The Way Home [Hardcover]

George Pelecanos (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 12, 2009

Christopher Flynn is trying to get it right. After years of trouble and rebellion that enraged his father and nearly cost him his life, he has a steady job in his father's company, he's seriously dating a woman he respects, and, aside from the distrust that lingers in his father's eyes, his mistakes are firmly in the past.

One day on the job, Chris and his partner come across a temptation almost too big to resist. Chris does the right thing, but old habits and instincts rise to the surface, threatening this new-found stability with sudden treachery and violence. With his father and his most trusted friends, he takes one last chance to blast past the demons trying to pull him back.

Like Richard Price or William Kennedy, Pelecanos pushes his characters to the extremes, their redemption that much sweeter because it is so hard fought. Pelecanos has long been celebrated for his unerring ability to portray the conflicts men feel as they search and struggle for power and love in a world that is often harsh and unforgiving but can ultimately be filled with beauty.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bestseller Pelecanos (The Turnaround) probes the volatile and fragile relationship between a father, Thomas Flynn, and his son, Chris, in this less than satisfying effort. As a rebellious teen into drugs, Chris had minor brushes with the law and did a stint in juvenile prison. Now 26, he's working for his father's D.C.-area carpet installation business and staying clean. Still, Thomas remains disappointed in his son's lack of achievement or ambition, and Chris remains resentful that he's not accepted for who he is. A rather tired device, a bag of stolen money found by Chris and a friend and fellow former inmate, serves to set in motion a chain of actions that will lead to critical decisions for both Flynns. Pelecanos adroitly sketches the obstacles and temptations that face juvenile offenders in and after prison, but this novel, with its dispassionate style, never manages to generate high suspense or evoke much sympathy for its characters. Author tour. (May)
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From The New Yorker

Notions of revenge, redemption, and justice fuel this thriller, set in Washington, D.C. After a stint in juvenile hall, Chris Flynn sets out to turn his life around, taking a job as a carpet installer for his father, a flooring supplier, despite their contentious relationship. When Chris and a friend find fifty thousand dollars hidden beneath the floorboards at a job site, they must contend with a pair of sadistic ex-cons eager to reclaim the money, stolen during a jewelry heist years earlier. Despite its hard-charging elements, the story unfolds almost languidly, and it is clear that Pelecanos, a seasoned novelist and a writer for “The Wire,” means to provoke more than quickened heartbeats. His passionate advocacy for juvenile-prison reform—and his well-reasoned argument that a poorly run system can punish petty offenders far more severely than their crimes merit—occasionally turns the plot into a polemic.
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1 edition (May 12, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316156493
• ISBN-13: 978-0316156493
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 1.1 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #396,727 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

George P. Pelecanos was born in Washington, DC in 1957. His first novel was published in 1992 and alongside his consequential success as an author, he has also worked as producer, writer and story editor for the acclaimed and award-winning US crime series, The Wire. His writing for the show earned him an Emmy nomination.

He is the author of fifteen crime novels set in and around Washington, DC. The Big Blowdown was the recipient of the International Crime Novel of the Year award in both Germany and Japan; King Suckerman was shortlisted for the Gold Dagger Award in the UK. His short fiction has appeared in Esquire and the collections Unusual Suspects and Best American Mystery Stories of 1997. He is an award-winning journalist and pop-culture essayist who has written for the Washington Post.

Pelecanos can also claim credit for involvement in the production of several feature films. Most recently, as a screenwriter for film, he has written an adaptation of King Suckerman for Dimension Films, and was co-writer on the Paid in Full.

His novel Right as Rain is currently in development with director Curtis Hanson (LA Confidential, Wonder Boys) and Warner Brothers. He is a writer on the upcoming World War II miniseries The Pacific, to be produced by Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, and HBO. Pelecanos lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with his wife and three children. He is at work on his next novel.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More good stuff from Mr Pelecanos, May 21, 2009

By 

Mr. Gareth Price "gazza_hoho" (Stockport) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Way Home (Hardcover)

Less than 12 months after last book The Turnaround Pelecanos returns with another solid, enoyable read.

When Chris Flynn & co-worker Ben find $50,000 hidden in a cut-away floorboard while fitting a carpet in an empty house they leave it there, even though the temptation is there to take it. Both have been in trouble before & met in a juvenile detention centre but are trying to go straight. Ben fatefully lets their secret out to another ex inmate, the money is stolen & the people it belongs to come looking for it.

The book, though, is really about the relationship between Chris & his father, Tommy & how it is possible to change over time & earn a second chance. There is a lot of back story regarding Chris' time at Pine Ridge correctional facility & his day to day working life for his fathers floor laying firm after his release. This is the backbone of the book & balances the missing money plot nicely.

Pelecanos has a high profile at the moment due to his work on The Wire & well deserved it is, too. More mellow these days (the punky fizz of earlier Nick Stefanos books almost gone) he can still keep readers interested in the lives of his characters by making them plausible & real. Highly recommended.

22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars It appears I'm the first to say it - but here goes - this novel is tiresome, preachy, and predictable, July 8, 2009

By 

J. Norburn (Quesnel, BC, Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Way Home (Hardcover)

It looks like I'm the first reviewer to give The Way Home less than 3 stars so clearly I'm in the minority. My grievances with this novel can be divided into two categories; matters of personal taste and issues or problems with the novel that should be universal.

On matters of taste - I'm not a fan of stories about redemption and I don't like sentimental schmaltz. The Way Home is not so much a crime thriller as it is a novel about the relationship between parents and their children and the expectations that each generation has about the importance of 'getting ahead' and 'making something of ones' self'.

I also don't care for novels that view complex issues in a one-sided manner. The Way Home climbs right up on that soap box and preaches about the inadequacies of the juvenile detention system and the need for reform. The young criminals in this novel all redeem themselves in the end. The heavy handed message is that these troubled young men need to be understood and be given a hand up. I don't disagree, but the novel is so painfully one-sided that it actually loses credibility.

Of course, there are plenty of readers who like sentimental schmaltz. If you happen to be one of them, you'll find it here. It just doesn't appeal to me.

But even if you like schmatz, there are other issues that should bother anyone expecting a suspense novel. First off, did we really need another story about someone finding a big bag of money and the bad men who want it back? I didn't think so. Talk about a worn out plot device. And Pelecanos does absolutely nothing new or remotely interesting with this dusty old nugget.

I was irritated by gaps in logic throughout the novel, but perhaps the best example was when the two young men find the money. They are installing a new carpet in a house that was bought by a real estate agent who plans to flip the property. The previous home owner died and apparently had no heirs. The money is found in a gym bag under the floor.

It would seem that there are two clear choices that a normal human being would consider: say nothing and keep the cash or report the money and turn it in to someone (their supervisor, the police, the lady who owns the house - somebody). Instead the young men put the money back under the floor and lay new carpet over top of it.

Is it just me or does that strike you as incomprehensible? Who would do that? I can't imagine anyone would. It makes no sense. It's not like the two men are rushed. They have time to discuss what they are going to do. So why do they do this? The answer is obvious. Even though no human being would actually make the choice they did - the plot demands that they do it anyway. You see, they can't take the money because Pelecanos needs to show how the men are tempted, but reformed. They need to do the right thing. But they can't turn it in because the author needs the money left under the floor so it can be stolen later by someone else with a trail that leads to your friendly neighborhood carpet installers. It's a contrivance of plot that defies reasonable human behavior and it irritates me to no end. This is only one example, but there are others.

In conclusion, even if you like schmaltz, this novel still has a tired and predictable plot riddled with holes in logic. My advice is not to read it. But then again, I'm in the minority. Take from my comments what you will. There are plenty of better novels out there to read.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pelecanos: Am American Master, May 24, 2009

By 

Tony Monchinski (Westchester, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Way Home (Hardcover)

Okay, Greek-American, but whatever, George Pelecanos is one of America's best contemporary writers.
What is amazing is that he sustains the quality of his fiction while being so prolific. The Way Home is another amazing novel, featuring conflicted characters and their relationships and an impossible situation that goes from bad to worse.
The "bad guys" in this one really stood out for me. I really got a feel for them, even a liking of sorts.
The only thing I miss is some old Pelecanos characters I'd like to see show up more often...and that's not a complaint--Pelecanos creates these people who resonate with the reader, people we feel we know or could know. The author has a subtle way about his prose which is, at times, hard bitten and a nod to the genre, but to dismiss this as mere genre fiction is to miss one of the best things going in American letters.
And Pelecanos obviously has an ear to the street, from the cars, the music, the slang, everything feels right, all feels real. Another excellent book from a great American writer!