for—sweeping streets for Belfast City Council. His schoolmates referred to him as "binman," while his workmates called him "snooty." He couldn't fathom anything less like a holiday. However, as he navigated bomb scares, punishing hangovers, broken television sets, and a loving but chaotic home life, he began to glimpse a path all his own, even if he couldn't see yet where exactly it was going to lead.

Last Summer of the Shangri-Las

Three years earlier, Gem had pushed his mother to her breaking point. She sent him to stay with his aunt in New York during the scorching heat of the summer of 1977. It was a summer of disco, punk, the summer of Sam, and Elvis lying dead on the bathroom floor. For Gem, however, it would forever be remembered as the summer he met Vivien—as deeply rooted in the city as he was adrift; the summer he stumbled upon Mary, Liz, and Margie, three-quarters of the greatest New York group of all (and they would fight anyone who said otherwise); and the summer he learned how to go home.

Two Summers is a poignant portrayal of the innocence of adolescent boys, encompassing their passion, confusion, and yearning. It resonates with anyone who has ever been young.

Weight: 242g
Dimension: 136 x 215 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781848408982