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Looking for the Summer
David Thompson is a former Vietnam War conscientious objector in Paris on a quest to find himself in the early days of 1977. When he befriends an Iranian and an Afghan and is invited to return with them to their countries, his quest slowly becomes a descent into his own private hell. Interspersed with a multitude of characters whose religious, philosophical, and political opinions influence David greatly in his search, "Looking for the Summer" is a remarkable adventure story of a man about to lose his youth and find his true self in ancient lands.
215 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1996
About the author
Robert W. Norris
4 books3 followersRobert W. Norris was born and raised in Humboldt County, California. He was a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War and served time in a military prison for refusing his order to fight. In his twenties, he roamed across the United States, went to Europe twice, and made one journey around the world. In 1983, he landed in Japan, where he became a professor at a private university, spent two years as the dean of students, and retired as a professor emeritus. He is the author of three novels, a novella, a memoir, and over twenty research papers on teaching. He and his wife live near Fukuoka, Japan.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 20, 2010
Sociologists may debate the question but popular belief certainly holds that baby boomers, for whatever reason, were preoccupied with a search for enlightenment. While much of it was domestic exploration of Eastern culture and religions, so many Americans and Europeans journeyed from Europe through places like Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan on their way to India and Nepal in the late sixties and seventies that it gave rise to the term "hippie trail." In Robert Norris' semi-autobiographical novel
Looking for the Summer
, protagonist David Thompson journeys along the hippie trail. Yet while he is unquestionably on an introspective search for spiritual fulfillment, his journey into Iran and Afghanistan is as much by chance as design.
Like Norris, Thompson joins the Air Force during the Vietnam War. Although stationed stateside, a misadventure earns Thompson a ticket to the war zone. Yet as the time for him to ship out approaches, he refuses and seeks conscientious objector status. He ultimately faces a court martial and is convicted of "willful disobedience", serving a year in a military prison as a result. Although that decision predates the 1976-early 1977 time frame in which Looking for Summer is set, it remains at the core of the book. Among other things, the last words Thompson has with his father, who dies when Thompson is in prison, are a heated argument over that decision. Thompson also is not so dogmatic that he is certain his decision was one of principle and commitment to any particular cause or movement. While recognizing he was a "willing player" in his battle with the military, he wonders if he "merely aped the popular slogans and anti-authority behavior of the time" to hide being a coward.
Following his release from prison, Thompson heads for Europe. Ostensibly intending to write a novel, he is more engaged in escaping what he views as the "dubiousness" of American's quest for material gain and trying to sort out his internal dilemmas. By chance, he meets Hasan and Ataullah, from Iran and Afghanistan, respectively, in the lobby of a Paris hotel. He becomes friends with them and later joins them in Switzerland. From there, David-jan, as Hasan and Ataullah call him, has a harrowing overland journey into Iran in a car Hasan intends to resell. When he inadvertently becomes a focus of the Shah's security forces, he heads to Afghanistan to see Ataullah and then, ultimately, into India. (Lest you think their current prominence led Norris to pick Iran and Afghanistan as two of the main settings for the novel, the book was first published in Japan in 1996.) Throughout his journeys, Thompson ponders his life, philosophy and place in the world, often aided by marijuana, psilocybin or hashish and even acquires an opium addiction he must kick.
While the drug use certainly fits the times and locales, it is also perhaps singularly symbolic of one of the problems with Looking for Summer. Much of the dialogue has the sense of what the book calls "hash-inspired thought." Other portions come off more as a discourse on history, the politics of the time, philosophy or religion. Although Norris is quite adept at description and setting scenes, there seems a penchant to instill too much substantive meaning or message in the conversations in the novel.
Additionally, a significant number of characters appear for a handful of pages -- or paragraphs -- and then apparently only to convey information about a particular subject, whether art or Jimmy Carter's promise to grant a presidential pardon to those who avoided the draft during the Vietnam war by failing to register or fleeing the country. Other characters appear only by name and perhaps brief description and add nothing substantive to the plot, such as Thompson's last housemates before he leaves Iran. Despite that, Norris, a professor at Japan's Fukuoka International University, uses his power of description to elevate the core characters beyond convenient stereotype.
Although Thompson often is too self-absorbed to be a truly engaging protagonist, his prison term and the life-changing effects of his decision to refuse to go to Vietnam offer an uncommon angle on a search for insight and self-knowledge. Ultimately, though, the novel tries to cover perhaps too much philosophical ground and too many musings and those aspects of the book come off as a bit too prolix. Perhaps Norris is simply trying to point out that what he calls "philosophical rambling" is not as important as real-life experience. Yet had the observational skills he displays infused more of the book's overall tone, it would have bolstered both the theme and its eloquence.
(Originally posted at A Progressive on the Prairie)
Like Norris, Thompson joins the Air Force during the Vietnam War. Although stationed stateside, a misadventure earns Thompson a ticket to the war zone. Yet as the time for him to ship out approaches, he refuses and seeks conscientious objector status. He ultimately faces a court martial and is convicted of "willful disobedience", serving a year in a military prison as a result. Although that decision predates the 1976-early 1977 time frame in which Looking for Summer is set, it remains at the core of the book. Among other things, the last words Thompson has with his father, who dies when Thompson is in prison, are a heated argument over that decision. Thompson also is not so dogmatic that he is certain his decision was one of principle and commitment to any particular cause or movement. While recognizing he was a "willing player" in his battle with the military, he wonders if he "merely aped the popular slogans and anti-authority behavior of the time" to hide being a coward.
Following his release from prison, Thompson heads for Europe. Ostensibly intending to write a novel, he is more engaged in escaping what he views as the "dubiousness" of American's quest for material gain and trying to sort out his internal dilemmas. By chance, he meets Hasan and Ataullah, from Iran and Afghanistan, respectively, in the lobby of a Paris hotel. He becomes friends with them and later joins them in Switzerland. From there, David-jan, as Hasan and Ataullah call him, has a harrowing overland journey into Iran in a car Hasan intends to resell. When he inadvertently becomes a focus of the Shah's security forces, he heads to Afghanistan to see Ataullah and then, ultimately, into India. (Lest you think their current prominence led Norris to pick Iran and Afghanistan as two of the main settings for the novel, the book was first published in Japan in 1996.) Throughout his journeys, Thompson ponders his life, philosophy and place in the world, often aided by marijuana, psilocybin or hashish and even acquires an opium addiction he must kick.
While the drug use certainly fits the times and locales, it is also perhaps singularly symbolic of one of the problems with Looking for Summer. Much of the dialogue has the sense of what the book calls "hash-inspired thought." Other portions come off more as a discourse on history, the politics of the time, philosophy or religion. Although Norris is quite adept at description and setting scenes, there seems a penchant to instill too much substantive meaning or message in the conversations in the novel.
Additionally, a significant number of characters appear for a handful of pages -- or paragraphs -- and then apparently only to convey information about a particular subject, whether art or Jimmy Carter's promise to grant a presidential pardon to those who avoided the draft during the Vietnam war by failing to register or fleeing the country. Other characters appear only by name and perhaps brief description and add nothing substantive to the plot, such as Thompson's last housemates before he leaves Iran. Despite that, Norris, a professor at Japan's Fukuoka International University, uses his power of description to elevate the core characters beyond convenient stereotype.
Although Thompson often is too self-absorbed to be a truly engaging protagonist, his prison term and the life-changing effects of his decision to refuse to go to Vietnam offer an uncommon angle on a search for insight and self-knowledge. Ultimately, though, the novel tries to cover perhaps too much philosophical ground and too many musings and those aspects of the book come off as a bit too prolix. Perhaps Norris is simply trying to point out that what he calls "philosophical rambling" is not as important as real-life experience. Yet had the observational skills he displays infused more of the book's overall tone, it would have bolstered both the theme and its eloquence.
(Originally posted at A Progressive on the Prairie)
June 16, 2007
I read this book because the author used to be employed by a friend of mine. Unfortunately, he didn't tell me the author is a terrible writer. This is one of the worst books I have ever read. The writing is dull and the tone is pompous. In describing the his travels in the late 1970s through Eurasia, the author comes across as an insufferable hippie good-for-nothing who wants nothing more than to get high and philosophize with foreigners who hate Americans. Towards the end, he finally bags some skank and has a revelation about life, which he couldn't reach during his time spent almost exclusively with other males up until that point.
On the bright side, after reading this dreck, I realized even I can get published.
On the bright side, after reading this dreck, I realized even I can get published.
September 12, 2011
I downloaded Looking for the Summer as a free Friday selection for my nook, It was a fascinating travelogue through Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India as the author tries to come to grips with his confusion about America's political system and the injustices of the Vietnam war. Norris has a front-row seat to the issues that led to the overthrow of the Shah of Iran and sees the innate differences between Arab culture and his own. Very educational and enlightening.
August 9, 2012
A quiet read about a young man who avoided military service in Viet Nam during the Kennedy/Johnson years. The book did not quite live up to the hype. The young man did travel to Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India describing the best and worst of human conditions in those countries. The author did write about holy wars as opposed to "cause" wars which gave light to the constant struggles in the mid-east.
October 16, 2011
My review can be found here: http://theultimatebooknook.blogspot.c...
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews