Lev is on his way from Eastern Europe to Britain, seeking work. Behind him loom the figures of his dead wife, his beloved young daugher and his outrageous friend Rudi who - dreaming of the wealthy West - lives largely for his battered Chevrolet. Ahead of Lev lies the deep strangeness of the British: their hostile streets, their clannish pubs, their obsession with celebrity. London holds out the alluring possibility of friendship, sex, money and a new career and, if Lev is lucky, a new sense of belonging...
The Road Home
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Review
A novel of urgent humanity (Sunday Telegraph )
Rose Tremain does not disappoint. The Road Home is thematically rich, dealing with loss and separation, mourning and melancholia... As always her writing has a delicious, crunchy precision (Observer )
Filled with emotional richness, complex sensibility and a passionate insistence on the humanity of the poor (Sunday Times )
A classic work by the gifted Tremain (Guardian )
'Tremain is a magnificent story-teller' (Independent on sunday )
Rose Tremain does not disappoint. The Road Home is thematically rich, dealing with loss and separation, mourning and melancholia... As always her writing has a delicious, crunchy precision (Observer )
Filled with emotional richness, complex sensibility and a passionate insistence on the humanity of the poor (Sunday Times )
A classic work by the gifted Tremain (Guardian )
'Tremain is a magnificent story-teller' (Independent on sunday )
Book Description
WINNER OF THE 2008 ORANGE BROADBAND PRIZE FOR FICTION
Rose Tremain's hugely enjoyable new novel is the up-to-the-minute story of Lev, newly arrived in London from Eastern Europe. A wise and witty look at the contemporary migrant experience.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
415 of 430 people found the following review helpful
By Graeme H
Format:Paperback
Rose Tremain can, it seems, do just about anything. Each one of her books is utterly different from the last, each creates a detailed and authentic world for her characters and their quests.
In The Road Home, Tremain tells the story of Lev, an Eastern European migrant worker who has left his village and travelled to England so that he can finance a better life for his mother and daugther. He takes with him his grief for his dead wife. There is an almost fairytale-like quality to Lev's chance encounters and where they lead him, although, that said, they also feel natural and possible; Tremain has always been good on the essential randomness of experience.
Lev's London is awash with money, celebrity and complacency - an ugly picture of the way we live now - but there is nothing polemical about the book. The world Tremain creates feels real, and she allows her characters to negotiate it, and make their compromises with it, in a way that is both convincing and very poignant. There is also a rich vein of humour that runs through the book, much of which comes from the stories about and conversations with Lev's friend Rudi, who has stayed back in the village.
The 1983 Granta list of best young British novelists famously includes: McEwan, Rushdie, Pat Barker, Amis, Graham Swift. Tremain was among this group but in my view remains a little underrated. Both Music & Silence and Restoration have found critical acclaim and broad readerships, but The Colour - a fine, fine book - did less well, and The Way I Found Her is a book far less well known than it should be. Almost alone amongst that stellar group of 1983, she hasn't yet put a foot wrong.
In The Road Home, Tremain tells the story of Lev, an Eastern European migrant worker who has left his village and travelled to England so that he can finance a better life for his mother and daugther. He takes with him his grief for his dead wife. There is an almost fairytale-like quality to Lev's chance encounters and where they lead him, although, that said, they also feel natural and possible; Tremain has always been good on the essential randomness of experience.
Lev's London is awash with money, celebrity and complacency - an ugly picture of the way we live now - but there is nothing polemical about the book. The world Tremain creates feels real, and she allows her characters to negotiate it, and make their compromises with it, in a way that is both convincing and very poignant. There is also a rich vein of humour that runs through the book, much of which comes from the stories about and conversations with Lev's friend Rudi, who has stayed back in the village.
The 1983 Granta list of best young British novelists famously includes: McEwan, Rushdie, Pat Barker, Amis, Graham Swift. Tremain was among this group but in my view remains a little underrated. Both Music & Silence and Restoration have found critical acclaim and broad readerships, but The Colour - a fine, fine book - did less well, and The Way I Found Her is a book far less well known than it should be. Almost alone amongst that stellar group of 1983, she hasn't yet put a foot wrong.
286 of 299 people found the following review helpful
By dickiebird
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I have always admired the award-winning author Rose Tremain, but her new novel THE ROAD HOME is the one that has given me the most pleasure. The tale of Lev, a middle aged Polish migrant worker, who comes to London after losing both his job and his wife, is both moving and funny. It's a marvellous take on modern Britain where foreign workers on scant wages toil away in the kitchens of posh restaurants in London and asparagus fields in Norfolk, whilst at the other end of the scale celebrity culture rules. Lev is a good man and a heroic hard worker. As he struggles to earn enough money to send home to his mother who looks after his little girl, he is helped by unexpected acts of kindness from a cast of diverse and entirely uncliched characters. Beautifully written, THE ROAD HOME is an uplifting read and highly recommended.
58 of 62 people found the following review helpful
By Amicie
Format:Paperback
I enjoyed this novel so much that when I was three quarters of the way through I went back to the beginning and started again! Tremain is an excellent writer. Her prose is full of colourful images and she has an eye for the quirky, the absurd, which makes for an entertaining read. In this tale the line between tragedy and comedy is finely walked. Lev is a beguiling hero - in many ways brave and admirable, but also flawed. His story is sad, sometimes brutal, but always handled with compassion. This novel could easily be read as a treatise on the plight of the immigrant worker - but it is more complex than that. Ultimately it is about the irrepressiblity of the human spirit and I loved it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
An interesting read
I enjoyed this read - a well reaserched book lots of accurate information about cooking and kitchens. Read more
Published 29 days ago by Bill G
4.0 out of 5 stars
a good read
slightly rose tinted but delightfully written and a love affair with food. A feel better book with an unrealistic? but positive outcome
Published 1 month ago by Barbara Carveth-Johnson
5.0 out of 5 stars
a great read, a good story and very well written as one would expect...
This is a beautiful story well told of a man's struggle with life in a new country, his trials and tribulations along the road to eventual success by hard work and determination.
Published 2 months ago by E A Constantinou
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good holiday read
I read this on holiday after downloading it after having run out of reading material. Really enjoyed it. Quite topical when we have many Europeans living in England.
Published 2 months ago by E. Gibbs
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Road Home
A truly excellent book. Couldn't put it down , the central character is an anti hero who you can't help but feel compassion for, despite his actions. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Dorothy Parker
5.0 out of 5 stars
A very interesting, sympathetic and thought provoking novel.
I chose it for the reasons above and was reading it for a reading group.
I would recommend it to others
I would recommend it to others
Published 5 months ago by Mrs G A Hale
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good story - well written
I bought this book as a book club choice and thoroughly enjoyed the story. It is about a person who travels from his home country to work in Britain, his trials and tribulations... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Mrs. S. Sanders
4.0 out of 5 stars
Liked the writing style
I love the way the author enabled me to get under the skin of the main character, just in the same way as in The Colour, the other novel of her's that I have read. Read more
Published 6 months ago by J Hutch
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Winner
We might expect literary prize-winners to be, above all, literary. The Road Home wears its literariness lightly, however. It should appeal to almost everyone. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Jon Chambers
4.0 out of 5 stars
Road Home
Rose Tremain has done it again. Her wonderful discriptive writing taking the reading on the journey. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Lorri
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