And that meant seeing through the façade Charlie put on for much of Ever Summer After, where, as Furtune puts it, he “played up his role in the family as the joker.” Instead, One Golden Summer details the way he, as the older brother, carried the struggles his family went through into his adulthood.
This is especially brought to the forefront when Charlie—who at 35 is the same age his dad was when he suddenly died—is not only confronting that devastating milestone but also dealing with his own private health battle.
“I really wanted to go there with Charlie in this idea of how we live our lives, how we can be grateful for living,” Fortune noted. “You kind of see this in Every Summer After, too, he gets very frustrated with his brother—he feels like his brother is not grateful for what he has. Charlie is someone who, because of where he is right now, is struggling with mortality.”
“But he is someone who really appreciates being here on this planet,” she continued. “It is not easy to live as a person on this planet, but we only get one shot at it. And I think that’s all part of who he is.”
That said, Fortune is well aware that a major sticking point for some readers is Charlie’s previous dalliance with Percy. And One Golden Summer isn’t necessarily meant to absolve them of their transgression.
Read the full article here
