Customer Reviews

Furthest from the Gate

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This is the type novel I look for and celebrate. It's fresh, it's real, it's well-written. At the same time, it is funny and touching. In fact, it's so real it doesn't read like a novel at all, and that's the highest compliment I can pay.

This is more than a coming of age story, though Kate Mitchell certainly grows up in this novel. It's more than a coming out story, though that scenario unfolds as well. Kate visits her once formidable mother in the long term care facility, as she states, "calculating how long I will stay and when I can leave to maintain my status as a good, dutiful daughter." Her life story is interspersed with these visits and with letters from her Uncle Charlie, a unique individual whose love of life and delightful means of expressing it enrich and entertain.
Kate's childhood evokes fond, familiar memories of my own. Her freshman year in college evoke similar circumstances too.
Everything about this novel seems familiar and real.
Please read this book. It is a treasure. The writing is spare and good, it is well-crafted and very moving. I can't say enough about this latest novel by Ann Roberts. Do yourself a favor and buy more than one copy, because there will be people you'll want to give this book to.

Roberts' writing has certainly matured quickly. FURTHEST FROM THE GATE is a truly good book from a promising new author in this genre. Although this reader really liked her first book PAID IN FULL, this newest offering is much more fluid read with lovable characters and a thoughtful story line.

Kate Mitchell is a wonderful character who has had her fair share of struggles in life. She has loved other girls as long as she can remember. Her parents were so involved in their own lives, they hardly noticed hers. Those struggles show no signs of going away with her mother running for public office. To make matters worse, Kate's mother wants her to keep her sexuality under wraps for the viability of her campaign.

The "gate" is the gate to heaven, but this is not necessarily a religious book. The story centers around Kate's tumultuous teen years and how she reconciles the related issues as an adult. She's a wonderful character with an amazing depth of personality. Roberts took the time to fully develop this one character and the story of her life. Bravo for a job well done! This reader is certainly looking forward to her upcoming new release - BRILLIANT - and is sure the title will accurately describe the story within.

The seller (not Amazon) dorked my order on this book, so I received it a bit late. It was well worth the wait.

Furthest From the Gate is, I suspect, semi autobiographical, which sometimes colors Kate Mitchell's narrative with a familiarity that brings out a lot of what was the almost ambient feeling of coming of age in the 70s.

Kate's experiences growing up are framed between opposites: her immediate family, who are a mixture of stability and tradition while at the same time being loving and supportive and her uncle and grandmother, who approach life with the fun and irresponsibility of ne'er-do-wells who are nonetheless her confidant -- the superego and id to Kate's ego

Roberts does a great job playing the characters of the novel off each other and uses humor and insight to paint a picture of a girl discovering herself in a time and place where her identity could be allowed to grow. Or to wither.