A Lovely, Indecent Departure [Kindle Edition]

Steven Lee Gilbert (Author)

Book Description

A Lovely, Indecent Departure is the riveting and emotionally-charged debut from a promising new voice in literary thrillers, and a captivating story of a mother's love and desperation set amidst the heart wrenching landscape of child custody.

Anna Miller wants only one thing, her son, and she will do anything to keep him. When a district court awards custody of Oliver to his father, she abducts the five year old and flees to Italy where with her family's help they disappear into the fabric of her native homeland. Told in prose that is both stripped-down and overpowering, Gilbert shapes the everyday conflict of child custody into a stunning search for sense of worth. Standing in the young woman's way is Evan Meade, the boy's guileful and mean-spirited father, who hires a private investigator when the efforts of the embattled local sheriff, Monroe Rossi, fail to track them down. But as the investigation draws them all closer to Anna, Evan's true nature betrays itself and the question of what's in the child's best interest becomes not so clear anymore.

Objectively detailed, in a voice that refuses to intrude on the minds of its characters, A Lovely, Indecent Departure, captures in stark detail a world in which modern archetypes are turned upside down and shows what an extraordinary splash Steven Lee Gilbert has made with his first novel.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The well-crafted plot is meted out at a steady pace, continually feeding readers' need to know and simultaneously whetting the appetite for more."--Kirkus Reviews

"Riveting...perfect for any kind of literary escape."--The Wake Weekly

"A Lovely, Indecent Departure is a choice and much recommended addition to general fiction collections."--Midwest Book Review

"Gilbert has written a masterful debut."-- Sandy Kirkland, Booksie's Blog

"The quality in this book is a perfect example of Indie authors being able to hold their own in regards to larger publishing house authors and that those readers who dismiss Indie authors are truly missing out."--Naomi Blackburn, Founder Sisterhood of the Traveling Book

"...an unassuming work, one that doesn't seek to draw you in with cheap gimmicks and plot tricks. It presents itself as it is, quiet, steady, and ultimately charming."--Shannon Fox, Isle of Books

From the Author

Author Awards

2007 Emerging Artist Grant for Literature, Durham Arts Council

Thank you for visiting my Amazon Author Page and for considering my book, A Lovely, Indecent Departure. Writing it was a process that covered several years, during which the manuscript underwent many, many drafts and required much patience on the part of myself as the writer, as well as my wife and family.

When in 2007, with their support, I chose to pursue writing full time, I had no real idea of what I was getting myself into. I only knew I wanted to write. Such an endeavor is not without risk and in the months leading up to my leaving my day job, we adjusted our lifestyle and saved what we could to afford me this opportunity. My wife and I talked to our children about doing with less and showed them through example the importance of following one's dream. Even when chronic illness threatened to derail the plan, we helped them to understand that dreams require sacrifice, a life lesson, we hope, they espouse themselves as adults.

 Please visit my website to learn more about this journey, and thanks again for stopping by.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 390 KB
• Print Length: 282 pages
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B007MQN99Y
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #358,676 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Really Fantastic Book! March 24, 2012

By The Unbound Underground

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

4.5 Stars out of 5: A family drama written in the style of a crime thriller which satisfies emotionally and examines complex themes with broad perspective. A fast-paced but thorough look into the nature of divorce and its effects on parents and children, with some great descriptions of Italy, which all combine in a well-balanced novel and deserving winner of an Emerging Artist Grant for literature.

Check out The Unbound Underground profile to find the full review!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Riveted Until The Last Page August 15, 2012

By Mandy

Format:Paperback

A Lovely, Indecent Departure is the gripping story of one mother's love for her son. When Anna loses custody of her son, Oliver, she gives up everything she knows and goes into hiding with him. Fleeing to Italy, Oliver and Anna start over, with the help of Anna's extended family. Unfortunately, Evan, Oliver's father, is one step behind them, and with the help of a private investigator, soon tracks them down. This is a fast-paced story that brings up a lot of questions regarding ethics and parenting.

This novel brings together many genres, effortlessly. Merging crime, family drama, action, chic-lit, and intoxicating landscapes, A Lovely, Indecent Departure is captivating. While, at first, we aren't made fully aware of the reasons for Anna's choices, it becomes increasingly clear what her motives are, and Evan does not fail us in the role of the antagonist. While this type of story has been done before, Mr. Gilbert manages to draw us into his characters' perspectives in a fresh way. No matter what side of the custody battle you identify with, you will be riveted to the very last page.

(Review written by Charlene, a Literary R&R book review blog team member)

19 of 24 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars A tedious read with lifeless characters September 3, 2012

By brutusmuktuk

Format:Paperback

Steven Lee Gilbert writes with conviction and purpose in his debut novel, A Lovely, Indecent Departure, but he has everything all wrong. The novel plods along slowly and tediously, and Gilbert's decision not to let the reader into the minds of his characters makes the story lifeless as well. Because the reader doesn't know what's going on inside their heads, the characters are more like empty vessels than human beings, awaiting direction from the author. When Gilbert makes them do something shocking, I don't feel he's earned it, because the plot leading up to that moment gives no indication the character was capable of such action. The novel wants to be morally ambiguous as well, but even here it fails. In order to achieve this goal would have required greater insight into the situation and into the motivations of its characters. Failing to provide such information, the novel ends up being morally disturbing instead.

The plot seems intriguing at first. Anna, a divorced mother, decides to abduct her son, Oliver, who was given custody to his father, Evan. Anna gets to see Oliver on weekends, but Evan does everything he can to ensure she seems him for as little time as possible. On this particularly weekend, Evan demands that Anna bring Oliver back four hours earlier than she has him for, but Anna has other plans.

It's clear that we're supposed to cheer for Anna and view Evan as the bad guy. The problem is, Gilbert fails to provide any proof that Evan is a bad guy until some plot developments towards the end that are not earned. That the sheriff and a private investigator suspect Evan is to blame for his wife's actions makes the reader more sympathetic to him. These characters seem convinced that Evan is a monster, but nothing convincing suggests that he is. The mistake Gilbert makes is in not revealing anything monstrous Evan has done during his marriage to Anna. The fact that the court awards him custody suggests he is more capable of raising his son than she is.

There's also the problem of the third POV character, Monroe, who adds nothing much to the story overall. Gilbert could have profited immensely from removing Monroe from the story and instead focusing on developing Anna and Evan and their situation so the reader could actually care about the outcome of the story.

More About the Author

Steven Lee Gilbert was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana but considers his childhood home the green, rolling foothills of East Tennessee and the southern Appalachia mountains, settlement to all sorts of interesting people, composites of which can be found throughout his writing. Most of his adulthood he's spent in the Sandhills and Piedmont of central North Carolina, where he lives now with his wife and family.

Steven received his B.A. in English from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, after which he was commissioned and served four years as an officer and paratrooper in the U.S. Army. While in school he had the pleasure of learning from Wilma Dykeman and in 2007 had the opportunity to work with Barry Hannah, both of which greatly influenced his writing. The next year, Steven was awarded a Durham Arts Council Emerging Artist Grant for Literature. He has also received recognition for his work as a writer from the Tennessee Writers Alliance.

His work has been published in the Raleigh News & Observer, The Independent Weekly, Diabetes Health, and at Lifescripts.com. He is also the author of the blog, Without Envy. A Lovely, Indecent Departure is his first novel.

You can read more about him at www.stevenleegilbert.com.