Those Ain't No Easy Roads (Back Roads - Tawni O'Dell)

Member Name: Ophelia

Product:	Back Roads - Tawni O'Dell
Date:	27/10/03 (261 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Interesting development of characters, first person narrative

Disadvantages: None

This is the first novel or Tawni O?Dell and what a start into the literary world it is. This story is powerful, enjoyable and thought provoking. The Chicago Tribune describes it as ?an intense story of family, frailty and disfunction, captivatingly told? and I would agree with their observation. This is a stunning first novel that cannot fail to intrigue, grip and fascinate.

The story involves the Altmyer family. Harley is 19 years old and is forced to act as the head of the household and legal guardian to his three younger sisters, Amber, Misty and Jody. The reason for this is that his mother is in prison, where she has been for the past two years, serving life imprisonment for the shooting of her husband/the children?s father. The book tells the tale of the children, how the past has affected them, how they have adapted to cope with the physical and emotional abuse they used to suffer at the hands of their father and how they have moulded themselves to their new lives, where adulthood and responsibility has been thrust upon them at an early age.

The children have had to grow up fast and in their few years have had to deal with more emotional turmoil than most have to in an entire lifetime. Suffering abuse from a parent would be enough to disturb many people but these children have also had to endure the murder of their abuser and the loss of their mother.

The children seem to have handled the abuse in different ways. In many ways Harley seems to have opted for denial; he has his parents wedding photo in his car but he keeps it hidden from view under a pile of rubbish in the passenger seat well. He has never had an intimate relationship with a woman and, judging by the frightening violent and disrespectful thoughts that sometimes enter his head, he would find it hard to maintain a normal relationship.

Amber, the next eldest at 16 years old, hated her father and seems to be trying to make up for the lack of love and acc
eptance in her childhood. She is willing to give herself physically to any man who shows interest in her and is also desperate to obtain love and comfort from her brother.

Misty was the closest of the children to her father and used to spend alot of time with him hunting. It would seem that in the absence of love or affection she came to thrive upon the abuse of her father, needing it as most people need love.

Jody was only four at the time of her father?s murder and so has probably been affected least, although she would not speak for 6 months after the event. Through her innocent childish remarks and observations, Harley begins to realise that the events of the night of the murder may not have occurred as they had been lead to believe and as he investigates further into the killing he begins to discover facts that shake him to his soul and undermine the new family unity that he has striven to create.

Harley begins to have an affair with the mother of one of Jody?s friends and new source of affection threatens to disrupt the family dynamics that the siblings have established. What may have provided deeply needed love and affection to Harley actually starts off a spiral of jealousy and hatred and begins to shake apart the world in which he lives. As this happens, and as he learns more about the past it is not just the fabric of his life but the stability of his mind that begins to deteriorate.

The story is told from the point of view of Harley. It is this that provides the ?intense story? to which the Chicago Tribune refer. Harley has been at the heart of the abuse, the murder and the current family set up and so through his eyes we can be deeply aware of all the pain, anger and suffering with which each member of the family has had to deal. We cannot escape the harsh realities of the abuse which has shattered the heart of this family, as our narrator not only suffered it himself but observed the suffering of those he lo
ved at close proximity.

The book has an almost claustrophobic feel as these four young people are trapped together by circumstances within one house. They are trapped by their past experiences and trapped by their emotional hangups. This close feeling intensifies as the truth begins to encroach upon this too cosy set up and as the glue holding the family together begins to weaken.

This story is a very powerful read. It is fascinating to read about the effect the past has had on these young people and it is even more interesting to learn how they have adapted to cope with it. The plot is also exciting, not relying on a purely observational bias but revealing secrets from the past that shock both the reader and the characters.

This novel is a truly inspirational read of stamina, love, family and the emotional struggle to survive. I would highly recommend it and just hope that O?Dell?s second novel can live up to her first.



OTHER INFO
Publisher: Transworld Publishers, Uxbridge Road, London
Website: www.booksattransworld.co.uk
Price: £6.99
ISBN: 0-552-99959-8

Summary: