Customer Reviews

The Road to the Island: A Novel

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This novel was excellent reading. It captivated me as a female reader. To see that a man can be so sensitive and is able to view family dynamics in such a sensitive manner is commendable. The author's work is as well imaginative. The fictional characters' personalities have great depth. The author's introspection into all of the personalities is powerful. It is a must-read novel.

Tom Hazuka shows his readers that contemporary writing hasn't become a wasteland for words and self-absorbed babbling. As far as unreliable narrators go, Jimmy Dolan is the best. One of my favorite things about the book is that it has a John Irving-esque way of connecting seemingly unrelated events. Dr. Tom Hazuka is an excellent writer. If you don't purchase this book, you are making a terrible mistake. Read review of this book in the Chestnut Hill Local newspaper, November 26, 1998.

Hi Mrs. Perkins. You'll probably never ever read this but it's cool anyway.

Jimmy Dolan was thirty years old when he returned to his Connecticut hometown in search of the driver who killed his father in a hit-and-run accident. There he also finds himself confronted with dark secrets from his own past and is caught up in a web of guilt, betrayal and revenge. The Road To The Island is a complex and enthusiastically recommended novel showcasing a human drama that is superbly crafted and absolutely riveting. Author Tom Hazuka demonstrates a genuine talent capable of evoking strong emotional responses in the mind of his reader. Also highly recommended is Tom Hazuka's novel, In The City Of The Disappeared (1882593316, ...).

A quick read, yet complex, and provocative. It brought to life my memories of living in a small New England town. Hazuka has captured the flavor of what t to have been raised during the glorious fifties, and coming of age during the tumultous years of the Vietnam War. It is the story of Everyman.......on his search for life's answers. Answers which sometime come at a heavy price. It shows that the past is always with us. The choices of our youth often come back to haunt us. In Hazuka's novel, he returns us to his grandparents' farm. He recalls with bittersweet memories how life used to be. Charmingly told, it focused on what makes each of us unique.It ponders death, growth, and personal challenges. New relationships, and change are the bridge which makes us human. I laughed, and I pondered, and I cried. It is a story which is an allegory of our time. It should be a must read for all of those Baby Boomers who are now of middle age. Upon hitting forty, we should be reflecting back upon what our own individual life has meant.....and more importantly, what we can make it mean in the future. It is the struggle to find our true selves in this world. Clearly told, beautifully written, it is a crisp, sharp novel. A real find! Here's hoping that Hazuka comes out with another novel soon.