Rush Home Road: A Novel [Hardcover]

Lori Lansens (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2002

Sharla Cody is only five, but has already lived a troubled life- only to find herself dumped on an elderly neighbor's doorstep when her mother takes off for the summer. Although Sharla is not the angelic child Addy Shadd had pictured when she agreed to look after her, the two soon forge a deep bond. To Addy's surprise, Sharla's presence brings back memories of her own childhood in Rusholme, a town settled by fugitive slaves in the mid-1800s. She reminisces about her family, her first love, and the painful experience that drove her away from home. Brilliantly structured-and achingly lyrical, this is a story about the redeeming power of love and memory, and about two unlikely people who transform each other's lives forever.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Certain novels recall fairy tales. Their heroes are banished, repeatedly challenged, until finally, foes vanquished, they make their triumphant homecoming. Though it opens in 1978 in a Chatham, Ontario, trailer park, Lansens's poignant debut is just such a novel. At its heart is Adelaide Shadd, a 70-year-old black woman who takes in five-year-old Sharla Cody when Sharla's "white trash" mother abandons her. As Addy turns Sharla from a malnourished, heedless child into a healthy, thoughtful girl, she recollects her own past. Addy grew up in Rusholme, a fictional cousin to the many Ontario communities founded by fugitive slaves brought north by the Underground Railroad. By 1908, when Addy is born, Rusholme is settled almost entirely by black farmers and is close to idyllic. But a rape and subsequent pregnancy force Addy to run away from Rusholme (she thinks of it as a command: "Rush home"), not to return for many years. Addy's life her marriage, her children, her journey to Detroit and back to Canada is the rich core of a novel also laden with history: Lansens manages to work in not only the Railroad, but also Prohibition and the Pullman porter movement. This is artfully done, but Lansens doesn't handle the novel's smaller scenes quite as well: she tends to drop narrative threads and confuse chronology. Some readers will resent the repeated plucking of their heartstrings, too, given how much Addy and Sharla suffer. Nonetheless, Lansens has created in Addy a truly noble character, not for what she suffered in the past but for what she does in the novel's present.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

As this first novel opens, 70-year-old Addy Shadd is living a peaceful trailer-park existence in the company of down-and-outers like Collette, who leaves her daughter with Addy and then disappears. Five-year-old Sharla is neither lovely nor lovable, and Addy's habit of solitude is hard to break, but as the two outcasts learn to care for each other, they begin healing from the abuse that they have suffered. Memories of Addy's childhood days in Rusholme, a Canadian border town settled by runaway slaves in the 1800s, come rushing back and carry the reader away. Addy recalls intimate details a small brother who died, past lovers, children now gone, and the many people who betrayed her while historical events like the Underground Railroad, the Pullman porter movement, and Prohibition frame her account and reflect some of the hardships suffered by African Americans, even in Canada. Though Addy has led a hard life, her beautiful, gentle spirit, her wise and loving way with Sharla, and an ultimate message of hope redeem the book from melancholy. A beautiful debut; recommended for all public libraries. Jennifer Baker, Seattle P.L.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown; 1St Edition edition (May 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316069027
• ISBN-13: 978-0316069021
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #652,637 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lori Lansens was born and raised in Chatham, Ontario, a small Canadian town with a remarkable history and a collection of eccentric characters. Living with her family in southern California now, she could not resist the pull of her fictitious 'Baldoon County' when she set out to write The Wife's Tale. She took the journey, along with her main character, from Canada to the Pacific Coast of America, where she enjoys the sunshine, and has learned a thing or two about transformation. She has written several screenplays and is the author of two previous novels, The Girls and Rush Home Road.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars May make you re-think your next judgment of a person..., August 20, 2002

By 

Colorado Cupcake (Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rush Home Road: A Novel (Hardcover)

This novel is a page turner. I simply could not put it down, and read it all in one day. The story of an old lady with many stories to her life and a little girl with terrible stories of her own. You will want only the best for Addy and Sharla- and burn with the need for justice when the best doesn't always happen. Lori Lansens is a wonderful story teller, I found myself compelled to keep going to find out what would happen next, and sad when I awoke this morning to realize that I had already finished the book and the story was over. It is written in a rather spare style, which makes the events even more poignant. It is non-sentimental, and Addy Shadd is one of the best heroines I had recently read. Five stars is the least award I would give this wonderful book.

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Rushed Home to Read It!, August 9, 2006

By 

Mary Lins (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rush Home Road (Hardcover)

If you are looking at these reviews in 2006, it may be because you have just read Lori Lansens latest novel, "The Girls" and found it to be so enthralling that you want more more more. That's why I picked up "Rush Home Road", and am I ever glad I did because it is every bit as enthralling, page-turning, heart-wrenching and endearing as "The Girls". This woman can write a story! Maybe it's her experience as a screenplay writer that makes her able to keep you interested, to teach you something you didn't know, and to make you want to know what happens next. I can't wait for her next novel! Brava!

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thou Shalt Rush Home, October 2, 2002

By 

J.C. Wallington "jnettefrommi" (Detroit, MI) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Rush Home Road: A Novel (Hardcover)

I only meant to read the first couple of pages to see what the story and writing style was going to be like when I opened this book, but I found myself immediately involved in the lives of Sharla Cody and Addy Shadd. Sharla is a five-year-old child and Addy is a seventy-year-old woman. Their lives are joined together when Sharla's mother asks Addy to watch the child for the summer, then abandons her. Having Sharla in her life and home brought back memories for Addy of her childhood in Rusholme, Ontario, Canada, and later years in Detroit, Michigan and Chatham, Ontario, Canada. Sharla reminds Addy of her own daughter that she did not see grow up. Although they had a rocky start, Sharla and Addy become friends as Addy bestowed some of her wisdom on Sharla. Sharla in turn learns to be a loving little girl now free of abuse.

Most of the story is Addy reminiscing about her first love Chester Monk, her rape by a family friend, her lonely existence as the town outcast, her marriage, her children, friends and her job at the bakery. Addy's memories of these good and bad times surface as she dreams during her naps. While sleeping she has conversations with her brother, Lil Leam, who served as an advisor and helpmate to Addy. Unbeknownst to Addy, she is also talking aloud in her sleep and Sharla is taking in it all.

I think the author did a fantastic job of making clear and precise transitions between the past and present. She includes a little history about the Underground Railroad and the city of Rusholme, a black community in Ontario, Canada. Her writing style easily engages the reader as the dialogue between the characters tells the story better than anyone else ever could. This book is highly recommended.