Homework HelpEssay LabStudy Tools▻Teachers▻Sign InJoin
rowseNotessearch
Home > Study Guides > A Summer's Reading
A Summer's Reading SummaryBernard Malamud
Navigate Study Guiderows
SummaryThemesAnalysisMore▻
Summary(Comprehensive Guide to Short Stories, Critical Edition)
print Print document PDF list Cite link Link
Because George Stoyonovich left school on an impulse when he was sixteen, he has been through a string of unsatisfying jobs. Now he is almost twenty years old and unemployed. He does not go to summer school because he feels that the other students will be too young. He does not go to night school because he does not want the teachers to tell him what to do. Instead, he stays in his room most of the day, sometimes cleaning the apartment, which is located over a butcher store. His father is poor, and his sister Sophie earns little, so George has little money to spend.
Sophie, who works in a cafeteria in the Bronx, brings home magazines and newspapers that have been left on tables. George sometimes reads them along with old copies of the World Almanac that he owns. He has begun to dislike fictional stories, which now get on his nerves. At night, he roams the streets, avoiding his old friends and seeking relief in a small park that is blocks beyond his neighborhood, where no one will recognize him. In the park, he thinks of the disappointing jobs that he has held and dreams of the life he would like to lead: He wants a good job, a house of his own, some extra money, and a girlfriend. Around midnight, he wanders back to his own neighborhood.
On one of his night walks, George meets Mr. Cattanzara, a man who lives in the neighborhood and works in a change booth in a subway station. George likes Cattanzara because he sometimes gave George a nickel for lemon ice when George was a child. Cattanzara sometimes comes home drunk, but on this night, he is sober. He asks George what he is doing with himself, and George, ashamed to admit the truth, says he is staying home and reading to further his education. He then claims he has a list of approximately one hundred books that he is going to read during the summer. George feels strange and a little unhappy about what he has said, but he wants Cattanzara’s respect....
(The entire section is 789 words.)
Get Free Access
Start your free trial with eNotes for complete access to this resource and thousands more.
30,000+ Study Guides
Save time with thousands of teacher-approved book and topic summaries.
Get Homework Help
Ask real teachers questions on any subject or search 300,000+ answers.
On the Go Access
Learn from study guides, Homework Help, and quizzes on the eNotes iOS app.
Start Free Trial
Are you a teacher or educator? Find out about our Teacher’s Edition.
Next:Themes
Start your free trial with eNotes to access more than 30,000 study guides. Get help with any book.Start Free TrialA Summer's Reading Homework Help Questions
In "A Summer's Reading" by Bernard Malamud, what is George doing when he spends most of the day...
In the second paragraph of the story, we learn that when George stays cooped up in his room all alone, he's sometimes listening to sports on his radio, but he's mostly reading. More specifically,...
What did you like best about this story?
The answer to this question will be different for every reader. In fact, some readers might resent being asked the question in this manner--it assumes that everyone does like something about the...
Describe Mr.Cattanzara, his wife, and Gorge.
Mr. Cattanzara was a stout, baldheaded man who worked at the train station. He was a devout reader of the newspaper which he read every night. Mr. Cattanzara was a disciplined man even when drunk...
View More Questions »
Ask a questionRelated Topics
The Magic Barrel
Bernard Malamud
The First Seven Years
Bernard Malamud
The Natural
Bernard Malamud
The Fixer
Bernard Malamud
Black Is My Favorite Color
Bernard Malamud
Popular Topics
1984
George Orwell
A Christmas Carol
Charles Dickens
A & P
John Updike
A Rose for Emily
William Faulkner
A Doll's House
Henrik Ibsen
eNotes.com is a resource used daily by thousands of students, teachers, professors and researchers. We invite you to become a part of our community.
Join eNotes
RecommendedLiterature Study GuidesLiterature Lesson PlansShakespeare QuotesHomework HelpEssay HelpOther Useful StuffHelpAbout UsContact UsFeedbackAdvertisingPricingAPIJobsBlogConnect With Us
© 2016 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy | Terms of Use