Customer Reviews

The Way Home

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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.

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!

Despite being raised by two parents in an upper middle class neighborhood, Chris Flynn took his typical teenage rebellion to an extreme that landed him in juvenile detention until his eighteenth birthday. Now at twenty-six Chris is finally on the right path. He has a job in his father's carpet business and steers clear of trouble.

While installing carpet one day Chris and his friend Ben find $50,000 under the floor boards of a vacant home. Sorely tempted to take the money Chris does the right thing and convinces Ben that leaving the money is the right choice. But when the rightful owner of the cash comes to pick up his money its missing and he tracks down the pair dragging them back into the side of life Chris thought he would never see again.

Pelecanos does an incredible job of depicting the turmoil within these characters. From Chris's troubled life to his father's disappointment in Chris and his inability to voice his love for his son the emotions are clearly felt by the reader. He also knows how to write a well rounded story and even though I did think it was very predictable I still enjoyed reading it. I recommend this one for all fiction readers.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, in spite of the fact that I think it's not one of the author's best efforts. Some of the criticism from other reviewers about tired plot features and overworked story lines is probably valid. But when an author is as good as this one is, he can overcome some fundamental weak points and still deliver a book that's a joy to read. And, that's how I found this book to be - a true page turner.

If you're reading this, you're almost surely a book lover and, like me, you probably read a lot. And, I'd bet that a lot of your reading seems like a certain amount of work. But, I find Pelecanos' work to always be a joy to read and I'm sorry to reach the end of the book. He tells a good story. He helps his readers see the pictures and relate to the characters. He is a master of the craft, in my opinion, and the best crime author I've read. So, while this book is probably below average in his body of work, it's still head and shoulders above any of the other crime novels I've read. I hope his next book is a little longer and that I don't have to wait too long for it.

There's plenty to gain from a reading of this book. First, it's a look at hfamily relationships and the challenges of raising a son or daughter.Secondly, it's a look at how juvenile offenders are handled. While some reviewers see this as a criticism of the juvenile justice system, one must note that there is at least some if not complete rehabilitation on the parts of the characters we're introduced to in the first part of the book. The youths concerned reflect four levels of rehabilitation. The plot itself isn't terribly original. We've read the story of found money and what to do about it many times. However, in this book, the emphasis is on the specific individual characters. All in all, this is a satisfying read and recommended to all.

i was curious why the previous reviewer would give a george pelacanos novel 3 stars. i decided to look at some of his other reviews to get an idea where he's coming from.

voile! mr. newman gave the trite movie "pearl harbor" 5 stars. obviously his taste is skewed. he loses all credibility.

mr. pelacanos is one of, if not the best, american crime novelists out there.

pick up any of his novels; they are all, imo, great reads.

mr. pelacanos does not write mediocre stories; if you want that than check out the works of john sanford, sue gafton, and james patterson.

one more thing, mr. pelacanos had nothing to do with the lousy, '1 star' movie "pearl harbor." for that alone he should be praised.

This book was yet another good read by George Pelecanos. There are as many reasons to read a novel as there are readers. I basically enjoy this author's comprehension of inner city life and his ability to relate all characters to this familiar environment. Pelecanos' characters are real and jump out of the pages. Street scenes are sensed through smell and hearing as well as sight. They make me go back to those places that I have just accidentally driven through. Now I can re-envision these environments with a more clear understanding of the people that seemingly appear to be trapped here.

Good story but I do miss Derek Strange.

This novel reads like an elaborate plot outline. It is not fleshed out. Pelecanos has a real talent for moving a plot forward, but here he has forgotten the important pieces that bring a plot outline to life and make us believe and care about the characters. The book comes across preachy and unfinished. It's awkward to read. It feels like it was rushed to meet a publishing deadline.

Although Thomas Flynn never attended college, he became a successful entrepreneur. All he wants for his son, Chris, is to see him go to college and succeed in life. But Chris has no interest in school and drifts toward a life of drugs and petty crime. Placed in a juvenile facility until 18, Chris takes a job with his father once he graduates high school. Although Flynn is disappointed in Chris and Chris resents his father's plans for his future, the two learn to work together without conflict. Thomas begins to hope that Chris is maturing and leaving behind the past, but when one of Chris's friends is murdered and Chris begins acting suspiciously, Flynn fears his son has slipped back into the past, to a place he can never leave behind.

The predominant theme is a character study of two men in a contentious relationship, one not uncommon to many fathers and sons. Through characters and plot, Pelecanos relays his own message concerning juvenile detention centers and rehabilitating young criminals. He adds suspense to the story with the murder of Chris's friend and nicely develops a back story reflecting on Chris's time in the juvenile facility, touching upon the injustices Chris endures in that center as well as his relationship with the other young boys facing the same fate.