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There are currently 26 member reviews
for The Gypsy Moth Summer
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Kristina H. (West Orange, NJ)
A Thick and Thorny Garden
With six different points of view, The Gypsy Moth Summer reminds me of an overgrown garden, where characters' lives are like tangled roots that weave in and out of one another, desperate to feed and bloom.
Fierro's prose is thick with detail; I often had to reread sentences several times, not an easy feat for a novel so long. Deconstructing her heavy sentences was worth it however; I was transported back to the 90's, mostly through the young and impressionable Maddie, ripe with the culture of her decade. At times the vernacular felt forced, but not enough to detract from the story. Fierro's robust descriptions made me I feel like I could pick each of her characters out in a crowd of millions. Not that I would want to; each of them with their own buried secrets, some deeper and darker than others.
At times the novel barely crept along, like a newly sown seed. At other times it seemed rushed, blooming overnight. And so much, maybe too much, happened in those last pages; as if someone took a weed wacker to the garden, hungry and merciless.
In the end, I wouldn't mind rereading The Gypsy Moth Summer and spending more time in Fierro's fine, albeit dense, garden.
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Carol R. (Pembroke, MA)
The Gypsy Moth Summer
The story takes place in the summer of 1992 on Avalon Island, an islet off of Long Island where the working class inhabits the west end where Grudder Aviation controls the island and employs many of them. The affluent and owners of the Aviation firm inhabit the east end where the grand estates lie.
Prior to the aerial pesticide spraying to suppress the outbreak of the gypsy moth whose life cycle is well documented in the book, the island had an invasion of these disgusting pests which began their annual defoliation.
The story is told from the point of view of six different characters of all ages. It is told with an overkill of vulgarity in both bad language and sexuality and for that reason, I have to say that I didn't love this depressing book.
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Kathy G. (Danville, CA)
The Gypsy Moth Summer
This novel spoke of many complicated truths. It speaks about all the forces that can shape us" where we grew up-whether we are loved by our parents, how class, money and power may caste our fates." Lots of subjects to discuss. So sorry to write that I really did not enjoy the book. Too much sex, violence and poor language. I think I am to old (72) to enjoy this type of novel. I like to think of our young people (and adults) with some morality. Definitely, won't find it in this book on many counts.
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Sherilyn R. (St George, UT)
A Little of Everything
It is the summer of 1992 on an island off the coast of Long Island. The story is told from the point of view of six very different characters. Race, sexuality, politics, pollution class, and dying are all topics explored via the characters. This all takes place along with a gypsy moth infestation.
The book was very slow getting started and then raced to a very fast conclusion. The uneven pacing of the book was really problematic for me. The first 1/3 very slow, the second 1/3 really caught my interest. The final third raced to a conclusion leaving me unsatisfied overall with the book.
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Julia E. (Atlanta, GA)
The Nasty Days of Summer
Set in an a factional American coastal island in the early 1990's, Julia Fierro's second novel is written with a spritely skill that keeps you engaged despite its two-dimensional characters, murky story-telling, and difficult engagement with Big Themes. One is tempted to recommend this as a beach book though several of its characters are so unpleasant that the reader would be likely to toss it aside in the sand, and take in the view instead.
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Annie P. (Murrells Inlet, SC)
The Gypsy Moth Summer by Julia Fierro
This book had me in a real quandary. I liked the story and the characters. I liked the setting. I liked the author's writing. And that's why I'm giving it a 3. But, I absolutely hated all the cursing and the sex. Then I realized that I'm an "old" lady, and I'm applying the morals and scruples of 50 years or so ago to today's society, and that just doesn't work. It's too bad we've sunk this low, and are striving for an even lower baseline. Thanks, Ms. Fierro, for opening my eyes and giving me the awareness to stay out of the mainstream, and read books that are a little less "modern".
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Bobbie D. (Boca Raton, FL)
Avalon-Shangri-La?
There is a story here. It took too long to get there.
It's about white people who live here on Avalon Island, the haves and the have nots. And of course about the Gypsy Moth.
It's about Grudder Aviation whose elite control the island.
It's about too many islanders suffering from cancers and miscarriages.
It's about a family who might make a difference.
And it's about the life cycle of the Gypsy Moth and it's parallel to the inhabitants of Avalon.
It's a sad story.
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