‘Summerlong’: Love, grief mix in with summer romance novel

Four people, each wrestling with personal demons, offer both solace and conflict to one another in 'Summerlong,' Dean Bakopoulos' third novel. Set in Grinnell, where the author makes his home, 'Summerlong' explores the fragile bonds of romantic love, the connections and disconnections of sex, and the devastating power of grief.

As Don and Claire's marriage comes apart, each finds a new, younger friend — a woman called ABC for Don and a man named Charlie for Claire. ABC and Charlie also discover one another as each works through a period of intense grief.

ABC's grief over the death of a lover is particularly palpable. But even as she seems to lose all hope, she works to bring comfort to other characters. She is the book's most memorable personality, alive in both her sadness and her kindness.

Charlie's quest to find his father's masterwork while the older man suffers from dementia also is movingly portrayed. As he works through his father's study, Charlie discovers secrets that change his understanding of his dad and himself.

As the temperature rises, the four protagonists imagine and experiment with different couplings. The sexual tension builds to a fever pitch as several of the characters achieve what they think they most desire.

The books loses some energy in the last act, though Bakopoulos saves some surprises for the closing scenes.

In particular, he brings Ruth, an elderly woman who hovers near the action but seldom in the midst of it throughout the earlier portions of the novel, to the fore. Ruth's quest for resolution and redemption in her own life is foundational to the ending of 'Summerlong.'

Book reading

What: Dean Bakopoulos reads from 'Summerlong'

Where: Prairie Lights Books, 15 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City

When: 7 p.m. Monday

Cost: Free