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A review by beth_zovko
Rush Home Road by Lori Lansens
2.0
This was mind-bleach after two Soviet non-fictions, so maybe it's biased to say the novel was a little too sugary, but here goes:
Elderly, world-weary Addy and sweet, abandoned Sharla were not difficult characters to like, but they lacked enough depth to love them. The writing (much of the time) was spot-on funny or wistful or furious. Descriptions of lake towns and farm people bordered on poetry, and the author's empathy for Addy and Sharla was real.
The book began well enough with the circumstances (ie shitty mother) that brought them together, and continued to look promising as it moved onto Addy's past. There's where the story started to lose its shine.
Early on, there's a neat twist that was never pursued, one I thought was more compelling than what the book actually delivered. Instead, we follow Addy as she ricochets from onesub-plot town to the next, meeting an array of villains/saviors who seemed to exist just to move the story along.
In all this Addy came across as so unshakably (*cough* maddeningly) patient and good, that it was hard to root for her--SPEAK UP, WOMAN! Add on an ending that left one of the major conflicts unresolved and, like Addy, I was ready to say goodbye to the whole thing.
Elderly, world-weary Addy and sweet, abandoned Sharla were not difficult characters to like, but they lacked enough depth to love them. The writing (much of the time) was spot-on funny or wistful or furious. Descriptions of lake towns and farm people bordered on poetry, and the author's empathy for Addy and Sharla was real.
The book began well enough with the circumstances (ie shitty mother) that brought them together, and continued to look promising as it moved onto Addy's past. There's where the story started to lose its shine.
Early on, there's a neat twist that was never pursued, one I thought was more compelling than what the book actually delivered. Instead, we follow Addy as she ricochets from one
In all this Addy came across as so unshakably (*cough* maddeningly) patient and good, that it was hard to root for her--SPEAK UP, WOMAN! Add on an ending that left one of the major conflicts unresolved and, like Addy, I was ready to say goodbye to the whole thing.