The Summer of Crud

The Summer of Crud is disturbingly deep, hypnotising. I suspect this is the sort of writing that is book club worthy. I couldn’t stop reading it even if I wanted. It details the road-trip of a 22-year old, soon to be a teacher, on a journey that he hopes of encountering inspiration that will bring out the song stuck within him. The word ‘details: verb’ is underrated - the lead character’s (Danny) every waking moment in this journey is narrated.

The journey exposed a myriad of issues such as drugs, homelessness, prostitution, promiscuous parties, alcohol, etc, but these aren’t the reasons why I described it as disturbingly deep. It’s disturbing not because I found myself alienated from the lead character, nor am I drawn to him, only indifferent. Jonathan LaPoma wrote it such a way that it reveals the sort life that some people lead, and in such a way that makes me go “Oh, okay” instead of “Seriously, Danny? You drink beer to sleep and wake up to it?”. The word ‘party’ in this book has ceased to mean ‘a social gathering where you’re entertained and have fun with other people’, and more towards the dark and depressive meaning, which is ’people who get together to use booze, drugs, and sex to escape reality’.

I couldn’t appreciate this book to the fullest because of two reasons. Number 1; there are plenty of references to music in here. I streamed some on Youtube while reading and it was a nice experience. Number 2; I’ve never been to the US so references to places during this trip probably meant less to me than those who’ve actually been there. However, I still enjoyed Jonathan LaPoma’s writing very much.

First of all, I want to say that this book was not bad. The main character was indeed funny, and the trip itself full of exciting moments. This book is about a young man that just finished college, and he is questioning certain problems in his life while travelling. This is worth reading on a Saturday night when you do not feel like going out, as it is a fast and a fine read.

Though The Summer of Crud is short, MAN is it deep! This narrative is chock full of harsh observances of human nature and insecurity. The main character Danny gives us some excellent internal monologuing throughout the book, filled with his insight of what it's like to be living on the other side of social acceptance. Plagued by anxiety, depression, physical ailment, and an aggressive best friend, Danny struggles with himself and the rest of the world, the two being seemingly opposing forces.

I simply adore the raw flow-of-conscious narrative of this story. This is one of those books that is so full of incredible quotes that rather than sharing a few I might as well just give anyone a copy of the book and say "Here, read this; I really love it."

Being as short as it is, this book is perfect for me because I could just pick it up anytime the urge takes me and read it again in half a day. The Summer of Crud is like The Perks of Being a Wallflower's grungy older brother. And if that doesn't make you want to read this book then I don't know what will!