Reckless Driver: A Novel [Hardcover]

Lisa Vice (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1995

A 1960s blue-collar family self-destructs as Floyd Franklin, an emotionally unstable man, turns the brunt of his dementia on his two daughters, after his wife, Ruth, abandons the home, leaving the girls unprotected. A first novel. 15,000 first printing. Tour.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Six-year-old Lana Franklin, narrator of this insightful, affecting first novel, lives with her older sister Abbie and their warring, unstable parents in Windfall, Ind. Their incessantly unsatisfied mother Ruth threatens to divorce their father Floyd, a WWII vet, who obsesses over the house catching fire, accuses Ruth of seeing other men and begins to sexually abuse Lana. Lana and Abbie invent a game called "The Old Man's Gone for Good," and imagine ways their father might die; a car accident with a reckless driver becomes a favorite scenario. The driving theme recurs five years later at the novel's resolution. Vice generally sustains Lana's tone throughout, only occasionally slipping from childish remarks ("She's got what you call pee-neumonia") to reflections that are more poetic ("pants and shirts hang stiff with ice... bare tree branches look like fingers scratching the blue sky"). Lana's confusion, her dread of her father and her need for his love are effectively and pointedly portrayed. Less successful are the interspersed third-person chapters chronicling Floyd's growing irrationality. Instances of obvious foreshadowing and awkward pacing aside, Vice's debut announces a singular and clear-toned voice.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Life in rural Indiana, circa the 1960s, is depicted in a series of short narratives in this first novel. In spare but effective prose, Vice tells of a family in the process of self destructing. She provides a perceptive glimpse into the mind of Lloyd, an abusive father in danger of losing his flimsy hold on reality. Through a series of short narratives, Lana, the youngest daughter, provides a convincing look at a family under stress. Throughout this compulsively readable story, the inner workings of Lloyd's mind are presented in discrete passages. The underlying chaos and violence of the characters' daily existence are clearly and effectively brought forth in the author's succinct writing style. Recommended for all fiction collections.?Erna Chamberlain, SUNY at Binghamton Libs.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Adult; 1St Edition edition (March 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 052593863X
• ISBN-13: 978-0525938637
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,954,534 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing, fascinating story of a family lost in itself, October 15, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Reckless Driver (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is amazing. It deals with incredibly complex subjects, yet is so simple to read that one doesn't put it down! The author tells it like it is, very direct English, and then lets our mind do the rest. The story is really tragic; the heroine conquers like all children do - by coping, rather than by conquering. The book raised a big question in my mind - everyone appears to blame the father for the family's tragic existence, but the contribution of the mother - to me, appears no less than the father. Ruth, the mother, could have made a very positive influence on her husband's self esteem and outlook on life - but instead, she helps him deteriorate mentally and emotionally! Was her contribution as great, or even greater, to the family's plight than the father's tragic mistakes? One undercurrent of the book is the care of each family member for each other - consciously, it wasn't love; but unconsciously, each member cared a lot about other - each individual had many chances to simply walk away - but it just doesn't happen like that. Instead, each seems to assume "this is the way it is and must be", and each deals with the issues of their lives, and shares part of their life with the other members. Another undercurrent of the book is the sense of helplessness that these small town parents feel - both Ruth and her "old man"; and how this feeling destroyed their lives. They were so blind! Others in the town made much more of their lives with the same resources and environment. I obviously enjoyed reading this book.

5.0 out of 5 stars haunting, December 9, 2001

By 

Lindsey Brage - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reckless Driver: A Novel (Hardcover)

I fist read this book shortly after it was first published, and like few books published within my lifetime, I continue to read it every few years or so and each time take away something different. The story haunts me and calls me to reread it, searching for another level.

The story takes place from the perspective of little Lana. At first her narrative is unfocused, but as she grows so does her perception of her surroundings and her family. This novel is a comment on smalltown life and tells of personally of the sad reality of children living in a fallen world.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Moving Vialations, January 4, 2000

By 

Helen Cook (Cicero,In. 46060) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reckless Driver (Mass Market Paperback)

I can't say how long it has been since I read a book that I could not put down! Lisa took me back into my own chilhood. I went through every emotion. It is simple, funny, haunting and most of all moving! I can't wait to read her next book!