Customer Reviews

Back Roads

5 star:		(188)
4 star:		(79)
3 star:		(36)
2 star:		(34)
1 star:		(32)

 

 

I finished this novel in two days.I simply could not put it down.I needed to know what was going to happen to Harley next. Harley's like other teens,except he has too much responibility too soon. With his father dead, his mother in prison, and three sisters to take care of,one may wonder where he finds the time and energy for everything else that happens. I didn't care, all I wanted was what would happen with the next page. He may be a low class Holden Caufield, but this novel reminds me more of the Bean family in Carolyn Chute's wonderful The Beans Of Egypt Maine. If you don't know that novel, read them both. Be prepared not to put them down until you are finished. Anyone who is interested feel free to e-mail me about books,music,etc. Enjoy! krazy_katze@hotmail.com

I finished BACK ROADS two weeks ago and I am still haunted by the images and the language of the text. It is a very intense piece of Art. Although, I must warn you that Oprah was telling you the truth, it's a hard novel on the emotions . O'Dell, the author, does not let up! If you are a 'lists' person, here it is in order of intensity: Intrigue, Sex, Abuse, Sex, Secrecy and Genuine Unpredictability. The protagonist, 19-year-old Harley Altmyer is the sole guardian of his three younger sisters Amber (16), Misty (12) and the baby of the family Jody (6) (Jody's spelling is both sad and painfully funny). Rather than become a ward of the state or be put on welfare, a very responsible Harley decides to be "the man" of the house after their mother is sentenced to life in prison for the murder of their very abusive father. I am very tempted to tell you the incredible twists and turns O'Dell takes you with that fact. But you must read it all for yourself. You will NEVER in a million years or pages should I say, see what the end will be. To continue, in conjunction with his two years experience of parenting, Harley also has to deal with his bursting need for sexual comfort. Some of the sexual images in his mind are extremely disturbing and violent. Yet, this author is on her job, she makes you see why the images surface in that manner in the first place which allow us very sensitive readers to carry on with the story. He has to deal with three emotionally raw females, for which he has neither data nor point of reference. Also, there is the mortgage, the two full-time jobs, and a loneliness that is so vast it creates a fifth mouth to feed. If you are one of those, " I can't read another disturbing word of this book, I MUST put it down"...you simply can't. Back Roads calls you back until your eyes have reached the last alphabet of the novel.

"Back Roads" has to be one of the best books I ever read! (And I read a lot of books! ) Harley is thrown into manhood much too early in this debut novel by Tawni O'Dell. If losing his father too early by murder wasn't hard enough, he has to deal with raising his three younger sisters after his mother goes to jail. Each girl has her own distinctive personality, and it's a wonder they didn't kill each other living in that house together. Harley finds out the truth about his father's death and his whole world goes downhill fast. He falls for a young mother of two and things start to go really wrong after his sister finds out about them. Harley wonders about from day to day, drinking beer and not sleeping. This is a book you need to start on a Friday night so you can stay up all weekend reading it! I thought it was awesome and I eagerly await a sequel or something else from Tawni.

Tawni O'Dell has written a tale of The Great American Nightmare. Undoubtedly, the story is a tragedy and, just as an occasional person might not appreciate Shakespeare's tragedies, this work may lose a sensitive reader. But the realism of the work with descriptions that are PERTINENT, makes the reader feel, smell, hear, and taste becoming one with the book. Harley is a victim of circumstance. His family has splintered from the whole of society with the death of his father and he becomes burdened as an individual to bear premature responsibilities. The story becomes a tale of children with misdirected passions brought into a harsh, cruel world too soon. And sadly enough, the work stings of believability. After reading this novel, one begins to ponder the workings of our society upon those who merely seek to just survive. Ms. O'Dell has done an outstanding job on her first book. And until Tawni O'Dell has her next novel in print, I will simply keep rereading this one.

Harley Altmyer has a load of responsibilities for a man of his young age.

Harley's father is dead, and his mother is in prison for the murder, so he is left to raise his three younger sisters. Working two jobs, and looking for love in all the wrong places, his story of abuse, incest, and the strange relationships between siblings will unfold to answer the question...can he be the savior his family needs?

"Back Roads" is a fast-paced novel dealing with some disturbing issues. At times hilarious and heartbreaking, while also being gritty and violent, first time author, Tawni O'Dell, handles herself like a seasoned pro; dishing out the heavy subject matter, and at the same time creating a hero in Harley.

This book was an Oprah pick, but don't read it for that reason, read it because it is a well written, well executed story that grabs the reader and doesn't let go. This may not be a book for everyone, but any reader looking for intense fiction should pick it up.

Nick Gonnella

Tawni O'Dell is tough and gritty and poignant and quick. She hits hard and creates characters that live with you. I couldn't put this book down, waiting to see what Harley would do next, hurting for him, wanting to be him, anxiously hoping he would survive. With a cup of fine vanilla coffee, a little rain, the New York Night and my favorite reading music (John McArthur's, "HIDDEN") I started Back Roads and didn't finishe until the story was done. Buy this book.

I had just finished "Where the Heart Is" when I picked up this novel. These could not be more different books in tone and character but I was equally impressed with both. "Back Roads" takes you around every turn with this boy struggling to keep his family together. O'Dell makes you feel for him as well as his sisters and she makes the pain they endure horribly realistic. The landscaape of Western Pennsylvania is the perfect backdrop for a novel that I found chilling yet irresistable. I could not put it down and when I was finished, I was still haunted by what the lives of these characters could have been had they not been doomed from the start. Wonderful book and I highly recommend it to anyone who can deal with a little shock to the system. The topics she covers are not always easy but they are well worth braving.

This book really caught my attention about half way through, although I liked it from the beginning. Dealing with incest, or multiple abuses would seem difficult at best to get into these characters heads, but not too difficult for O'Dell. She did a first rate job of developing these people; so that the reader left a kinship with them. Of course we deal with these kind of issues in our real lifes, this read left me deeply distrubed for all the members of this family. It stayed with me for several hours after finishing the book. To touch someone that much; I would think it takes one heck of a writer. I have read all of Oprah's picks, and this is by far the best one yet.

This author is a very good writer. The book contained wonderful, thoughtful, and provoking phrases that I wanted to write down. At the same time, it contained witty conversation and dry sarcasm that would make one laugh. I feel the writing was excellent, especially for such a difficult story line and subject matter. The author showed the reader how the effects of abuse whether physical, emotional, or just plain denied have far reaching ramifications on this family. The book leaves you feeling badly for the characters and hoping their lives will heal in the future. The book is graphic, but it has to be in order for the reader to understand the emotional workings of this family.

You can't help falling for Harley. He's modern literature's great anti-hero; a post modern young man whose wry observations and astute cynicism provide for a remarkably entertaining and moving romp. For an Oprah selection this novel certainly packs a punch and I admire Oprah for choosing such and edgy, gritty and urbanly realistic novel for her Book Club. This is a riveting portrait of a dysfunctional family gone even more awry when the mother is put in prison after killing their father. Harley tries desperately to keep it together and we applaud his efforts to stop the remaining threads of his family life unravelling. Teenage angst, dead end lives', domestic violence, incestuous couplings and murder are all played out around a veneer of humour and compassion. Harley is such a lovable character, beautifully realised and startlingly portrayed. You just want to keep reading long after the novel ends - I couldn't put it down! You know though that with an astute and intelligent boy like Harley things WILL get better. Life is a struggle for the Altmyer family and there is so much anger but as readers' will discover they manage to transcend this and find that their true loyalties are to each other. A truly remarkable story from a remarkable writer. Tawni O'Dell is going to be a real voice on the current literary landscape.