Amazon.co.uk Review
Not since SE Hinton (The Outsiders) has a female novelist penned such a tough and titillating portrait of lower-class, crime-ridden manhood than Tawni O'Dell in
Back Roads. Set in "beautiful, ruined" western Pennsylvania, amid Eat n' Parks and Lick n' Putts, the novel follows Harley Altmyer as he walks a raging, self-conscious line between crime and innocence. Why is he being held by the authorities, and what's he so mad about? In the recent past, it's his mother, who murdered his father and went to jail for life. In the far past, it's Dad himself: an abusive, hopeless man. In the present, it's the responsibility for h is three younger sisters, which makes him fantasize about smashing their faces in until they "spit up bloody macaroni and cheese".
This first novel opens well. O'Dell does an impeccable job of making Harley both brutal and forgivable but Back Roads risks becoming an overabundant affair, pitched high, with a roller-coaster trajectory. Harley' s anger metamorphoses into an almost bloodthirsty lust for his sexy, middle-aged neighbour, which stirs up myriad forbidden family secrets. Misty, it turns out, has been hiding something. Amber revolts. And even Jody's scribbles turn malevolent. While the writing is good throughout, the tension and plotting assume an unpleasant adolescent posture--bodice-ripping passion and mordant gloom combined. Nonetheless, O'Dell's assured and touching portrait of her protagonist emerges unscathed. You will likely remember luckless, fated Harley Altmyer long after his tsunamic tale has receded. --Jean Lenihan, Amazon.com
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"* 'Tense...Involving...deftly captures the voice of a teenage boy who's in trouble' New York Times Book Review. * 'Poignant...achingly beautiful prose...remarkable' San Diego Union. * 'A page-turner...gritty, funny, sexy' Chicago Sun-Times. * 'An intense story of family, frailty, and dysfunction, set in the coal mining towns of western Pennsylvania...captivatingly told' Chicago Tribune. * 'O'Dell has tackled the real stuff of stories and she's done it with compassion and a unique voice...a writer of promise' New York Newsday. * 'Do not miss this one' Mademoiselle.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
by Tawni O'Dell
by Tawni O'Dell
by Wally Lamb
by Wally Lamb
by Jane Hamilton
