Last Days of Summer

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Last Days of Summer is 1998 novel written by Steve Kluger. It is an epistolary novel told completely through forms of correspondence; letters, postcards, interviews with a psychiatrist, progress reports, and newspaper clippings.

Taking place in 1940's Brooklyn, the bulk of the novel consists of letters written between fictional New York Giants third baseman Charlie Banks and Jewish twelve-year old Joey Margolis.

Joey Margolis, a Jewish boy growing up in a tough Italian neighbourhood, is burdened with beatings from neighborhood kids, his parents' divorce, and an absent father who repeatedly lets him down. In addition, he is worried about Adolf Hitler's rise in power. Craving a surrogate dad, Joey strikes up a correspondence with Charlie Banks, the third baseman for the New York Giants. That he does so by persistently nagging Charlie sets the tone not just for their ongoing correspondence but for a relationship that will change both their lives forever.

Other characters are introduced to the story, including Rachel, Hazel, and Joey's Aunt.