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Reviews of Secret Summer
Review from Bradford’s
Telegraph & Argus
printed on April 16th
2011
Inspired
by a cycling holiday, this is a moving portrayal of a young gay
man on the run and ostracised in the 1960s.
Bullied as a child and an
adult, Narvel Annable has endured the agony of being treated as
an outsider simply because he is gay.
He was a guest speaker at an
International Day Against Homophobia event in Bradford in 2009
and was nominated for an Equity Partnership award last year.
Narvel describes writing his novel
as a cathartic experience helping him to deal with painful
memories.
Partly
set in Bradford, the townscape and terrain of the metropolis is
described as –
‘A splendid panorama of pinnacles and
finials.
Most notable was the distinctive
Italianate clock tower of the City Hall and the ornate Venetian
Gothic parapets and pinnacles of the Wool Exchange.
They reminded Simeon [Narvel’s
alter ego] of an ancient fairytale castle.’
Simeon
also discovers Bradford Cathedral and is delighted by its
tranquil, peaceful ‘secret garden’.
At its heart,
Secret Summer is a touching
story of young love, laced with a well-paced thriller involving
a missing person and a gay criminal underworld.
It is also a love letter to
Narvel’s native Derbyshire with beautifully written passages
devoted to its natural landscape.
Emma Clayton
Five Star -
www.amazon.com
- Review of Secret Summer from the Chief Features Writer
of Shout! Magazine – Paul Hunt – December 31st
2010
Superb – A Must
Read!!!
This book really does have it all; joy, pain, sadness and
comedy, not to mention true pathos.
I
found the characters very ‘real’ although I do appreciate it is
a semi-autobiographical novel.
The book takes you on a historical journey to life before the
decriminalisation of homosexuality. The author manages,
very skilfully, to explore and convey the sexual, emotional and
psychological awakening of Simeon, the central character, and
relates in superb narrative those who shape his future.
This book is an excellent read – you may laugh, you may cry, but
you will undoubtedly want to explore Narvel Annable’s other
books!
__________________
Review of Secret
Summer from
Tony Fenwick Co-Chair of LGBT History Month –
www.lgbthistorymonth.org
- and Schools OUT –
www.schools-out.org
– January 12th 2011.
In
many ways, Narvel Annable’s Secret Summer is a very
different novel. It follows the fortunes and misfortunes of a
young Simeon Hogg in the 1960s.
Born and bred in the mining towns of industrial Derbyshire,
Simeon moves to Detroit, where he is swept off his feet and
taken into a whole new world by the sinister Ahmed, who has
abducted the boy and shows his love by taking possessiveness to
a whole new level.
Simeon is waited upon and lavished upon and given a complete new
life and identity, but he is homesick for Belper and he knows
that if he ever crosses Ahmed his life might be in danger.
So he plans his escape and the physically repulsive but
well-endowed Mr Toad becomes his temporary saviour in the
Derbyshire countryside.
There’s no cocaine fuelled evenings in the bars and clubs in
Secret Summer. The novel is a mystery, but the beauty
of it is that it gives us a rich insight into what it was like
to be a young gay man in the US and in the East Midlands in
1966. Simeon is based on Narvel himself. The
colourful and often grotesque locals he describes are real
people from his past; only the names have been changed.
Moreover, it shows us how people in these times coped with being
outcasts and outlaws just because of whom they loved.
___________________
Nottinghamshire’s Queer Bulletin - Number 57 – December 2010 /
January 2011 – page 5.
See the original on Nottinghamshire's Rainbow Heritage website -
www.nottsrainbowheritage.org.uk
Detroit
to Derbyshire via the Mafia, Freaks and Young Love
This is the third semi-autobiographical novel to feature young
Simeon Hogg. Firstly set in Detroit where he gets involved
in a complex, somewhat abusive relationship with a young man
linked to a pink mafia. He literally escapes back to his native
Derbyshire. Fearful for his life, Simeon goes on the run
(well, actually on the pedal) as he cycles through Derbyshire
and Yorkshire.
The hidden, secretive, often furtive world is reflected in
encounters with some oddball characters who appear in Narvel’s
previous books, but also with others who anticipated the era of
Gay Liberation. We meet – amongst others – Mr Toad, Droopy
the Vesuvius vacuum cleaner, Fluff and Nobby the Gnome.
It’s history, it’s travelogue, it’s crime, it’s sex (quite a lot
of), it’s a love story and it’s another good read.
Narvel’s book is printed and published in the USA where it is
now available. It will be published here on March 31st.
However - if you want a signed copy now, you can get one
directly from the author by going to his website at –
www.narvelannable.co.uk
_________________
Review / feature from the Belper News - October 6th
2010 –
www.belpernews.co.uk
Gay author’s book published in the USA
Literature can be appreciated by so many different people.
It can bring them together, make them laugh and make them cry.
In many instances it can even serve to break down negative views
and stereotypes.
A book written by a retired man from Belper, quite easily
accomplishes all of the above – and more.
Not only is Secret Summer the first of Narvel Annable’s
novels to be professionally published, it is the first to reach
audiences in America.
Narvel has achieved what so many British celebrities have tried
to do and failed - he has made it in America. The book was
snapped up by The Nazca Plains Corporation situated in the
bright lights of Las Vegas.
Although this book has more than enough exciting twists and
turns to stand alone as a truly gripping fictional read, it also
has a very important message – that people’s lives can be ruined
by the attitudes of others.
Secret Summer
is not just a must for the gay community – it also celebrates
the beautiful Belper countryside and the surrounding towns and
villages are given several mentions. It celebrates
Narvel’s love of the area.
Katy Hallam
__________________
From Matthew Parris
The Time’s Room House of Commons 8th
November 2010
“It was a good write-up you had in the Belper News:
congratulations and I hope Secret Summer does well.”
_________________
Review / feature from the Derby Telegraph - September 24th
2010 –
www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk
A celebration of Derbyshire as ‘pink mafia’ go on the
rampage
When it comes to gay thrillers set in Derbyshire, author
Narvel Annable seems to have cornered the market.
Secret Summer
begins in Detroit in 1966. Simeon Hogg is imprisoned by his
lover Ahmed, in a luxurious apartment funded by a gay criminal
underworld described as a ‘pink mafia’. Eventually he
manages to escape with a friend, Gary, and the pair return to
Simeon’s native Derbyshire, where he discovers a thriving gay
scene in Matlock’s caves. But the mafia are hot on their
heels and Gary disappears. Simeon goes on the run cycling
around youth hostels under an assumed name.
Narvel is a committed campaigner and his latest book is part of
that campaign. Secret Summer teaches the heterosexual
majority what it is like to be an ostracized minority. His
books and campaigns are Narvel’s way of assuaging the guilt he
feels for keeping quiet for so long. But Secret Summer
will not just appeal to gay readers; it’s a celebration of
Derbyshire too.
Helen Meynell
________________
Review from the
Sheffield Star
printed on March 14th
2011
Next time
you’re browsing a book shop looking for a gay thriller based in
Derbyshire, you could do worse that think of Narvel Annable.
The
former Worksop Valley Comprehensive teacher’s third novel in his
‘pink whodunit’ trilogy will be released in the UK this month by
The Nazca Plains Corporation in Las Vegas.
Depicting a flourishing gay
scene in Matlock caves and a homosexual Mafia,
Secret Summer follows on from
Narvel’s previous efforts
Lost
Lad and
Scruffy Chicken.
Colin
Drury
Review from the
Harrogate Advertiser
printed on May 6th
2011
This dramatic story crosses the
Atlantic.
It follows Annable’s own
experiences, eventually bringing his lead character, Simeon, to
Harrogate.
He meets Big Bill Bulman, an obese
American based on Bill Silvey, whom Annable met in 1966.
Bill was living at the Old Swan
Hotel and was a regular visitor to the Royal Baths.
Annable describes him as a
colourful character who enthused about the town in a roaring
Deep South accent and thinks many other people who were in the
area at the time will probably remember him.
Vicky Carr
Review / feature from Shout! November 2010 – page 14 –
www.shoutweb.co.uk
The secret of summer
Shout!’s
favourite author, has finally arrived. The Nazca Plains
Corporation of Las Vegas, a major American publishing house, is
hoping to have Narvel Annable’s latest novel,
Secret Summer,
on bookshelves around the world.
Paul Hunt
Comments about Secret Summer from Councillor Robin Wood
Robin is a former Mayor of the City of Derby. His partner was the
venerable Jeffery Tillett [1927-2008] also a former Mayor in
1977 when the Queen granted Derby city status. During
their 37 years together, Robin and Jeffery made a huge
contribution, cautiously yet bravely improving the quality of
life for the Derby LGBT community.
“I thoroughly enjoyed reading Secret Summer. It brought back
some memories and, curiously, memories of things Jeff used to
tell me decades ago. He used to talk about the ‘Mansfield
Case’. As far as I recall, this was a court case in the
1950s//60s when a lot of gay men were prosecuted. The
implications spread far and wide making the gay crowd in Derby
and Nottingham very nervous indeed - as exemplified in this
novel.
“Perhaps we are all becoming gargoyles and gnomes!”
_______________
LGBT History Month Bulletin 76 – October 2010
www.lgbthistorymonth.org.uk
New Novel from Narvel
There aren’t many people called Narvel Annable and there aren’t
many gay men who have spent half their youth in a Derbyshire
mining community and the other half in Detroit.
LGBT History Month Co-Chair Tony Fenwick said –
“Our SCHOOLS
OUT member is an accomplished author with a wealth of experience
and knowledge about gay life on both sides of the pond.
His characters – heroes, villains, Adonises and monsters – are
inspired by real people in real places which are still there.
After enjoying Lost Lad, I’m looking forward to reading
Secret Summer immensely.”
Secret Summer
will be launched in the UK on March 31st 2011.
However, copies can be obtained from the author via his website
–
www.narvelannable.co.uk
____________
Comment from Terry Ladlow of Terivison Productions, Hunmanby,
Filey, North Yorkshire.
“Secret Summer is so perfect! It is sensitive, erotic, poignant,
tender and so human. I’ve been reading it and re-reading
chapters to get the full feeling and power of the interplay of
characters, feelings and emotions Narvel Annable has created.
I felt for Simeon and his tenderness, stimuli, aberrations, and
the unenviable intolerance he suffered as a boy.
Congratulations on writing such a fine book.”
______________
Comment from Sonya Robotham of Derbys Rainbow Fringe Festival
www.derbysrainbowfringefestival.org.uk
“The story told in Secret Summer is very important as part of the
journey of many LGBT people both locally and globally.”
______________
Comment from Jeff Bonser the landlord of the Durham Ox in Denby near
Derby
“Simply the best book I have ever read.”
___________
Comment from Peter McEvoy of Somersall, Chesterfield in Derbyshire
“What a huge wealth of detail there is throughout Secret Summer.
I believe someone once compared Narvel Annable’s writings to
those of Charles Dickens, with such vivid descriptions of the
many places visited, and all those colourful characters we meet
along the way. His descriptions of Derbyshire and
Yorkshire are superb, especially for anyone like myself who
knows and loves them both.
“I guess the main purpose of the book is to chronicle the lives of
homosexual people in the century before anything became legal;
how they lived in the shadows, unseen by most people, and in
constant fear of being found out. Narvel’s two previous
books did of course do that, but Secret Summer does in
much greater measure, and does it extremely well.
“All in all, a well written book, recording for posterity a slice of
social history which has now largely disappeared. I will
return to it often as I do with all of Narvel’s books.”
_____________
Peter Tatchell has supported Secret Summer with the following
comment –
"Another quirky corker in the Derbyshire mystery series from the
irrepressible Narvel Annable. A Boy's Own story
from 1966; it is a most entertaining read."
_______________
Extracts
