You never know where an idea for a book will come from.
Furthermore, you never know when you’ll be ready to write it.
My latest novel, SUMMER FRIDAYS, was inspired by a moment I once witnessed over two decades ago in New York City.
It happened in October of 2001, when I was riding the subway in Manhattan. Less than a month earlier, the city had been rocked by the terrorist attacks of 9/11, and New York was very much reeling with a devastating mixture of shock and grief. I suppose in general this was always going to be a memorable time to be living in New York – everybody in the city, if not everybody on the planet, felt the historical weight of what had just happened in September when the towers came crashing down. And yet, the memory that sparked my eventual novel was actually rather simple in nature: It involved a mysterious interaction between two people.
In the weeks that followed 9/11, people in New York were still putting up missing posters, still looking for loved ones whose fate had not been confirmed. I remember I was riding the train that day, staring at a missing flier that had been taped up inside the window, when something else caught my attention: Two passengers – a man and a woman – saw each other from across the car, came together, cried, and embraced. Everyone in the train car stopped to watch them, riveted, somber, and moved. It seemed they were having a very emotional reunion, desperately relieved to see each other.
I wondered what their story might be – if they had been friends or lovers who had fallen out of touch somehow. (It was infinitely more possible in those pre-social media days to fall out of touch and not necessarily know how an old friend or lover might be doing.) I wondered if they had thought about each other in the aftermath of the attacks, and if the attacks had caused them to realize how much they still cared about each other – the way that traumatic events can sometimes give a person sudden clarity regarding what they value and who they love.
In any case, I’ve often wondered what the couple’s backstory could have been. The image of their reunion stayed with me – I felt the narrative pull of their story so powerfully, but I hadn’t thought of it as a book quite yet, not at that time.
Then, years later, when the pandemic hit, I noticed a trend: So many people were getting back in touch with old friends and lovers. Before I knew it, my mind returned to that mystery couple on the subway with a surprising sense of urgency, and a love story began to unfurl.
Set in 1999, SUMMER FRIDAYS is the tale of two young people just starting out in their careers, fatefully crossing paths, and playing “tourist” in New York as they find they’re both stuck in the city for the summer. While Nick and Sawyer are an unlikely pairing – with plenty of reasons why they can’t be together – they are surprised to discover that their stolen afternoons together are, in fact, deeply meaningful, and have left them both changed. It’s a love story, a story about the deep connection that grows between these two characters, and the magical moments they share during the summer they escape from their lives and into each other. When I wrote this manuscript, I felt transported by the swoon worthy tension between these two characters. They took me to Coney Island, to Central Park, on sunset ride aboard the Staten Island Ferry. They were so different, yet so good at listening to each other, at really seeing each other. I ached for them to confess their love to each other, and felt devastated by every obstacle that got in their way.
Whatever the real-life story is behind that couple on the train, it is my hope that this novel offers a glimpse into something that is universally relatable: The deep and sometimes haunting impressions that certain people leave on us, especially during those early adult years. And how, when major events rattle the world around us, our hearts can sometimes surprise us by making us realize we never truly let go of the one that got away. For me, that’s the essence of the moment I witnessed on the train that day, and that’s the seed that never vanished from the soils of my mind but instead – two decades later – grew roots and blossomed into this novel.
A Novel
You've Got Mail for a new generation, set in the days of AOL and instant messenger banter, about a freshly engaged editorial assistant who winds up spending her "summer Fridays" with the person she least expects
Summer 1999: Twentysomething Sawyer is striving to make it in New York. Between her assistant job in publishing, her secret dreams of becoming a writer, and her upcoming wedding to her college boyfriend, her is plate full. Only one problem: She is facing an incredibly lonely summer as her fiancé has been spending longer and longer hours at work . . . with an all-too-close female colleague, Kendra.
When Kendra's boyfriend, Nick, invites Sawyer to meet up and compare notes about their suspicions, the meeting goes awry. She finds Nick cocky and cynical, and he finds her stuck in her own head. But then Nick seeks out Sawyer online to apologize, and a friendship develops.
Soon, Sawyer's lonely summer takes an unexpected turn. She and Nick begin an unofficial ritual—exploring New York City together every summer Friday. From hot dogs on the Staten Island Ferry and Sea Breezes in a muggy East Village bar to swimming at Coney Island, Sawyer feels seen by Nick in a way that surprises her. He pushes her to be braver. To ask for what she wants. Meanwhile, Sawyer draws Nick out of his hard shell, revealing a surprisingly vulnerable side. They both begin living for their Friday afternoons together.
But what happens when the summer is over?
Summer Fridays is a witty and emotional love letter to New York City that also captures the feeling of being young and starting out, uncertain what to do on your summer Friday. It’s also perfect for readers who remember when “going online” meant tying up the phone line, and the timeless thrill of seeing a certain someone’s name in your inbox.
Women's Fiction Historical | Coming of Age | Women's Fiction Friendship [Penguin, On Sale: May 28, 2024, Paperback / e-Book, ISBN: 9780593473917 / eISBN: 9780593473924]
Suzanne Rindell is a doctoral student in American modernist literature at Rice University. Her first novel, THE OTHER TYPIST, debuted on May 7, 2013. It has been translated into 15 languages and optioned for film by Fox Searchlight Pictures. Her second novel, THREE-MARTINI LUNCH, is forthcoming from Putnam on April 5, 2016. She lives in New York City and is currently working on a third novel.
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