CONCLUSION- Hot Summer in the City Book Review (Part 3: The Book vs The Movie, Day 3, Chapter 6))

 Chapter 6 gives the Book readers an Alternative Ending! In the movie, Duke gives his captive her freedom, and instructions for how to find the main road and hitch a ride back home. A teary eyed and very concerned appearing Debby,  then questions Duke about if he has to follow through on his mission. As Duke, Shorty, and Coke drive away, the look on Debby's face reflects a great deal of sadness, such that it left viewers wondering whether she had began having feelings for the gang leader. 

Devoid in the movie however, is any explanation as to why Duke let Debby go. I had hoped the book would fill in that gap. I wanted to understand his rationale for letting her go, especially as she had knowledge that could have upset his plans and even put him and his comrades in prison. Unfortunately,  in the four pages we are gifted, only a couple of additional nuggets of information can be mined from the circumstances as to how Duke's release of Debbie from her captivity went down.

The story picks up with a scantily clad Debbie, still dressed in the ripped tatters which remains of her dress, laboring down a dirt road away from the cabin, with all the strength her aching, wobbly, lily white, eighteen year old legs can muster. It's reasonable to assume that Duke finally got into the gang's car and gave Debbie her shoes back, as no mention is made of her being still barefoot and walking awkwardly or in pain. No mention of Duke having given her directions back home is made, but safe to assume that occurred as well. 

Fortunately, a farmer in an old pickup drives by and picks her up, being on his way to take his vegetables to market. As he tries to engage our exhausted damsel in small talk, the author takes us into her mind, which is described  as being "shattered." 

We learn that Debbie is struggling with trying to figure out why Duke let her go? Duke's only condition of her release was Debbie giving him her word that she would not tell anyone what happened in the cabin or go to law enforcement and reveal the gang's plans. So there she was, sitting in a stranger's pickup as the first paroled Prisoner of War in what Duke had titled the  "Great Race War of Nineteen Hundred and Sixty-Seven." Paroled on only a verbal promise of Non-Disclosure of Secrets and a pledge of Neutrality for the upcoming conflict.

The most fascinating clue is that we learn Duke lied when he said he had "forgot something" as he didn't take anything with him! Debbie concludes that he only came back early out of concern for her, knowing his authority over the gang members had eroded, and his words alone could no longer ensure Debbie's safety.  That he would gun down his former lover to save her life, and then let her go instead of keeping her in his custody, invokes questions that consume and perplex Debbie as she rides back to town with the farmer, feigning interest in her conversation with him. 

Our story concludes with the truck's radio broadcasting information about the riots breaking out in Detroit, and the farmer complaining that the blacks in Detroit are acting like "animals." That comment takes our heroine's mind back to how she had just acted like an animal, forcing herself to willfully and wantonly welcome Stitch's sodomizing of her to enlist him as an ally for her protection. While her success in this stratagem bought her only a few additional seconds of safety, it had been those precious seconds that had saved her life. Sprinkled in the blood of her nemesis, Debbie had emerged from Duke's bedroom triumphant.  

With a sense of irony, Debbie replies to the farmer, "Sometimes we all act like animals."

So many questions remain. Did Debbie forgive and heal the rift with her mother? Did she find her missing brother? Did she end up staying with fiancé Billy after vowing to breakup with him because his dad was sleeping with her mom?

 And what feelings were at the roots of Duke and Debbie's emotionally laden parting? Had they started having feelings for each other? Would their paths ever cross again? Did that warm feeling of coal burning inside Debbie's womb she felt upon waking that morning, was it the result of Duke's impregnating Debbie? Did our suburban ivory princess receive Duke's baby to take home as a life-long souvenir from her tragic ordeal? Perhaps left behind as a posthumous wedding gift for Debbie and Bill after Duke's self- prophesied death in the riot, so he could "live forever inside her" as he desired during their coupling the previous night? 

 Just as in the movie and unfortunately for us readers, our author leave these questions concerning Duke and Debbie's future unanswered. And as for the state of Duke and Debbie's feelings for each other, we are only given a few clues veiled in enigma and woven into a shroud of mystery.

THE END

Hot Summer in the City Book Review (Part 3: The Book vs The Movie, Day 3, Chapter 5)

In Chapter 5, our damsel in distress awakens to the sound of a squirrel on the rooftop, and her first possibility of escape from captivity.  As Duke lays next to her in deep slumber, the book takes us into Debbie's mind as she does a risk analysis of whether to attempt an escape, or to remain and try and keep herself in Duke's good graces, and under the mantle of his protection. We are told her thigh muscles were painfully sore, but her belly felt filled and warm, as though there were a gentle glowing coal implanted there which did not burn, but still emitted a soft, soothing heat. She knew it was from the great pool of white warm liquid Duke had emptied into her and buried deep inside her. Her vague fears of becoming pregnant flickered through her mind, but were overshadowed by the sudden realization and humilation of knowing that she had wanted it. She had lapsed into uncontrollable passion and begged him to cum in her with her words and body. 

Deep in thought, Debbie gets out bed and slips her dress back on, sans her crumpled up bra and panties which are pretty much useless after all she's been through. No mention of her shoes, which of course in the movie played a critical part in her escape plans. She walks out of Duke's bedroom, and see's the remaining gang members asleep, positioned just as in the movie.

 Weighing the decision, our beautiful blonde protagonist determines that no matter how fond Duke has become of her, he can't allow her to live. She knows too much about the plans and could disrupt their plans if let go beforehand, or rat them out afterwards. 

Unlike in the movie where Debby's plan goes bad by going back for her shoes, the gang gets alerted to her flight when a gust of wind causes the porch door to slam shut after she's exited the cabin. Our heroine tries to run away, but her aching legs and bare feet fail her terribly, and in moments a naked Shorty has her in his clutches and carries a sobbing Debbie back to the cabin. 

The dialogue between the gang over what to do with their voluptuous prisoner unfolds the same as in the movie. The book does highlight though how Debbie immediately finds solace in Duke's eyes when he sees her, she can feel he holds no malice towards her for the escape attempt and understands why she did it. Also noteworthy is that Debbie's plea to not be left alone with Jodie and Stitch comes immediately after she makes eye contact with Jodie, who looks at her with a sadistic glaze upon learning she will be left to guard her.  

The manner in which Debbie is tied up is different from the movie. Debbie is taken back to Duke's bedroom, with her arms tied to two steel eyes in the wall that had been used as a towel rack by a previous occupant.  Her arms are stretched uncomfortably over her head, but she was able to at least sit on the floor. Before leaving, Duke comes in to assure her she will be ok, and that they will be back tonight. 

As in the movie, a significant period of time passes that enables Debbie to get some rest, before her nemesis Jodie enters the room, and their final confrontation begins.

Jodie looks down on Duke's new blonde haired odalisque with cruel disdain. Again, the dialogue between our protagonist and her Amazonian antagonist tracks nearly precisely with the movie. Jodie enters the room and verbally abuses and threatens Debbie; Debbie feebly invokes her status as being under Duke's protection; followed by Jodie spitting in her rival's face and burning her cigarette out on Debbie's foot. 

Debbie cries out in pain, prompting Stitch to come into the room and tell Jodie to leave her alone because of Duke's orders. Jodie responds by ripping Debbie's dress off, and the sight of bound, naked, and helpless Debbie cowering in the corner to be away from Jodie, fills Stitch with awe and lust, just as Jodie planned. She then offers Stitch the opportunity to do anything he would like to do with Debbie sexually. Knowing she's at the mercy of a mad woman and half crazy idiot, Debbie feels terrified and and a sense of horror over her impending degradation.  

Jodie grabs Debbie by the ankles and pulls her as far away from the wall as the ropes will allow, scrapping the poor damsel's bottom on the floor, but her cries of pain are ignored. Jodie then forces Debbie to spread her legs as wide as possible, causing pain to her vagina and tears of shame. Next Jodie cuts the ropes off so their captive, white suburban princess can be stood up and put on the bed for Stitch's use. As in the movie, after roughly fingering Debbie's vagina to prepare her to be used, she flips our persecuted maiden over and works her finger inside Debbie's pale buttocks, and delightfully tells Stitch to take her there instead.  Debbie realizes Jodie is enjoying getting her revenge for yesterday, and that for her, she must have felt like her return on the suffering she was imposing on her rival for Duke's affection was at least one thousandfold.

Most unfortunate for Debbie, the author tells us that Stitch has the largest cock of all the gang members, which causes Debbie to yell out in pain as he began working himself inside the virgin territory of her back passageway. 

"Aaaaahhhgggggg...God!" Debbie grunted in pain and continued her hopeless thrashing beneath  him. She felt as though she had been split open by a knife and her insides were torn and ripped as Jodie's crackling laughter reverberated throughout the room like the voice of doom itself. 

Finally however, Debbie's anus begins to adjust to the unnatural invasion, and she began to gather her thoughts together to fight back. The author's account of Debbie's plan and execution is brilliantly written, and makes clear Debbie has formulated a plan and went into warrioress mode, which the movie barely hints at: 

Two could play the game the vicious Negress was playing by appealing to the animal instincts of the half-wit Stitch. He was her only hope to protect her from the horrible death or mutilation that was sure to follow from her ravishment. She had to get him on her side at all costs...and there was only one way to do that. 

Debbie's buttocks began a slow, methodical, hardly perceptible rotation beneath him. He flexed his penis deep in her rectum in an answering signal...to her responding to him...He gasped as he felt her throb and tighten around his cock like a warm glove...His joy knew no bounds. He had conquered her...The little white bitch was his now...his pistoning black cock was splitting the whiteness of her anus like a soot covered train tunneling through a snow covered mountain.

Debbie knelt before him and prayed, prayed that her revulsion and humiliation would not betray her to him...She began to undulate her buttocks in tiny circles, waving the white full round cheeks back at him lasciviously like a red flag before a bull...Strangely, the tiny bit of whore in every woman suddenly broke forth into a tingle of masochistic excitement. She wasn't working for money but for her life...She had to enjoy it, or he would know she was using him...

"Oh yes, Darling...fuck it like that...Oh God...Oooooh God...Oh cum, darling, cum."

Finally, Stitch empties his loins inside of Debbie's ass and falls off of her, thinking he has just taken Duke's girl away from him. Then Jodie pulls her switchblade threatening to cut off Debbie's tit. Shorty springs to Debbie's defense. We are told, 

Stitch placed himself between Debbie and the advancing Negress. His hands were clinched into tight fists and the muscles on his back stood out in broad, powerful sinews that gave Debbie a sudden sense of security. At least she had someone on her side, even if she had to undergo the same terrible ordeal over and over again until the others returned...

Just as in the movie, a passion weakened Stitch gets stabbed in the chest by Jodie, leaving Debbie stunned by the violent turn of events. 

"Nice try honky." Our heroine's villainess declares triumphantly.  

Too weak to run or fight, she slinks away from Jodie, who then gets on the bed and finally reaches over to grab our damsel's left tit and cut it. Debbie lays there helpless, with eyes closed in horrific defeat. Then she hears a sudden roar, and opens her eyes to Duke holding a smoking shotgun, having just killed her curvacous, ebony adversary. Debbie jumps up and looks down on her now vanquished foe with stunned disbelief.

Duke, after instructing her to get up and get dressed, explains, "We forgot something and had to come back. They wouldn't have done that last year if I had told them not to." He laments with nostalgic bitterness, recognizing that the era of his leadership style's effectiveness, has begun fading to black.   

END OF CHAPTER FIVE.