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Detours
Joel Patterson should be happier than ever. He's just returned from a two-week vacation in London, where he met Philip, who might be the man of his dreams. Instead, Joel's heading to Maine for his mother's funeral. He quits his job to fulfill one last request for his mother: unload his parents' albatross of an RV by delivering it to an old family friend—in California.
Somehow, Joel's high school "friend" Lincoln has invited himself along on the ride—and into Joel's bed. The other person who's invited herself along? The ghost of his mother, who still has plenty to say about her son's judgment (or lack thereof). Joel has to get the RV to San Francisco, get rid of Lincoln, and get back to Philip. It would also make him feel better if he learned what's keeping his mother tied to this earthly plane. However Joel manages it, the route is likely to be anything but straight.
Somehow, Joel's high school "friend" Lincoln has invited himself along on the ride—and into Joel's bed. The other person who's invited herself along? The ghost of his mother, who still has plenty to say about her son's judgment (or lack thereof). Joel has to get the RV to San Francisco, get rid of Lincoln, and get back to Philip. It would also make him feel better if he learned what's keeping his mother tied to this earthly plane. However Joel manages it, the route is likely to be anything but straight.
288 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2011
1 person is currently reading
71 people want to read
About the author
Jeffrey Ricker
26 books54 followersJeffrey Ricker is the author of Detours (2011), the YA fantasy The Unwanted (2014), The Final Decree (2020), and co-author (with ’Nathan Burgoine and J. Marshall Freeman) of Three Left Turns to Nowhere. His stories have appeared in Foglifter, Phoebe, Little Fiction, The Citron Review, The Saturday Evening Post, and others. A 2014 Lambda Literary Fellow and recipient of a 2015 Vermont Studio Center residency, he has an MFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia and teaches creative writing at Webster University.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
April 23, 2014
Jeffrey Ricker scares me.
It seems like any time I pick up his work these days, I find he’s tapped into my brain (The Unwanted: the answer to my teenage fantasies; Fool for Love’s “At the End of the Leash” feeds my love of dogs and my secret voyeuristic streak; Riding the Rails’ “Mount Olympus” brought back memories of the television miniseries of Bradbury’s Martian Chronicles from my childhood, while also reminding me of Burroughs’ John Carter series, and a smidge of my favorite show from the late ‘70s Buck Rogers; and Night Shadows' “Blackout”: if Ricker knows about that night back in Pennsylvania with the Voodoo book – well, then I really am freaking scared). See, if I didn’t know better, I’d swear his fingers were clamped on my face in a Vulcan mind meld.
But with Detours, that connection became a bit uncomfortable.
In the novel, Joel returns from a trip to London, where he might just have met the man of his dreams, only to learn that his mother has unexpectedly died. To fulfill her final wish, Joel drives his parents’ RV cross country to its new owner on the west coast. Along the way, he quits his job, somehow picks up the brother of an ex-girlfriend, makes a lot of food, dumps the same brother of the same ex-girlfriend, visits and gets drunk with his mother’s childhood friends, makes a lot more food, and–oh, yeah–talks to the ghost of his mother, like a lot. All of which made for an entertaining (albeit somewhat detour-laden) road trip. In the midst of all of this it became clear just how directionless Joel actually was.
Earlier in his life, he had had a vision for his future, a plan in mind for what he wanted to accomplish. Dreams. But somewhere along the way all of that evaporated. Nothing tragic caused it. No great turn of events brought it about. It simply…was. And it was in that quiet dissolution of Joel’s life that Ricker’s talents truly shone.
I kept waiting for the big reveal, the explanation of why Joel was allowing life to happen to him rather than making life happen for him. The further I read, the more frustrated I became waiting for some explanation of where Joel had gotten so off track, why his life was such a mess—anything that might justify the pointlessness of his existence. But it didn’t come, and ultimately I realized it didn’t matter. What did matter was stepping out of that rut and finding a new path.
And it was those first tentative steps Joel took at the end of the book that made all my questions and frustrations worthwhile. And it was there, toward the end, that I found the line that best sums up this book for me:
Maybe it’s a mercy we can only see ourselves through a reflection.
Detours is a witty, entertaining, romantic road trip. It’s also an insightful exploration of what happens when our lives become static and what it takes to get us back on track. Nicely done, Jeffrey.
Now, stay out of my head.
It seems like any time I pick up his work these days, I find he’s tapped into my brain (The Unwanted: the answer to my teenage fantasies; Fool for Love’s “At the End of the Leash” feeds my love of dogs and my secret voyeuristic streak; Riding the Rails’ “Mount Olympus” brought back memories of the television miniseries of Bradbury’s Martian Chronicles from my childhood, while also reminding me of Burroughs’ John Carter series, and a smidge of my favorite show from the late ‘70s Buck Rogers; and Night Shadows' “Blackout”: if Ricker knows about that night back in Pennsylvania with the Voodoo book – well, then I really am freaking scared). See, if I didn’t know better, I’d swear his fingers were clamped on my face in a Vulcan mind meld.
But with Detours, that connection became a bit uncomfortable.
In the novel, Joel returns from a trip to London, where he might just have met the man of his dreams, only to learn that his mother has unexpectedly died. To fulfill her final wish, Joel drives his parents’ RV cross country to its new owner on the west coast. Along the way, he quits his job, somehow picks up the brother of an ex-girlfriend, makes a lot of food, dumps the same brother of the same ex-girlfriend, visits and gets drunk with his mother’s childhood friends, makes a lot more food, and–oh, yeah–talks to the ghost of his mother, like a lot. All of which made for an entertaining (albeit somewhat detour-laden) road trip. In the midst of all of this it became clear just how directionless Joel actually was.
Earlier in his life, he had had a vision for his future, a plan in mind for what he wanted to accomplish. Dreams. But somewhere along the way all of that evaporated. Nothing tragic caused it. No great turn of events brought it about. It simply…was. And it was in that quiet dissolution of Joel’s life that Ricker’s talents truly shone.
I kept waiting for the big reveal, the explanation of why Joel was allowing life to happen to him rather than making life happen for him. The further I read, the more frustrated I became waiting for some explanation of where Joel had gotten so off track, why his life was such a mess—anything that might justify the pointlessness of his existence. But it didn’t come, and ultimately I realized it didn’t matter. What did matter was stepping out of that rut and finding a new path.
And it was those first tentative steps Joel took at the end of the book that made all my questions and frustrations worthwhile. And it was there, toward the end, that I found the line that best sums up this book for me:
Maybe it’s a mercy we can only see ourselves through a reflection.
Detours is a witty, entertaining, romantic road trip. It’s also an insightful exploration of what happens when our lives become static and what it takes to get us back on track. Nicely done, Jeffrey.
Now, stay out of my head.
December 17, 2011
There is a mantra for children's librarians to get the right book to the right child at the right time. Well, this was my right book at the right time. It was delightful. This is story of Joel and his mother who banter on a heartwarming journey driving an RV from Maine to California. I never knew what was happening next or where they story was going. It was that well constructed. It kept me reading well into the night to finish. There is humor, pathos, romance (although I was thinking there may be a switcheroo at the end!)Great read from a great writer. Update: 12/14 I have been thinking about this book a week later. It's very cleverly written and I find myself returning to re-read certain passages. Read this one.
November 7, 2011
I bumped into Jeffrey Ricker for the first time when I read his short story “At the End of the Leash.” It was a charming story, a gentle piece with a sweet romance potentially botched by the snowball effect of a little white lie of omission. The humour was deft without slugging you in the face, the sweetness didn’t approach saccharine, and the overall effect left a real smile on my face.
It also featured a wonderful dog and made my husband point out that none of the story could have happened with a cat, and thus I should relent and allow him to get us a dog.
DETOURS delivers all these elements – the charm, the romance, the potential disaster to said romance via a few bad choices on the part of our hero, and the balance of humour and sweetness that I’ve come to love from Ricker’s writing. Joel has just come back from London where he may have just met the man of his dreams and has landed to tragedy – his mother has died. When he’s asked to unload the RV his parents bought by driving it to the new owners in San Francisco, everything combines to spark Joel to make some serious life choices – without any thought to what comes after – and soon he’s juggling the bad news fella who has invited himself along for the ride, a series of small disasters, and his mother’s ghost, who definitely hasn’t forgotten how to push his buttons. His discoveries about himself – and his mother’s past – collide over and over during these bumps along the way.
The relationship between Joel and his (departed) mother is wonderfully written. She is sly and witty, and a wonderful foil for Joel, who is suffering from a realistic sense of inertia, even as he barrels onward towards San Francisco. He’s sometimes on the edge of pathetic, but you want to step inside the book and give him a hug (before you slap him across the face and tell him to snap out of it).
DETOURS is a wonderful, gentle, sweet, and funny book. I enjoyed everything about it.
Oh, yeah, and there’s a dog. I should probably start picking out a collar and some food bowls.
It also featured a wonderful dog and made my husband point out that none of the story could have happened with a cat, and thus I should relent and allow him to get us a dog.
DETOURS delivers all these elements – the charm, the romance, the potential disaster to said romance via a few bad choices on the part of our hero, and the balance of humour and sweetness that I’ve come to love from Ricker’s writing. Joel has just come back from London where he may have just met the man of his dreams and has landed to tragedy – his mother has died. When he’s asked to unload the RV his parents bought by driving it to the new owners in San Francisco, everything combines to spark Joel to make some serious life choices – without any thought to what comes after – and soon he’s juggling the bad news fella who has invited himself along for the ride, a series of small disasters, and his mother’s ghost, who definitely hasn’t forgotten how to push his buttons. His discoveries about himself – and his mother’s past – collide over and over during these bumps along the way.
The relationship between Joel and his (departed) mother is wonderfully written. She is sly and witty, and a wonderful foil for Joel, who is suffering from a realistic sense of inertia, even as he barrels onward towards San Francisco. He’s sometimes on the edge of pathetic, but you want to step inside the book and give him a hug (before you slap him across the face and tell him to snap out of it).
DETOURS is a wonderful, gentle, sweet, and funny book. I enjoyed everything about it.
Oh, yeah, and there’s a dog. I should probably start picking out a collar and some food bowls.
November 19, 2011
You can find the complete review at Forever Book Lover
I took away so much more than I think the author may have intended, I say that in a good way. Have you ever had a dialogue in a movie, or the words in a song reach you in a place so deeply hidden behind the walls you have built to protect your fragile soul? Well, this book did it for me and honestly, I don't know why this book affected me the way it did.
I love the dialogue between Joel and his mother, it was witty and heartwarming. I enjoyed everything about this book.
I took away so much more than I think the author may have intended, I say that in a good way. Have you ever had a dialogue in a movie, or the words in a song reach you in a place so deeply hidden behind the walls you have built to protect your fragile soul? Well, this book did it for me and honestly, I don't know why this book affected me the way it did.
I love the dialogue between Joel and his mother, it was witty and heartwarming. I enjoyed everything about this book.
March 3, 2015
(3.5 / 5)
A breezy, captivating book with some poignant scenes, although some characters really needed a little more backstory or resolution.
A breezy, captivating book with some poignant scenes, although some characters really needed a little more backstory or resolution.
April 13, 2017
The writing was fine and yet this felt longer than the page count and it took me longer to read than it should have. Mostly I’m left feeling ‘So what?’. What did any of it mean? What was the point of any of the episodes? What did any of these people teach him? Lincoln felt especially pointless. Sure, his mother encourages him in a certain direction and there’s an attempt to explain a lesson learned on the final two pages, but it fell flat. I just didn’t see it.
November 18, 2011
Like Mel Bossa's Split, Detours does an excellent job of showing how different our lives are from the lives of our parents. Main character Joel uses the month following his mother's death finding himself through interactions with people from his past, distance and recent, his mother's hilarious ghost, his aging father and his new love, Phillip. I think a lot of people can relate to Joel whether who've been haunted or not.
I have no idea how I didn't sob my eyes on during several points in this novel, but I managed to keep it together. Humor and extremely touching moments left me hanging on for more.
It doesn't hurt that Jeffrey Ricker is somewhat of a fox. Definitely check it out.
I have no idea how I didn't sob my eyes on during several points in this novel, but I managed to keep it together. Humor and extremely touching moments left me hanging on for more.
It doesn't hurt that Jeffrey Ricker is somewhat of a fox. Definitely check it out.
November 3, 2011
Loved it.
October 26, 2015
2012 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention (5* from at least 1 judge)
August 31, 2023
This book confounds me. I feel like it's marketed as a romance, which it mostly definitely is not. I feel like it has some interesting characters, but they're shoved into the book, most with only the broadest strokes of a personality, abruptly discarded when the book is done with them. I don't know that I've read another book where important secondary characters literally walk off stage without their plotlines being resolved, and without the reader having any clue as to who they are, never to be seen again. Its baffling.
Some of the characters are baffling as well. Motivations are murky and some actions seem driven by the plot rather than by the character. Then there are characters that the author clearly thinks the reader should either like or dislike, as every other character in the book feels that way about them, but we're never given evidence of that in the writing. It's not a poorly written book by any means and I don't want to say that I didn't enjoy it. I know this was the author's first novel, and I'd be curious to see him grow with subsequent novels or see his short stories.
Some of the characters are baffling as well. Motivations are murky and some actions seem driven by the plot rather than by the character. Then there are characters that the author clearly thinks the reader should either like or dislike, as every other character in the book feels that way about them, but we're never given evidence of that in the writing. It's not a poorly written book by any means and I don't want to say that I didn't enjoy it. I know this was the author's first novel, and I'd be curious to see him grow with subsequent novels or see his short stories.
August 9, 2019
Warning, romance readers: this is more a literary novel than a romance. The end is at best a happy for now, though we don't see it. Nothing close to a happily ever after.
That said, I did enjoy it for what it actually was. Though, having finished it, I feel less satisfied than a good romance (or any good novel) leaves me. It feels incomplete, thus the three stars: average. Not exceptional.
That said, I did enjoy it for what it actually was. Though, having finished it, I feel less satisfied than a good romance (or any good novel) leaves me. It feels incomplete, thus the three stars: average. Not exceptional.
October 28, 2011
Amazing how sometimes we pick up a book and find similarities between ourselves and the characters. Jacob, the main character recently returning from Holiday in London, receives a call (none of us want to receive), the death of a parent. Having not been informed of his Mother's illness he feels cheated, then she appears to him as a ghost, (doing the things Mom's do best when their alive). As with many Gay Men, his relationship with his Dad is strained/awkward to say the least. The love of family is there, yet it is never spoken. Thru a couple one night stands, and an RV adventure cross country with Mom's ghost, Jacob finally discovers he has his life to live, his Dad does understand things, and Mom only wants to see him happy. So, in other words, say what you have to say to the people you care about before its to late. They may understand you better than you know...and don't be afraid to live your life!
Book published by Bold Stroke Books.
Book published by Bold Stroke Books.
August 5, 2013
I think the trouble with the book was my expectation. I kept wondering why Joel's mother was lingering around.. was there a brilliant ending that would explain all that but somehow, the ending got me a bit smirking, comparing this ending to the great Brokeback Mountain. Of course these two stories were not of the same level.
I did not dislike Detour but I would not say that I was over the moon with this book either. What we have was a gay American who could not decide what he would want to do with his life, irresponsible and made decisions that would not tie himself to regularities. Perhaps irregularities were important sometimes but I failed to be impressed by Joel.
If Lincoln was bad, Joel was as bad.
I may like Jeffrey's writing but I am sure not fond of the male lead character created.
I did not dislike Detour but I would not say that I was over the moon with this book either. What we have was a gay American who could not decide what he would want to do with his life, irresponsible and made decisions that would not tie himself to regularities. Perhaps irregularities were important sometimes but I failed to be impressed by Joel.
If Lincoln was bad, Joel was as bad.
I may like Jeffrey's writing but I am sure not fond of the male lead character created.
January 19, 2012
I had a hard time with this one; I couldn't wait till it was over. I couldn't swallow a dead mother who returned from after life to be nothing but sarcastic and rude. The opportunities that the protagonist had for character development were often rushed--a few paragraphs summarizing pieces that might have been interesting--but the author wasn't able to show instead of tell. I never found a climax or other key parts of plot. I never saw much conflict that wasn't easily resolved--the biggest supposed conflict was a self-invited ex who just decided to leave. Overall, I found the book a bit boring though, toward the end, a few pieces finally came together. I'm sorry to say it was too little, too late.
June 11, 2013
I enjoyed the book. I wasn't too sure to begin with, but something kept me reading and then I really got into it. I wasn't sure, either, about the device of Joel talking to his dead mother, but it worked and added pathos and poignancy to the text. It was added interest for me, too, that Joel and Philip met in London, at the secondhand bookstalls under Waterloo Bridge. I can see how recogition of a place or experience can appeal (perhaps this is why some British shows are made into US versions?). However, I also enjoy reading of experiences and places out of my frame of reference. I found Joel's (Ricker's?) view of the ephemeral nature of friendship to be rather melancholy, although perhaps pragmatic. I was touched and ever so slightly choked at the end. A good read.
November 14, 2012
This was a hard book to classify and a book that didn't grab me from the get go. That said it's a book that snuck up on me and managed to wrap it's self around my heart. The characters are slightly shallow and not fully developed but given that most of them are still trying to figure life out that makes sense. This book had many poignant moments but not a real cohesive whole. This book had great promise and it showed but it lacked consistency. Over all I enjoyed the book but it's not one I'd reread.
June 27, 2012
Road trip...
Detours was a sweet tale of that part of life between child and orphan - Joel's mother has died, and Joel is forced to confront his father's frailty. Joel sets out on journey that is both physical and emotional, and, with his dead mother egging him on, maybe learns a thing or two.
Detours was a sweet tale of that part of life between child and orphan - Joel's mother has died, and Joel is forced to confront his father's frailty. Joel sets out on journey that is both physical and emotional, and, with his dead mother egging him on, maybe learns a thing or two.
January 30, 2012
This was really dismal. No sign of a plot, threadbare characters, pointless dialogue - I could go on but why bother?
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews