Texas Summer: A Novel

By: Terry Southern

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Synopsis: An evocative, poignant coming-of-age novel set in rural Texas in the 1950s Through events small and large, thirteen-year-old Harold Stevens grows up during a pivotal summer in the red-dirt backcountry of West Texas. With his friend C.K. Crow, the black field hand who works for Harold&’s father, he shoots deer and quail, fishes for catfish, mends fences, grows and learns about marijuana, and tests his emerging manhood against bullies, bulls, and the irresistible charms of his horse-riding older cousin. During a hysterical trip to a circus sideshow, Harold and a buddy sneak backstage to see &“The Great Hermaphrodite&” and the &“funny little old Monkey Man,&” whom they try to buy a beer. But danger waits on the fringe of this innocent time. When C.K.&’s brother, Big Nail, appears after escaping from a chain gang, an inevitable and violent confrontation between the brothers is set in motion—a confrontation that will mark the end of Harold&’s childhood. This insideview of Southern&’s roots in Alvarado, Texas, where pastoral innocence belied an undercurrent of racism and violence, brings this novel of a boy&’s transition to maturity vividly alive. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Terry Southern including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author&’s estate.