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Neuroses and destitution on the back roads
In Tawni O'Dell's bestseller Back Roads, Harley Altmyer recalls the back of his father's hand, the comforting touch of an older woman, the hidden horrors of incestuous relationships, visits to his imprisoned mother and panic attacks.
A greatly disturbing, yet strangely captivating page-turner, the novel probes the darkest depths of the soul and mind through its protagonist Harley Altmyer, a teenage boy forced to mature too quickly.
A dysfunctional family, a skewed perception of normalcy and a traumatic childhood has left Harley in a state of devastation. After his mother is sent to jail for shooting his abusive father, Harley becomes the legal guardian of his three sisters and the sole proprietor of his downtrodden home. His life is a blur of hushed whispers, darting glances, low-paying jobs and the occasional please-let-me-forget-life-sucks six-pack. Reminiscent of Holden Caulfield, Harley struggles to find meaning in his dire circumstances.
With no time to get through the emotional angst that normally accompanies adolescence, Harley struggles to prove his worth as he sacrifices his own future to provide for his sisters. Morbid thoughts of violence, mingled with sarcastic humor, lead us through Harley's dreary life. On a quest for truth, Harley digs deeper behind the seemingly innocent and normal familiarities of his childhood memories, only to find horrors at every turn. As he searches, his only comfort and salvation lies with an equally unhappy wife and mother of two, Callie Mercer. Unfortunately, the relationship leads to more serious troubles.
O' Dell personifies Harley through powerful stream of consciousness, captures teenage angst and conveys universal emotions and personal thought processes with precision. The ending is unsatisfactory, leaving us unsure of Harley's future, but the strengths of the novel outweigh this detail.
-reviewed by Tiffany Au
Sidebar: Other Books by Tawni O'Dell
Coal Run
Thirty years after a mine explosion, the repercussions are still being felt in the small town of Coal Run.
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