Ebook Free Back Roads (Oprah's Book Club), by Tawni O'Dell

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Back Roads (Oprah's Book Club), by Tawni O'Dell

Ebook Free Back Roads (Oprah's Book Club), by Tawni O'Dell

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Amazon.com Review

Oprah Book Club® Selection, March 2000: Not since S.E. Hinton (The Outsiders) has a female novelist penned such a tough and titillating portrait of lower-class, crime-ridden manhood. Set in "beautiful, ruined" western Pennsylvania, amid Eat n' Parks and Lick n' Putts, Tawni O'Dell's Back Roads follows Harley Altmyer as he walks a raging, self-conscious line between crime and innocence. Why is he being held by the authorities, and what's he so mad about? In the recent past, it's his mother, who murdered his father and went to jail for life. In the far past, it's Dad himself: an abusive, hopeless man. In the present, it's the responsibility for his three younger sisters, which makes him fantasize about smashing their faces in until they "spit up bloody macaroni and cheese." But Harley still has a conscience--barely. He doesn't strike his sisters; he's been trying to protect them. The oldest is sassy Amber, 16, who's having sex on the living-room couch with townies who abuse her; next is frighteningly stoic 12-year-old Misty, with eyes "a glazed brown like a medicine bottle"; the youngest is adorable Jody, who at 6 pens to-do lists with items such as "PRAY FOR DADDYS SOWL." Overburdened with the practicalities of life, and the ever-mounting losses, Harley has started seeing his own words floating in the air in front of his face. "CLOSURE. TRUTH. MOST GUYS." This first novel opens well. O'Dell does an impeccable job of making Harley both brutal and forgivable. Here, for instance, he retreats to his basement room: "I lay there until dawn, thinking about Dad, and feeling the same useless frustration I had felt the first time I had seen him piss on a sparkling white drift of pure new snow." But that delicacy is soon lost, and Back Roads risks becoming an overabundant affair, pitched high, with a roller-coaster trajectory. Harley's anger metamorphoses into an almost bloodthirsty lust for his sexy, middle-aged neighbor, which stirs up myriad forbidden family secrets. Misty, it turns out, has been hiding something. Amber revolts. And even Jody's scribbles turn malevolent. While the writing is good throughout, the tension and plotting assume an unpleasant adolescent posture--bodice-ripping passion and mordant gloom combined. Nonetheless, O'Dell's assured and touching portrait of her protagonist emerges unscathed. You will likely remember luckless, fated Harley Altmyer long after his tsunamic tale has receded. And no matter what the judge decides, you will understand why this impoverished, angry young man was probably the most innocent one of all. --Jean Lenihan

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From Kirkus Reviews

A strong, thoughtful first novel that hews to time-honored fiction traditions, rooting a voyage of personal discovery in beautifully rendered particulars of character and place. We dont know exactly what kind of trouble 20-year-old Harley Altmyer is in when the story begins with him being interrogated by police officers, but we quickly learn that hes seen plenty of bad times already. Its been two years since his mother went to jail for shooting his father, and two now dead-end jobs are barely enough to support Harley and his three younger sisters in a dying western Pennsylvania town poisoned and abandoned by the coal industry. Sixteen-year-old Amber screws every guy in sight, daring Harley to do anything about it. Twelve-year-old Misty, favorite of their deceased fatherwhich means he beat her more than he did the other threeseems not to care about anything. Six-year-old Jody writes notes to herself (FEED DINUSORS/ EAT BREKFIST) and keeps secrets shes not quite aware she possesses. Harley keeps his court-mandated appointments with a psychiatrist, but resists her efforts to make him open up. Smart and sharply funny though he ishardly anyone catches his ironyHarley is trapped in the mans role he knows is a crock but cant let go. ODell does an impressive job of getting inside the head of a member of the opposite sex, creating a first-person narration of painful veracity as Harley rants against his mother and defends his father (He didnt like his job, but he went to it every day . . . . He was a flesh-and-blood man who couldnt stand it if you spilled something). The dysfunctional dynamics of a family scarred by domestic violence and incestuous longings lead to some luridly melodramatic twists, but the authors compassion and love for her characters shine throughout. When ODells plotting achieves the maturity of her character development, shes going to write a really extraordinary novel. This one is pretty darn good. (Book-of-the-Month Club main selection) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product details

Hardcover: 338 pages

Publisher: Viking Adult (March 28, 2000)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 9780670894185

ISBN-13: 978-0670894185

ASIN: 0670894184

Product Dimensions:

6.3 x 1.1 x 9.2 inches

Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review:

4.0 out of 5 stars

371 customer reviews

Amazon Best Sellers Rank:

#786,251 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

I generally like books that are dark and edgy but this one was too dark for me, something that doesn't happen very often. It was just tragic circumstance upon tragic circumstance being heaped upon these all-too-tragic characters. I liked Harley, the main character, and, in fact, I empathized with most of the characters in the book. But there wasn't a single ray of hope for any of them, not really at any point in the book. The ending, like the rest of the book, was tragic and unsatisfying. If you want to feel like life is hopeless, read this book. Otherwise, choose something else.

I’m not sure why I decided to buy this book. I felt like it had as many 1 stars as it did 5 stars. I read a few comments from every group and bought it anyway. It isn’t a book for everybody. Maybe some of the readers were too close to the subject. Im glad I read it to the end. It helped to pass the time for me and gave me something to think about. I’m glad it wasn’t a true story but I also realize it could have happened over and over again. I am giving it 4 stars because it sure shouldn’t be required reading for anybody. Loved the twist and turns. Life is never really what you see on the outside. Life is filled with secrets.

One of the most amazing aspects of O'Dell's writing is that she leads you to draw one conclusion about a character, and then slowly feeds you evidence that you've misjudged. I think that's what I enjoyed most about this story, the slow reveal leading to the ultimate conclusion. And then I'm left hating the people I respected, and respecting the people I hated. Awesome writing!I can't stop thinking about the story, or the author. She actually grew up in Indiana PA, where this novel is based. As a writer who grew up in a gritty place, I've wondered how to write about the amazing stories I accumulated there. O'Dell has done it, and she's writing another one. I respect her for that.I gave Back Roads 4 stars because of VERY strong 3-dimensional characters, dramatic tension and suspense, a hero I could root for - although anti-hero might be the better term - and a satisfying conclusion. I respected the way the author was able to show Harley, the main character, falling apart under the strain. His internal dialogue revealed such incredibly violent tendencies (which he never acted out - another major victory for this pathetically heroic young man), and those tendencies were backstory! He didn't get that way from the inciting incident. He and his sisters grew up in this situation, and they all reacted to it in different ways.I always like to hunt for themes in a story I enjoy, and in this one I saw the theme of responsibility accepted and shirked. Too much or too little taken on, and the results of that decision. Another theme was the question of Stockholm Syndrome - did Harley have it or not? Did his mom? Who was the tormentor, and who the tormented, in Callie's marriage?All in all, an amazing book. I highly recommend it.

After discovering that Back Roads was being adapted by Adrian Lyne (Jacob's Ladder, 9 1/2 Weeks, Fatal Attraction), I wanted more information on this book and the author.To my surprise, the unfavorable reviews here were a pleasure to read, and many made me WANT to read this book. I am a fan of dark "depressing" stories, with more realistically troubled characters, so I had to get a copy and find out what had compelled the director of Jacob's Ladder (a very dark film, and a masterpiece in my opinion) to adapt this book for the screen.And of course, it's brilliant. I couldn't put this book down. Tawni O'Dell is incredibly imaginative and I was easily transported to her coal-mining town setting alongside her colorful characters. Her descriptions, her call-backs, her character design in the teenage boy protagonist was all a joy to experience. Now, I'm struggling even more to wait for the film!

Ms. O'Dell provides insight into a segment of America most of us only see from car windows as we speed down the interstate. The back roads of south east Ohio, West Virginia and western Pennsylvania are dotted with shabby houses and trailer parks, dilapidated stores and factories all clustered around a McDonald's or a Walmart. We meet hopeless people who have no faith nor future. Nineteen year old Harley Altmeyer's life is a thankless struggle to care for his sisters while their mother is in prison. As the story progresses the reader is made aware that Harley's life as an abused child will never improve. His final decision is an attempt to provide some hope for his sisters.

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