The Stones of Summer
| Author | Dow Mossman |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Novel |
| Publisher | Bobbs Merrill |
|
Publication date
|
1972 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 54410628 |
The Stones of Summer is a novel by American writer Dow Mossman. Both the novel and Mossman are also subjects of Mark Moskowitz's Slamdance award-winning film, Stone Reader.
The Stones of Summer, first printed in 1972, quickly went out of print after its publisher Bobbs Merrill filed for bankruptcy. Because of this (and, it is speculated, a subsequent lack of marketing), this "marvelous book" (reviewer John Seelye in The New York Times Book Review), saw minor sales. According to Moskowitz’s documentary, Mossman was also briefly hospitalized for a nervous breakdown while completing the novel, which may have also impeded its commercial success.
The Stones of Summer follows the life of Dawes Oldham Williams (D.O.W.) from childhood to teenage years in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and finally adulthood. The book is divided into three sections.
Section 1 describes Williams' experiences in grade school and on a vacation to his grandfather's farm in Dawes City, Iowa, a depressed town built by Williams' once-prosperous and now ruined ancestors, which, though dead, are still ruined.
In school, Dawes takes interest mostly in disorderly behavior; he idolizes and befriends the profane and often obnoxious Ronnie Crown, and to some extent emulates Crown's rebelliousness. In one climactic moment, Dawes, Crown, and a friend exact revenge on a Cedar Rapids neighbor by blowing up her garage with a stick of dynamite. After the explosion, the three boys evade the police by hiding in empty coffins in a nearby building.
Section 1 also follows Dawes and his parents, Simpson and Leone, on a visit to Dawes and Leone's ancestral hometown, Dawes City, Iowa. There, the Dawes and his family visit his maternal grandparents. Dawes' grandfather, Arthur, is a greyhound breeder whose success is waning. Dawes' experiences with his grandfather are awkward and often painful: Dawes is already a strange boy, and Arthur's ridicule often compounds his grandson's odd behavior.
Despite this, Dawes sometimes feels a bond with Arthur, especially when it comes to the dogs, and after running errands with Arthur in town. While running errands, Arthur takes Dawes to the barber for a haircut and demands that his head be shaved. After the haircut, Arthur leaves Dawes with Abigail Winas, an old family friend and cryptic chicken farmer with whom Dawes seems to be a .
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