In these times of dire memoirs — hard stories by survivors of war and abuse, emigration and illness — is there a place for an older white guy recalling golden summers of golf and boating? I think there is, when it's written as tenderly as The Summer Friend, Charles McGrath's ode to friendship and nostalgia.

Sun-drenched and deeply touching.

... peeks inside the psyche of one such male friendship between not-quite bros forever but seasonal pals. As such, this memoir is pitch-perfect for outdoorsy dads, sons, brothers, uncles, nephews, and the like.

... affecting.

Yes, there are typical pursuits like sailing and golf, but even these are enjoyed in a refreshingly off-kilter manner (sailing small wooden boats, playing on rundown nine-hole golf courses). There’s plenty of time, too, for firework follies, lobster-­trapping fiascoes, and a chaotic form of dumpster diving. The fun, inevitably, is curtailed by mortality, but just as McGrath evokes summer pleasures with self-deprecating wit and without sloppy sentiment, he steers a course well away from the maudlin in recounting Chip’s death from cancer..

The strongest parts of the book are about his father and family vacations at a cabin in rural Massachusetts. Here, McGrath really digs deep into his thoughts and feelings about family and the importance to him of the summer season. Less successful are the sections about the friend of the title, Chip. Though McGrath was clearly very fond of his friend, and McGrath’s description of his friend’s illness is moving, there is overall something superficial about how the friendship comes across on the page. We do not get a good sense of who Chip was and why he meant so much to McGrath. Interestingly, McGrath himself remarks at his difficulty at letting Chip know what his friendship really meant to him. Unfortunately, readers do not get much more of a sense of this either.

... tender.

A warmhearted memoir imbued with a comfortable, old-fashioned, sweet ambience..