Description
A Summer Ago, the only novel written by the poet George Scarbrough, is based on his experiences as a boy growing up in rural southeastern Tennessee during the early decades of the twentieth century. The protagonist of the story, twelve-year-old Alan, lives with his family in Dead Man’s Cove on Muddy Bottom Creek, a community of self-sufficient farmers and craftsmen. His father, Oscar McDowell, uneducated and part Cherokee, has unpredictable bouts of rage that frighten the boy, but his mother, Belle, literate and book-loving, provides stability and security for her children. The other child in the family, older brother Lee is Alan’s companion, protector, and friend. The author utilizes a series of episodes to tell the story of how people and events transform Alan’s understanding of himself and his world during the days of that long ago summer.
