It is the spring of 1969 and Dalton Hawkes—a newly minted college graduate with a degree in literature and minors in sex, drugs, drinking, and rock ‘n’ roll—awaits the summer.
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Here Comes the Sun: The Summer of ‘69
It is the spring of 1969 and Dalton Hawkes—a newly minted college graduate with a degree in literature and minors in sex, drugs, drinking, and rock ‘n’ roll—awaits the summer.
He and his friends have endured all upheavals of the Sixties and simply want to pull back from the world and experience it anew.
Moving into a notorious “hippie house,” they begin journeys of discovery—for Hawkes, a star-crossed love affair with Maxine Cooke—an exotic older woman, who has irretrievably captured his heart.
From nighttime skinny-dipping parties to planting a hidden marijuana crop to carousing in local bars to watching men walk on the moon—Hawkes and his fellow “travelers” revel in everything the 60’s ethos has to offer.
The summer climaxes with the Woodstock Festival and its clarion call of peace, love, and song to the world. After three days of music and psychedelic celebration, the Festival’s cleansing rains have spoken, and in the end, sitting out a last rainstorm in an abandoned truck, listening to Jimi Hendrix’s haunting rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner, Hawkes and Maxine make their separate peace and await whatever the future holds—for them and their generation.
Praise for Here Comes the Sun: The Summer of ‘69
“. . . a voice-of-a-generation novel infused with a poignant organic action that gives rise to memorable characters.”
“There is hope for peace and love that once seemed open to boundless growth that defines this past moment. . . . La Valle captures the dizzying new possibilities before young Dalton in this brilliant new novel at a time when we really need to bring these ideals back to the forefront. Thank you for taking us along for the journey. . . .”
“A little gem of a novel that perfectly captures the zeitgeist of 1969. Reminiscent of Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, Here Comes the Sun: The Summer of ‘69 brilliantly evokes the emergence of a new generation and elevates the coming-of-age genre a few notches higher. Told in the same powerful cinematic style that was unveiled in La Valle’s impressive first novel, Underground Dreams, I got swept up (again) in the infectious narrative and memorable characters that his style seems to generate effortlessly. A very well done sequel that will make me anticipate the announcement of this author’s next novel. Russell Paul La Valle’s voice is a welcome breath of fresh air.”
“If F. Scott Fitzgerald is right, that “great writers aren’t people exactly, they’re a whole lot of people trying to be one person,” then this Here Comes the Sun author surely fits the mold. A beautiful book with vividly crisp descriptions, a kaleidoscope of fascinating characters, and its crescendo, a small group of wayward souls just graduated from college arriving at Woodstock, shows the author’s writing sensibilities and his creativity. As with LaValle’s previous novel, Underground Dreams, his cinematic eye makes the reader clearly see. Highly recommended. Couldn’t put it down.”
“I looked forward to reading Here Comes the Sun: The Summer of ‘69 after having read Mr. La Valle’s brilliantly written first novel Underground Dreams — and it certainly was worth the wait. In his unique, diamond-hard, cinematic style he’s hit another home run with unforgettable characters, spot-on dialogue, and an uncanny gift for description — all inside a propulsive narrative that’s almost impossible to put down. The result is one of those little cherished novels that beautifully defines its time and place and that you can return to again and again — finding something new and unexpected each time. A fine novel that definitely leaves the reader wanting to experience this author’s future efforts.”
“What a wonderful book! Set in the pivotal period in our country’s history, 1969, we are witness to a young group of recent college graduates who want to take the summer to pull back from all the noise of the Vietnam War, the protests, the marches, and the social turmoil of the 60s—and try to find their places in the world. Author La Valle places our “seekers” inside the intoxicating crucible of the Hudson Valley, where they partake in all their newfound freedoms away from academia. At once a love story, a social commentary, a study of youth, and a poignant examination of heartbreak, loss, and redemption, HERE COMES THE SUN: THE SUMMER OF ‘69 weaves an important and ingenious coming-of-age tale. The summer ends with the siren call of the Woodstock Festival, whose provident and purgative rains speak to all and usher in the unmistakable voices of a new generation. Buy this book.”