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Back Roads
Harley Altmyer should be in college drinking Rolling Rock and chasing girls. He should be freed from his closed-minded, stricken coal town, with its lack of jobs and no sense of humor. Instead, he's constantly reminded of just how messed up his life is.
With his mother in jail for killing his abusive father, Harley is an orphan with the responsibilities of an adult and the fiery, aggressive libido of a teenager. Just nineteen years old, he's marooned in the Pennsylvania backwoods caring for his three younger sisters, whose feelings about him range from stifling dependence to loathing. And once he develops an obsession with the sexy, melancholic mother of two living down the road, those Victoria's Secret catalogs just won't do the trick anymore. He wants Callie Mercer so badly he fears he will explode. But it's the family secrets, the lies, and the unspoken truths that light the fuse and erupt into a series of staggering surprises, leaving what's left of his family in tatters. Through every ordeal, the unforgettable Harley could never know that his endearing humor, his love for his sisters, and his bumbling heroics would redeem them all.
Funny and heartbreaking, Tawni O'Dell's pitch-perfect characters capture the maddening confusion of adolescence and the prickly nature of family with irony and unerring honesty. Back Roads is a riveting novel by a formidable new talent.
"One day you're that guy who's happy he managed to survive high school and get that almighty piece of paper, and you're thinking you might try to get a job at Redi-Mix concrete where your dad's worked since the beginning of time. And at least you've got a family you can stand even if they are all sisters.
With his mother in jail for killing his abusive father, Harley is an orphan with the responsibilities of an adult and the fiery, aggressive libido of a teenager. Just nineteen years old, he's marooned in the Pennsylvania backwoods caring for his three younger sisters, whose feelings about him range from stifling dependence to loathing. And once he develops an obsession with the sexy, melancholic mother of two living down the road, those Victoria's Secret catalogs just won't do the trick anymore. He wants Callie Mercer so badly he fears he will explode. But it's the family secrets, the lies, and the unspoken truths that light the fuse and erupt into a series of staggering surprises, leaving what's left of his family in tatters. Through every ordeal, the unforgettable Harley could never know that his endearing humor, his love for his sisters, and his bumbling heroics would redeem them all.
Funny and heartbreaking, Tawni O'Dell's pitch-perfect characters capture the maddening confusion of adolescence and the prickly nature of family with irony and unerring honesty. Back Roads is a riveting novel by a formidable new talent.
"One day you're that guy who's happy he managed to survive high school and get that almighty piece of paper, and you're thinking you might try to get a job at Redi-Mix concrete where your dad's worked since the beginning of time. And at least you've got a family you can stand even if they are all sisters.
352 pages, Paperback
First published December 27, 1999
397 people are currently reading
17929 people want to read
About the author
Tawni O'Dell
13 books590 followersTawni O'Dell is the New York Times bestselling author of Fragile Beasts, Sister Mine, Coal Run, and Back Roads, which was an Oprah's Book Club pick and a Book-of-the-Month Club Main Selection. Tawni's screen adaptation of Back Roads is currently in development to be made into a film with Adrian Lyne set to direct. Her work has been translated into 15 languages and been published in over 30 countries.
Tawni was born and raised in the coal-mining region of western Pennsylvania, the territory she writes about with such striking authenticity. She graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in journalism and spent many years living in the Chicago area before moving back to Pennsylvania where she now lives with her two children.
Tawni was born and raised in the coal-mining region of western Pennsylvania, the territory she writes about with such striking authenticity. She graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in journalism and spent many years living in the Chicago area before moving back to Pennsylvania where she now lives with her two children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,308 reviews
April 15, 2022
“One day you’re that guy who’s happy he managed to survive high school and get that almighty piece of paper, and you’re thinking you might try to get a job at Redi-Mix concrete where your dad’s worked since the beginning of time. And at least you’ve got a family you can stand even if they are all sisters.
One day you’re that guy, and the next day you’re assigned to a social worker and a therapist and given the choice of either being a LEGAL ADULT with three DEPENDENTS or an ORPHAN with NOBODY.”
With his mother in jail for killing his abusive father, Harley Altmyer is an orphan with the responsibilities of an adult and the fiery, aggressive libido of a teenager. Just nineteen years old, he’s marooned in the Pennsylvania backwoods caring for his three younger sisters, whose feelings about him range from dependence to loathing. Harley develops an obsession with the sexy, melancholic mother of two living down the road. He wants Callie Mercer so badly he fears he will explode. But it’s the family secrets, the lies, and the unspoken truths that light the fuse and erupt into a series of staggering surprises, leaving what’s left of his family in tatters.
Let me first say that this book was one of the most emotionally grueling I've read in a while.
Back Roads is a dysfunctional coming of age story. A wild, vicious, scary ride. Harley is a sensitive, angry, overwhelmed, confused adolescent. I spent the last half of this book praying for him to be okay and for his family to make it somehow. The Author does an amazing job constructing a story that is so wrought in severe psychological pain.
This is a story that at its very core is about a mother who fails to protect her children. Abuse abounds. Resilience, not so much.
Highly recommended but not for those who are offended by vulgar and violent scenes.
With his mother in jail for killing his abusive father, Harley Altmyer is an orphan with the responsibilities of an adult and the fiery, aggressive libido of a teenager. Just nineteen years old, he’s marooned in the Pennsylvania backwoods caring for his three younger sisters, whose feelings about him range from dependence to loathing. Harley develops an obsession with the sexy, melancholic mother of two living down the road. He wants Callie Mercer so badly he fears he will explode. But it’s the family secrets, the lies, and the unspoken truths that light the fuse and erupt into a series of staggering surprises, leaving what’s left of his family in tatters.
Let me first say that this book was one of the most emotionally grueling I've read in a while.
Back Roads is a dysfunctional coming of age story. A wild, vicious, scary ride. Harley is a sensitive, angry, overwhelmed, confused adolescent. I spent the last half of this book praying for him to be okay and for his family to make it somehow. The Author does an amazing job constructing a story that is so wrought in severe psychological pain.
This is a story that at its very core is about a mother who fails to protect her children. Abuse abounds. Resilience, not so much.
Highly recommended but not for those who are offended by vulgar and violent scenes.
March 7, 2016
Back roads meet backwards. This is a story of a disturbingly dysfunctional family. 19 year old Harley is a country boy, raising 3 younger sisters on account his mother is in jail for the murder of his father. Hormones running amok, sanity on the edge, an obsession with an older woman, mix in an abusive upbringing and this is formula for self destruction.
The transformation from child to man happens with the delayering of lies that reveal truths: ugly ones. He is in a constant tormented struggle with what he knows is right with what has happened in the past. A coming of age story where good trumps over evil at the cost of self sacrifice.
This was an engaging read. I like O'Dell's writing style and character development. Although her debut, I found it better than her latest release, Angels Burning. 4*
The transformation from child to man happens with the delayering of lies that reveal truths: ugly ones. He is in a constant tormented struggle with what he knows is right with what has happened in the past. A coming of age story where good trumps over evil at the cost of self sacrifice.
This was an engaging read. I like O'Dell's writing style and character development. Although her debut, I found it better than her latest release, Angels Burning. 4*
June 26, 2020
i have developed a real taste for literature from this region lately. and that might be the problem; why i didn't love this book the way danaaaaa does. all of the other books i have read (and i am using the term "region" pretty loosely to encompass mostly appalachia, but blurring around the edges of appalachia-proper a little) have followed a pretty consistent speech pattern and tone that this one strays from. am i being sexist to point out that this is the only woman i have read writing this kind of material? and maybe the things i admire - the succinctness of the prose and the very barebones dialogue that masks some huge concepts are a regional idiosyncrasy that female writers value less? i would love some argument to this, because i know this can't be true.
this is her nine-year-old:
this just doesn't ring true as a nine-year-old observation. and - yes - the character is recalling the incident as a nineteen-year-old, but this and some other rather advanced psychological observations are being presented as having been acknowledged by a nine-year-old, and that just doesn't mesh for me.
even as a nineteen-year-old, it wouldn't work, not for this nineteen-year-old. and i am not saying that he needs to be an idiot, but the reality of his situation is that he works two jobs, goes to the shrink in his spare time, and is raising three younger siblings in the wake of his family's tragedy. i just don't buy a boy of his age, background, and situation waxing philosophical about art - from having seen some notecard reproductions - and having such sophisticated epiphanies, all the while experiencing hallucinations and blackouts as well as having his sexual awakening. meditating on the meaning of art is inessential - it is unrealistic to have this character speculating on the divergence of gender roles in a post-lapsarian world - this is an intellectual luxury.
were you ever a nineteen-year-old boy living hand-to-mouth mostly concerned with who would pay the bills and why your mom killed your dad?? is this how you spent time thinking??:
and
and i am not saying that poverty should go hand in hand with inarticulate or unsophisticated speech, but this seems indulgent and inappropriate.
you can have something be poetic and still ring true to the dialect of the region. ron rash, cormac mccarthy, castle freedman jr, daniel woodrell all function perfectly well within the confines of terse sentences that explode with meaning and they make sentences that resonate without sounding forced:
that is one of my favorite sentences ever.
and i could fill the page with mccarthy examples. and even nick cave in and the ass saw the angel - an australian, writing in a dialect that is occasionally sloppy, makes it realistic-sounding because of the biblical nature of the narrator's speeches. they are wildly overblown, but the kid is a) crazy, b) full of a mission of avenging angeldom, c) fucking crazy - so the hifalutin' language works, especially in a character that, being mute, can only express himself in his head, so the contrast works exceptionally well.
daniel woodrell makes such a believable character of ree in winter's bone; in the way she is raising her two younger brothers by herself, in the advice she gives:
or
she is tough and matter-of-fact and she never shrinks from what is necessary. but it is all done, not with resignation, never like she is giving something up; she is simply practical and does what needs doing. and she never once talks about art.
but i have strayed from my point.
i can see why oprah likes it. she loves the dysfunctional, depressing families, with a soupçon of incest. and she thinks women will like it too. and she is probably right, only this woman has been spoiled with too many similar books that hit all my personal buttons.
the book is not at all bad - the descriptions of the landscape are wonderful - i love the coal seeping through the ground to blacken the salt licks, and the deer being drawn to them despite their slowly being killed by them. the author is from the region, and she does a really good job of building the scenery, but the people sometimes seem either like caricatures (slutty, looking-for-love-and-comfort amber) or just too flowery in speech.but i was never bored, and even though i could tell where it was going, it was still a good read.
come to my blog!
this is her nine-year-old:
But I didn't see bitterness or self-pity or some warped nostalgic wistfulness in his face. What I saw was something like pride but pride without ego, something like acceptance but acceptance without ever being allowed to consider any other options.
this just doesn't ring true as a nine-year-old observation. and - yes - the character is recalling the incident as a nineteen-year-old, but this and some other rather advanced psychological observations are being presented as having been acknowledged by a nine-year-old, and that just doesn't mesh for me.
even as a nineteen-year-old, it wouldn't work, not for this nineteen-year-old. and i am not saying that he needs to be an idiot, but the reality of his situation is that he works two jobs, goes to the shrink in his spare time, and is raising three younger siblings in the wake of his family's tragedy. i just don't buy a boy of his age, background, and situation waxing philosophical about art - from having seen some notecard reproductions - and having such sophisticated epiphanies, all the while experiencing hallucinations and blackouts as well as having his sexual awakening. meditating on the meaning of art is inessential - it is unrealistic to have this character speculating on the divergence of gender roles in a post-lapsarian world - this is an intellectual luxury.
were you ever a nineteen-year-old boy living hand-to-mouth mostly concerned with who would pay the bills and why your mom killed your dad?? is this how you spent time thinking??:
Her eyes turned a sandblasted gray as if she had made them ready for me to carve into them whatever horrible image i chose.
and
A gray mist had settled over everything, absorbing the weak morning light, and giving the air substance. I stuck my bare arm out into it and brought it back covered in shimmer. I breathed it in deeply, letting its feather weight fill my lungs and roll over my tongue. It tasted sweet and empty like purity should.
and i am not saying that poverty should go hand in hand with inarticulate or unsophisticated speech, but this seems indulgent and inappropriate.
you can have something be poetic and still ring true to the dialect of the region. ron rash, cormac mccarthy, castle freedman jr, daniel woodrell all function perfectly well within the confines of terse sentences that explode with meaning and they make sentences that resonate without sounding forced:
"Gun's only good when it's the only gun."
that is one of my favorite sentences ever.
and i could fill the page with mccarthy examples. and even nick cave in and the ass saw the angel - an australian, writing in a dialect that is occasionally sloppy, makes it realistic-sounding because of the biblical nature of the narrator's speeches. they are wildly overblown, but the kid is a) crazy, b) full of a mission of avenging angeldom, c) fucking crazy - so the hifalutin' language works, especially in a character that, being mute, can only express himself in his head, so the contrast works exceptionally well.
daniel woodrell makes such a believable character of ree in winter's bone; in the way she is raising her two younger brothers by herself, in the advice she gives:
"Never ask for what ought to be offered."
or
"Don't fight if you can help it. But if one of you gets whipped by somebody both of you best come home bloody, understand?"
she is tough and matter-of-fact and she never shrinks from what is necessary. but it is all done, not with resignation, never like she is giving something up; she is simply practical and does what needs doing. and she never once talks about art.
but i have strayed from my point.
i can see why oprah likes it. she loves the dysfunctional, depressing families, with a soupçon of incest. and she thinks women will like it too. and she is probably right, only this woman has been spoiled with too many similar books that hit all my personal buttons.
the book is not at all bad - the descriptions of the landscape are wonderful - i love the coal seeping through the ground to blacken the salt licks, and the deer being drawn to them despite their slowly being killed by them. the author is from the region, and she does a really good job of building the scenery, but the people sometimes seem either like caricatures (slutty, looking-for-love-and-comfort amber) or just too flowery in speech.but i was never bored, and even though i could tell where it was going, it was still a good read.
come to my blog!
June 12, 2007
Let's just say one thing: this is one fucked up family. If you decide to read this book, brace yourself, seriously, the Altmyer's are fucked up. But for some reason, you still like them.
There's so much that happens in this story that keeps you reading I can't say much without giving it away. For a first novel O'Dell does an extremely good job. Her writing is raw and real which helps add to the mood and characters of the book.
One thing I liked about O'Dell's style was that instead of constantly describing the overall pictures of things, she finds minute details, idiosyncrasies in characters, flaws in settings, to focus on instead. It's fascinating and beautiful at the same time.
Like I said earlier, there are so many surprises that pop up throughout the book to rehash the plot and what I liked about the story and didn't like would give too much away and probably keep you from reading the story. It's these surprises that really keep the story moving and keep you reading.
There's so much that happens in this story that keeps you reading I can't say much without giving it away. For a first novel O'Dell does an extremely good job. Her writing is raw and real which helps add to the mood and characters of the book.
One thing I liked about O'Dell's style was that instead of constantly describing the overall pictures of things, she finds minute details, idiosyncrasies in characters, flaws in settings, to focus on instead. It's fascinating and beautiful at the same time.
Like I said earlier, there are so many surprises that pop up throughout the book to rehash the plot and what I liked about the story and didn't like would give too much away and probably keep you from reading the story. It's these surprises that really keep the story moving and keep you reading.
May 20, 2008
This is my take on Oprah books: really bad things happen to people who are already suffering from other bad things and the end is never a happy one. In fact, they're often icky endings.
Woody loaned me Back Roads and I read through it in one sick day last week. The story is told from the point of view of Harley, a 19 year old boy, whose Mother is in prison for killing his Father. Harley's left with raising his three younger sisters.
There's abuse, murder, incest, adultery, mental illness...yep, a perfect Oprah book.
I have to admit I was thoroughly engrossed while reading this. I sympathized with Harley and it was painful to see what was happening to him and around him. Of course, it being an Oprah book, I wanted to take a shower after I was done to get the Ick feeling to go away.
Woody loaned me Back Roads and I read through it in one sick day last week. The story is told from the point of view of Harley, a 19 year old boy, whose Mother is in prison for killing his Father. Harley's left with raising his three younger sisters.
There's abuse, murder, incest, adultery, mental illness...yep, a perfect Oprah book.
I have to admit I was thoroughly engrossed while reading this. I sympathized with Harley and it was painful to see what was happening to him and around him. Of course, it being an Oprah book, I wanted to take a shower after I was done to get the Ick feeling to go away.
February 11, 2008
Tawni O'Dell, Back Roads (Viking, 2000)
I find the whole thing incredibly amusing.
Had a man written this book, word for word, the character of Harley Altmeyer would no doubt be blazoned on the front as "an unstoppable sociopath about to explode" (fill in the correct number of exclamation points, depending on era and author). Instead, the back cover blurb calls him "wonderfully touching." Oh, please.
Thank heaven Tawni O'Dell is a much better writer than her blurbist, because Harley Altmeyer is the least likable hero I've run across since Michael Moorcock decided an anorexic albino with a big black sword sounded like a good idea. Note I didn't say antihero there; Harley Altmeyer is certainly the hero of this book in that, while O'Dell keeps him so unlikable he gets nauseating at times, we never stop feeling sympathy for him.
Altmeyer is on the brink of his twentieth birthday, and as we open he's sitting in the box in the local police station being grilled by three cops for killing his girlfriend-- who just happens to be the thirty-four-year-old wife of the next-door neighbor. Not terribly surprising, the cops muse, given his roots; Harley's mother was convicted of killing his father a couple years previous, and is now sitting in prison in Indiana, PA (I point this out because for the first hundred fifty pages I wondered how they could drive from Pennsylvania to Indiana in two hours-- and I spent over half my life living less than an hour from Indiana, PA. Obviously a truly memorable place). Harley spends about two hundred fifty pages spinning out his tale, and it's a doozy. After his mom iced his dad, he was dead and she was in jail, and the task of raising his three younger sisters fell squarely on his shoulders. Nineteen, saddled with all the bills, working two jobs, and having to raise three sisters, ranging in age from six to sixteen. It's not exactly a Frank Capra film. And Harley, whose love/hate relationship with all women borders on the psychotic, is in no way going to be mistaken for Jimmy Stewart (actually, I saw Giovanni Ribisi, circa his memorable X-Files appearance, playing this guy).
If you've got half a brain and have read enough books along these lines, you've probably got half of it figured before you open the front cover. But O'Dell's writing is so thoroughly disingenuous, and Harley (the very essence of the unreliable narrator!) is so straightforward and quasi-logical that he's completely believable. And so, despite the general predictability of the plot points, they still hit with a roundhouse.
The tendency, of course, is to compare this with the other novels in the Oprah stable, but it pulls me in a different direction; there's more here that invites comparison with Ian McEwan's weepingly good first novel, The Cement Garden (and not just the overall plot, either). While McEwan has turned into something of a washed-out pansy since he hit us over the head with that particular cement block, I still have high hopes for O'Dell. This is stark, simple, minimal, easy to read, compelling, with some of the strongest characterization I've come across in years, and somehow the revelations that just kind of wander through the last fifty pages (no big emotional revelatory scenes here) still manage to surprise, not to mention tug at the heartstrings.
Oprah found a good'un here, that's for sure. Let's just hope O'Dell doesn't end up a washed-out pansy who moves to England for the sole purpose of getting short-listed for the Booker Prize. *** 1/2
I find the whole thing incredibly amusing.
Had a man written this book, word for word, the character of Harley Altmeyer would no doubt be blazoned on the front as "an unstoppable sociopath about to explode" (fill in the correct number of exclamation points, depending on era and author). Instead, the back cover blurb calls him "wonderfully touching." Oh, please.
Thank heaven Tawni O'Dell is a much better writer than her blurbist, because Harley Altmeyer is the least likable hero I've run across since Michael Moorcock decided an anorexic albino with a big black sword sounded like a good idea. Note I didn't say antihero there; Harley Altmeyer is certainly the hero of this book in that, while O'Dell keeps him so unlikable he gets nauseating at times, we never stop feeling sympathy for him.
Altmeyer is on the brink of his twentieth birthday, and as we open he's sitting in the box in the local police station being grilled by three cops for killing his girlfriend-- who just happens to be the thirty-four-year-old wife of the next-door neighbor. Not terribly surprising, the cops muse, given his roots; Harley's mother was convicted of killing his father a couple years previous, and is now sitting in prison in Indiana, PA (I point this out because for the first hundred fifty pages I wondered how they could drive from Pennsylvania to Indiana in two hours-- and I spent over half my life living less than an hour from Indiana, PA. Obviously a truly memorable place). Harley spends about two hundred fifty pages spinning out his tale, and it's a doozy. After his mom iced his dad, he was dead and she was in jail, and the task of raising his three younger sisters fell squarely on his shoulders. Nineteen, saddled with all the bills, working two jobs, and having to raise three sisters, ranging in age from six to sixteen. It's not exactly a Frank Capra film. And Harley, whose love/hate relationship with all women borders on the psychotic, is in no way going to be mistaken for Jimmy Stewart (actually, I saw Giovanni Ribisi, circa his memorable X-Files appearance, playing this guy).
If you've got half a brain and have read enough books along these lines, you've probably got half of it figured before you open the front cover. But O'Dell's writing is so thoroughly disingenuous, and Harley (the very essence of the unreliable narrator!) is so straightforward and quasi-logical that he's completely believable. And so, despite the general predictability of the plot points, they still hit with a roundhouse.
The tendency, of course, is to compare this with the other novels in the Oprah stable, but it pulls me in a different direction; there's more here that invites comparison with Ian McEwan's weepingly good first novel, The Cement Garden (and not just the overall plot, either). While McEwan has turned into something of a washed-out pansy since he hit us over the head with that particular cement block, I still have high hopes for O'Dell. This is stark, simple, minimal, easy to read, compelling, with some of the strongest characterization I've come across in years, and somehow the revelations that just kind of wander through the last fifty pages (no big emotional revelatory scenes here) still manage to surprise, not to mention tug at the heartstrings.
Oprah found a good'un here, that's for sure. Let's just hope O'Dell doesn't end up a washed-out pansy who moves to England for the sole purpose of getting short-listed for the Booker Prize. *** 1/2
December 15, 2013
I have to admit that the blurb is deceiving this time. From the blurb, you wouldn't be able to tell how great the book is without at least reading the first chapter, it just pulls you in and you'll wanna find out more. Back Roads is about a 19 year old boy named Harley Altmyer who has to take care of his three younger sisters after their caring mom has been sent to jail for killing their abusive father. The book is not about how he's surviving in life though, but about love as well, as a key point to the book is that he lusts for a mother of two down the road of his home. As the story progresses unbelievable things seems to progress and the shocking truth is revealed at the end, the truth about the father's death. At first to me it seems like the book has no point, it's just talking about some crappy life of a kid who's suffering because he's at lost of parents and that he has to live on his own while taking care of his 3 sisters, yet there is more to it that meets the eyes. This book reminds me of the Catcher in the Rye as how the situations are differently yet the main character have the biggest issue with everyone else in the book. Either way i think this was one of the best books i read in my life, I recommend it to everyone.
*Warning!!* This book is pretty mature, don't read if you can't handle grusome description or sex scenes or incestuous themes.
*Warning!!* This book is pretty mature, don't read if you can't handle grusome description or sex scenes or incestuous themes.
January 26, 2021
Audio 5 Stars
Story 3 Stars
Story 3 Stars
December 19, 2023
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Literary Fiction
At the age of 19, Harley Altmyer's life is turned upside down after his mother kills his abusive father and is sent to prison, leaving him by himself to raise his three younger sisters. Back Roads transports us to their dreary mining town in Pennsylvania, where Harley struggles to cope with the weight of responsibility, recalls his past, and juggles his developing affections for Callie Mercer, who is already married. As a result of this emotional vulnerability, which takes place against the backdrop of poverty and limited choices, Harley is forced to struggle with not only taking care of his family but also establishing his own identity in a cruel world.
As a result of the tragedy that each of his sisters has experienced, Harley and his sisters look for healing in their delicate bond, in the consolation that nature provides, and even in therapy. They grapple with the intricacies of family, grief, and the persistent power of human connection throughout their coming-of-age story, which is a narrative of grit and resilience. There is a heartbreaking depiction of survival in Back Roads, which serves to remind us that even on the most difficult back roads, there is sometimes the possibility of finding healing and hope.
Why did I decide to purchase this book? The first thing I did was see the film, which was directed by Alex Pettyfer and starred him too. I believe that he did an outstanding job of managing both roles. This movie was a true gem, and I loved it a lot. I wanted to read the book and see how it compared to the movie adaptation, and I was not disappointed in the least. Because Tawni O'Dell did such an outstanding job with her first novel, I am interested in reading her other works.
This is a story about a dysfunctional family that goes through a lot of hardships. It is filled with trigger warnings that I don’t want to mention, but I highly advise you to read them before picking it up. The characters are very complex, and many times you would question why they did this or that, but that is human nature, full of unpredictability. The plot is not just contemporary literature; suspense and mystery play a big part in it. Everything you need to do is get yourself ready for the story. I was because I had watched the movie, and I am aware that the shock factor would have been significantly more pronounced if I had not done so. I absolutely loved it and recommend it to everybody.
Genre: Literary Fiction
At the age of 19, Harley Altmyer's life is turned upside down after his mother kills his abusive father and is sent to prison, leaving him by himself to raise his three younger sisters. Back Roads transports us to their dreary mining town in Pennsylvania, where Harley struggles to cope with the weight of responsibility, recalls his past, and juggles his developing affections for Callie Mercer, who is already married. As a result of this emotional vulnerability, which takes place against the backdrop of poverty and limited choices, Harley is forced to struggle with not only taking care of his family but also establishing his own identity in a cruel world.
As a result of the tragedy that each of his sisters has experienced, Harley and his sisters look for healing in their delicate bond, in the consolation that nature provides, and even in therapy. They grapple with the intricacies of family, grief, and the persistent power of human connection throughout their coming-of-age story, which is a narrative of grit and resilience. There is a heartbreaking depiction of survival in Back Roads, which serves to remind us that even on the most difficult back roads, there is sometimes the possibility of finding healing and hope.
Why did I decide to purchase this book? The first thing I did was see the film, which was directed by Alex Pettyfer and starred him too. I believe that he did an outstanding job of managing both roles. This movie was a true gem, and I loved it a lot. I wanted to read the book and see how it compared to the movie adaptation, and I was not disappointed in the least. Because Tawni O'Dell did such an outstanding job with her first novel, I am interested in reading her other works.
This is a story about a dysfunctional family that goes through a lot of hardships. It is filled with trigger warnings that I don’t want to mention, but I highly advise you to read them before picking it up. The characters are very complex, and many times you would question why they did this or that, but that is human nature, full of unpredictability. The plot is not just contemporary literature; suspense and mystery play a big part in it. Everything you need to do is get yourself ready for the story. I was because I had watched the movie, and I am aware that the shock factor would have been significantly more pronounced if I had not done so. I absolutely loved it and recommend it to everybody.
March 31, 2022
What a hard book to review. Harley has an awful life he has to take care of his three sisters after his mom gets incarcerated due to killing their dad....and what a dysfunctional family it is. This book is so gritty, dark and dysfuntional its hard to articulate.
Ok let me try: Harley is working two jobs to take care of his three sisters . All have their issues but that makes it even harder. You have three sisters and one is in her teenage years trying to get out of dodge, second age girl who just cant find her footing and youngest girl who is trying to just do her thing. Harley then becomes infatuated with the woman up the street who money doesn't appear to be a problem. How this all ties together is amazing and heartbreaking at the same time. This is a sad story of life and circumstance and will break your heart.
The book spends the time to try and navigate life and how it affects all involved. This family broke my heart and this story will be with me for awhile......
PS: had to watch the movie immediately because this book so resonated with me
TW: There is a ton of abuse
This book will be heavy on heart for awhile and not an easy read for sure
Only reason it lost a 1/2 star was because author used a ton like a TON of caps and while it worked it thru most of book it pulled my attention about half way
Ok let me try: Harley is working two jobs to take care of his three sisters . All have their issues but that makes it even harder. You have three sisters and one is in her teenage years trying to get out of dodge, second age girl who just cant find her footing and youngest girl who is trying to just do her thing. Harley then becomes infatuated with the woman up the street who money doesn't appear to be a problem. How this all ties together is amazing and heartbreaking at the same time. This is a sad story of life and circumstance and will break your heart.
The book spends the time to try and navigate life and how it affects all involved. This family broke my heart and this story will be with me for awhile......
PS: had to watch the movie immediately because this book so resonated with me
TW: There is a ton of abuse
This book will be heavy on heart for awhile and not an easy read for sure
Only reason it lost a 1/2 star was because author used a ton like a TON of caps and while it worked it thru most of book it pulled my attention about half way
August 15, 2012
I don't usually comment on my books, or give a review, but this book was great. Finished it in 2 days because I could not put it down. It's been a while since I was that into what I was reading. It's rough, raw, compelling, heartbreaking and you can't help connecting with the characters. This story will stay with me for some time.
May 1, 2019
This book introduced me to a new author and I'm very surprised that I had not heard of this
book before now as it was published 20 years ago. All I can say is, wow, I'm so happy that
I finally read it.
Tawni O'Dell's writing in this book is by far some of the best I've read and it literally shook me to my core. I'm an absolute sucker for an unreliable narrator and this story was all that and more. There were moments when I was confident that I knew everything that i needed to know to judge a character and then, pow, O'Dell hit me in the head with new information that i did not see coming and I nearly dropped my juice box and fell out of my chair.
The character development in this story is so spectacular it was impossible for me to not be
completely emotionally invested in each person. I loved them. I couldn't stand them. My head was
spinning with each new bit of information.
I'll admit the subject matter was messy but that's life. It happens. All of the members of this
family were profoundly damaged but they were incredibly layered and had so much substance, substance that they didn't even see in themselves but as a reader you could see it in them because of O'Dell's skill in writing.
Harley was so gentle and loving and yet he was completely broken. I wanted to reach into the pages and hug him. You could see glimpses of who he might have become given the opportunity, but sadly, opportunity was something this family did not know. Harley was far more intelligent than some reviewers believed but it was there, written all over him.
This is the type of book that has the ability to stick with you long after you set it down and I'm ok with that because I'm not quite ready to say goodbye to any of the characters yet.
On a side note, it wasn't until after I read the story that I noticed it had been a book from Oprah's book club. I'm actually surprised that this book was one of her selections.
As stated above, the book is 20 years old, if you have not had the opportunity to read it yet, I highly
recommend it. It is powerful, disturbing, raw, and a phenomenal story.
book before now as it was published 20 years ago. All I can say is, wow, I'm so happy that
I finally read it.
Tawni O'Dell's writing in this book is by far some of the best I've read and it literally shook me to my core. I'm an absolute sucker for an unreliable narrator and this story was all that and more. There were moments when I was confident that I knew everything that i needed to know to judge a character and then, pow, O'Dell hit me in the head with new information that i did not see coming and I nearly dropped my juice box and fell out of my chair.
The character development in this story is so spectacular it was impossible for me to not be
completely emotionally invested in each person. I loved them. I couldn't stand them. My head was
spinning with each new bit of information.
I'll admit the subject matter was messy but that's life. It happens. All of the members of this
family were profoundly damaged but they were incredibly layered and had so much substance, substance that they didn't even see in themselves but as a reader you could see it in them because of O'Dell's skill in writing.
Harley was so gentle and loving and yet he was completely broken. I wanted to reach into the pages and hug him. You could see glimpses of who he might have become given the opportunity, but sadly, opportunity was something this family did not know. Harley was far more intelligent than some reviewers believed but it was there, written all over him.
This is the type of book that has the ability to stick with you long after you set it down and I'm ok with that because I'm not quite ready to say goodbye to any of the characters yet.
On a side note, it wasn't until after I read the story that I noticed it had been a book from Oprah's book club. I'm actually surprised that this book was one of her selections.
As stated above, the book is 20 years old, if you have not had the opportunity to read it yet, I highly
recommend it. It is powerful, disturbing, raw, and a phenomenal story.
May 5, 2011
I had a hard time believing that Harley would continue to go to see the therapist while working two jobs and not having a dime to spare... not that the therapy was costing anything except time, but it didn't add up other than as a plot device to explain that he was nuts (in case it escaped the reader's attention).
The real story should have been told from Amber's point of view. There were complex issues between Amber, Misty and their mother that Harley would never understand, and that complexity deserved to be explored.
In many ways this felt like another tired reaffirmation of Appalachia stereotypes. The introduction of impressionist art somehow hinted that this book might rise above the jokes, but in the end it wasn't enough. There's Appalachia, with everyone in the country making fun of them, proving again they are worthy of the treatment. That leaves a bad taste in my mouth as a reader, and explains in many ways why the author hasn't been able to follow up her initial success with another (that, and the lack of Oprah's marketing support).
Beach reading at best. Unless someone gives me a compelling reason, I won't read this author again.
The real story should have been told from Amber's point of view. There were complex issues between Amber, Misty and their mother that Harley would never understand, and that complexity deserved to be explored.
In many ways this felt like another tired reaffirmation of Appalachia stereotypes. The introduction of impressionist art somehow hinted that this book might rise above the jokes, but in the end it wasn't enough. There's Appalachia, with everyone in the country making fun of them, proving again they are worthy of the treatment. That leaves a bad taste in my mouth as a reader, and explains in many ways why the author hasn't been able to follow up her initial success with another (that, and the lack of Oprah's marketing support).
Beach reading at best. Unless someone gives me a compelling reason, I won't read this author again.
October 13, 2021
Never before I've read characters so visceral, resilient, strong, so brave, and yet so utterly self-destructive; bent on harming themselves when they can forgive each other. This was an Oprah Book Club choice, but I’ll forgive that.
This is without a doubt hands down, absolutely one of my favorite, favorite books. Of all Time. In fact, this one here is right up there next to Fools Die by Mario Puzo, on the very top. It's so haunting, beautifully written. The characters are so real that I feel for them every time I read it. I could pick this up any time, anywhere, and it will move me just the same, every single time. It is fallow like that. But the emotional impact, oh boy, remains the same.
Devastating.
Let's try a sample of her writing shall we, just a taste. Okay : (SPOILERS DOWN BELOW):
It wasn't fair he got the chance and I didn't. I wouldn't have wasted it. If I had known Mom was going to kill Dad that night as I went off to Skip's house to drink contraband beers and bullshit about horny college chicks, I would've stopped first and cleared some things up. I would've asked him why he didn't like me. I would've apologized for being such a disappointment to him. And I would've told him I loved him- because I did- in some joyless, unsatisfying way that hurt instead of healed, but I knew it was still love.
---------
In my hands right now, this book feels as vague and familiar as home; comfortable - oh how I love 2006. For a year can be a home, too. But I love Another now and for another. And God, I am tempted to reread this immediately, at once but no, I'll just read one of her newer novels sitting emptily on my shelf. I can't recommend this book enough, in fact, I would urge everyone to read this pronto. Don't miss out on this. Please feel the urgency.
Tawni O'Dell is a remarkably talented woman in the same vein as Janet Fitch, she is not only a favorite author of mine but also one of the best people in the known world.
I wish could give Back Roads a thousand stars, but already a thousand suns have gone into making this one.
Let this devastate you. Let it.
August 19, 2012
I bought Back Roads while I was on vacation in Florida. I bought the hard cover from the clearance shelf at Barnes & Noble for $5! I started reading it and couldn't put it down! I hadn't read a good book like that in a long time! Tawni O'Dell reminded me why I loved to read! I actually felt guilty that I only paid $5 for a hard cover version of such an amazing book! I loved it so much that I wrote to Tawni and asked her if she would sign it for me if I sent it to her with return postage paid. She agreed. It so happened that I vacationed not far from where she lives. I asked her if I could meet her someplace so she could sign the books (I bought two more copies, one for my best friend and another for my daughter's teacher). She agreed to meet me at Denny's. When I called her to tell her I was on my way, she invited me to go to her home! I felt humble knowing I would be in the home and presence of such a great writer! She greeted me at the door and welcomed me into her home. We sat and talked over coffee and pastry. She signed my books, personalizing each. I left there knowing that I would read every book she ever writes, and that I would not mind paying full price for her books! Back Roads made me laugh, cry, sigh, shake my head and feel like I was right there as I was reading. The characters are real; you can relate to their experiences. Tawni brings you into the book! Make sure you start reading when you won't have to worry about stopping! Therefore, do not start reading it on your lunch break at work! You will probably be compelled to call your boss and say you had to go home during lunch and can't return! Enjoy!
September 6, 2021
Waaaay too much family dysfunction for me.
March 17, 2008
After reading so many women comment about men writing in women's voices, it's now time to admit that women writing as men can completely miss the boat. Harley didn't sound like any guy I knew, nor grew up nor WAS in my life. His sentiments rang completely hollow for me; rather he sounded more like how a woman would like a teenage boy to be. The most interesting character, Misty, went almost completely voiceless and the ending was laughable, as was most of the book. easily the worst of Oprah's Book Club.
October 12, 2016
Engrossing, painful and raw.
November 3, 2016
I found this book ages ago on one of my Goodwill trips, and it sounded intriguing, so I went ahead and picked it up. Then it sat forgotten in my TBR cupboard for awhile, until yesterday when I was rooting around in there, it called to me, and demanded I read it. So I did. I was pretty much hooked from the get-go, I immediately felt for Harley and his sisters, their whole situation. But it quickly devolved into me not being able to put the book down, it was like a train-wreck I just couldn't tear my eyes away from. I liked the character of Harley, even if he was kind of an ass most of the time, and kinda crazy the rest of the time. I mean, I could understand his confusion, and frustration, and anger, but he was still kind of weird. I don't know, I know if I would've been in his shoes, I wouldn't have acted anything like the way he did. But maybe it's because I'm a girl, and he's a teenage boy, and I'm sure they think in a different way, see the world different. Or not. I'll never know, because I've never been a teenage boy. It seemed like he had a real hard time owning his responsibilities. At times he reminded me of my guy's 21 year old loser son, not wanting to do anything but drink beer, not understanding that the world doesn't revolve around him. And on that subject, when Harley drank, it said he drank like 3 beers and was falling down drunk. Um, ok, even when I was 14 and drinking for the first time, it took more than three drinks to make me drunk. I certainly wouldn't have fallen face first off of a porch after 3 beers. So, I don't know, either the author hasn't had much experience with alcohol, or the kid is just meant to be a supreme lightweight. I mean, I can drink a 6 pack and be hardly buzzed. So... That was just a weird little thing that just seemed off to me. Maybe it's just me, maybe there are people out there who get ridiculously trashed off of three beers. Not a big deal in terms of the story or anything. In fact, this was a really good story. Not good in terms of characters I loved, and a great adventure or anything like that, but it was good in how it made me feel for these characters, even when they were making me sick. And I gotta give props to the author for the excellent way she had of giving me the feel for the area where the story takes place, the beautiful woods and hills mixed with the run-down decay of a town where coal used to be king, the gloomy sort of feeling the whole place had, kinda run down almost, the world was moving on. I enjoyed that, and will look for more books by this author because of it. Sometimes I didn't think the characters were acting believable. Like, for instance, Harley's state-mandated psychiatrist visits. He seemed to freak out and literally run out of them like every time he went. Around here, that wouldn't fly. If the state says you must visit a shrink, then it's mandatory that you show up, or the cops show up at your house to pay a little check-up visit. So, the fact that he was freaking out and running away kinda bothered me, as the shrink never really pursued the matter, she just waited for him to come back the next month. Also, Harley's own reaction to a lot of things was weird. Especially the crazy stuff going on in his family. His 16 year-old sister Amber comes onto him at every opportunity, wearing see-through lace nighties around the house, flashing him her g-strings... His 12 and 6 year-old sisters talk about how they should hook up to ease their stress like it's normal and ok. I think if my sister was slipping into my bed naked in the middle of the night and rubbing herself on me, I'd be knocking her slutty ass out. Freakin' sicko. And she was like psycho! If anyone needed to be in therapy it was Amber and Misty (the 12 year-old). When Amber finds out Harley's having an affair with the mom of one of the 6 year-old's friends, she screams and cries about it for days like she caught her boyfriend cheating on her, mascara running down her face and all that stuff. Plus her run-away attempts, her penchant for boys who use her for sex and hit her... She coulda used some therapy. As for Misty, she was the one that really bugged me. At first I felt for her, I could understand her sadness at losing her dad, the whole awkward stage she's in at her age. But then it turns out that she's just as psycho, if not worse than the others. When the truth comes out that she killed her pet kitten, the kitten whose collar she wears constantly that everyone thought had been killed by a hunter, I was disgusted. How can anyone hurt an innocent little baby kitten? Especially a little girl. Girls are supposed to be nice and good, not psycho killers who get joy out of killing kittens and gutting deer. Then the bigger truth comes out, that she's the one who shot their dad, and it was only an accident in the way that she was really aiming for their mom, and hit the dad instead. And the reason why? Because she was jealous that the dad loved the mom. Yea, in that way. I mean, isn't it bad enough that the dad beat on all the kids? Then you gotta have one of 'em who actually wants it, plus wants more, and dirtier? Sick. And I didn't like how nothing happened to her in the end. Someone should've tried harder to see this kid get some help. Instead she went to live with her aunt and uncle and little sister, and that was it. Little psycho should've been locked up, and the key thrown away. I'm not fond of this new age 'let's give therapy to psycho killers' stuff. I think psychos should be locked up, why should tax payer dollars go to pay for them to get therapy? I can't even afford therapy for myself, why would I want to pay for it for a killer (or a child molester, or a rapist)? Just lock 'em up and keep 'em that way, don't give them talk therapy and release them back into society! But, I digress, as my opinion on that really doesn't have to do with the story, lol. And I haven't even mentioned Callie, the mom Harley finds himself having an affair with. She had her own issues, and I would've liked to get to know her a lot better. I couldn't believe some of the stuff she did though. Sure, sneaking away to the woods to bang the boy was ok (well, not morally but, y'know what I'm saying), but then he comes over to her house while her little son is outside playing and they go inside 'to get some Kool-Aid' and end up banging on the kitchen table, all while the kid's nearby. Then Harley comes over at night, while her husband's home, and demands to see her, and they go out and sit in his truck, within view of the house, and she goes down on him, and they make out. While her husband and kids are right freakin' there, right in the house, like 30ft away! This whole story was a hot mess I couldn't leave, I found myself wanting more, more details, more craziness, more background, more. I probably could've read another hundred pages or even more. But I did like it, don't get me wrong, I kinda liked it a lot. I think I'll probably hang onto this book, give it another read in the future. And I'd really like to read more by this author, give her another try or two. An odd story, but interesting and attention-grabbing. I did kind of like the end, when the truth came out about who killed Callie, and at least a little justice was handed out. Sure Harley's in a mental home, but I really think that's for the best, until he learns to cope, and accept the things that happened and gain some strength or something. Weird, but still good :)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 17, 2025
*re-read on audio. Maybe listening to this book made it feel even more disturbing and unsettling. A job well done by Andrew Eiden. Tawni O’Dell is a very talented author, and it’s a shame I hardly ever come across one of her books here on GR.*
*original review*
I once read this book a long time ago in a translation. I never forgot about it, and now I’ve read the original version, i can only say it’s just as raw, gritty, intense and haunting as I remember. Unsettling. Maybe even more. Translations don’t always do justice to the original and it feels that way with this book as well.
Harley is a difficult protagonist. When you refuse to look closer, you could almost dislike him. On the surface he seems selfish, only trying to get what he wants and how he wants it, not caring if he hurts others in the process. He tries to hide his caring personality, his troubled love for his sisters, who depend on him now their father was shot by their mother, who serves time in jail.
But Harley is only a 19 year old confused and hurt boy, barely a man. He has 2 jobs, worries about finances, worries about his sisters and how to get their lives back on track again after all the trauma they went through. But he comes from a disfunctional family long before the tragedy and he can no longer keep it together. He slowly loses touch with reality, a downhill ride specially when he starts te realise what truly happened the day his mother shot his father.
I couldn’t help but feel for Harley. He tried to fight his psychological downfall, but he couldn’t win that battle. Under the surface of a typical 19 years old adolescent was a caring person who tried to do whatever he could, but he was severely traumatised himself. He had obligations and responsibilities he was too young and too damaged to deal with.
The writing was excellent, the whole story told from Harley’s pov, which was exhausting at times, but I don’t think it could have been done differently in order to understand him and his actions or his character. This author has a way of revealing the story bit by bit, and it made a lasting impression on me. I wasn’t able to forget about it after the first time I read it, and now I’m sure it will stay with me for a long time to come.
*original review*
I once read this book a long time ago in a translation. I never forgot about it, and now I’ve read the original version, i can only say it’s just as raw, gritty, intense and haunting as I remember. Unsettling. Maybe even more. Translations don’t always do justice to the original and it feels that way with this book as well.
Harley is a difficult protagonist. When you refuse to look closer, you could almost dislike him. On the surface he seems selfish, only trying to get what he wants and how he wants it, not caring if he hurts others in the process. He tries to hide his caring personality, his troubled love for his sisters, who depend on him now their father was shot by their mother, who serves time in jail.
But Harley is only a 19 year old confused and hurt boy, barely a man. He has 2 jobs, worries about finances, worries about his sisters and how to get their lives back on track again after all the trauma they went through. But he comes from a disfunctional family long before the tragedy and he can no longer keep it together. He slowly loses touch with reality, a downhill ride specially when he starts te realise what truly happened the day his mother shot his father.
I couldn’t help but feel for Harley. He tried to fight his psychological downfall, but he couldn’t win that battle. Under the surface of a typical 19 years old adolescent was a caring person who tried to do whatever he could, but he was severely traumatised himself. He had obligations and responsibilities he was too young and too damaged to deal with.
The writing was excellent, the whole story told from Harley’s pov, which was exhausting at times, but I don’t think it could have been done differently in order to understand him and his actions or his character. This author has a way of revealing the story bit by bit, and it made a lasting impression on me. I wasn’t able to forget about it after the first time I read it, and now I’m sure it will stay with me for a long time to come.
October 25, 2021
I loved this book from the moment I found it on a Salvation Army shelf in Wilkes Barre, PA while visiting my in-laws. I have read and reread this novel so many times over the years, each time discovering something new and interesting, something that I hadn't noticed before.
Harley is an 18 year old with the weight of the world on his shoulders. After his mom is arrested and convicted of shooting and killing her abusive husband, without any warning or explanation, Harley gets two jobs and died everything he can to keep his 3 younger sisters under his care and in their rural Western PA family home. Harley will not accept "welfare" because he's worried about what his deceased father would think.
Harley truly is a character. He has all kinds of quirks and he's divided by confusion, guilt, a touch of insanity, and love for his dysfunctional family which eventually causes his downfall. When Harley's mom is taken to prison, she barely says goodbye and Harley resents her deeply for what he saw as a huge betrayal. Harley believed that despite the abuse, he was a pretty normal teenage guy with a family he "didn't hate". So when he comes home one day to see his despondent looking mom being hauled away in the back of a police cruiser with a vacant look in her eyes, he didn't believe what he's seeing. And unfortunately, his mother refuses to explain her actions to him after the fact.
Amber is Harley's 16 year old sister "with hair the color of shiny penny". It's clear from the beginning that Amber and Harley have a tension charged dynamic. Amber is testing Harley's boundaries while trying to make him jealous by running off with any boy who gives her attention.
Misty, the middle sister, is 12 years old and a tomboy. She was there dad's favorite in Harley's opinions and she rarely got a beating from him which Harley resented as well. When she was hit, she never cried which shamed Harley greatly because of his extreme sensitivity. Misty was "more of a bit than Harley ever was" in their father's eyes as she loved hunting with her dad and spending time with him doing "manly" things.
Jodie the youngest sister, is six and has long golden locks. She thinks hot dogs cut into pieces are choking hazards and she collects stuffed dinosaurs and umbrellas from the local Chinese restaurant. She is so sweet and loveable and endearing. When is her turn to "cook" dinner she makes everyone a mean bowl of cereal. Jodie is great at keeping secrets and little does Harley know, these secrets could change his life irrevocably.
Harley works and daydreams the days away until he has a close encounter with the happily married mother of Jodie's best friend. Little did he know this encounter would change the course of her life and the lives of Harley's family forever.
It's raw, powerful, and distributing. It shocks and amazes me every time I read it again. The depth of the characters is what tired me to this book. And the beautiful, vivid descriptions held my attention. I loved the way O'Dell wrote these characters because they do perfectly imperfect. A flawed family forced to grow up when they're all still just children s with no healthy role models to help them navigate their new reality.
I try to read this once a year just to remind myself that this was one of my first favorite books as a young adult discovering adult literature. This is a twisted story I warn those who are squeamish about sex issues, dysfunctional families, familial violence and taboo topics to avoid this novel. This book is not for the faint of heart as I wrote on the acknowledgments page almost 20 years ago! Reader beware. And enjoy!
Harley is an 18 year old with the weight of the world on his shoulders. After his mom is arrested and convicted of shooting and killing her abusive husband, without any warning or explanation, Harley gets two jobs and died everything he can to keep his 3 younger sisters under his care and in their rural Western PA family home. Harley will not accept "welfare" because he's worried about what his deceased father would think.
Harley truly is a character. He has all kinds of quirks and he's divided by confusion, guilt, a touch of insanity, and love for his dysfunctional family which eventually causes his downfall. When Harley's mom is taken to prison, she barely says goodbye and Harley resents her deeply for what he saw as a huge betrayal. Harley believed that despite the abuse, he was a pretty normal teenage guy with a family he "didn't hate". So when he comes home one day to see his despondent looking mom being hauled away in the back of a police cruiser with a vacant look in her eyes, he didn't believe what he's seeing. And unfortunately, his mother refuses to explain her actions to him after the fact.
Amber is Harley's 16 year old sister "with hair the color of shiny penny". It's clear from the beginning that Amber and Harley have a tension charged dynamic. Amber is testing Harley's boundaries while trying to make him jealous by running off with any boy who gives her attention.
Misty, the middle sister, is 12 years old and a tomboy. She was there dad's favorite in Harley's opinions and she rarely got a beating from him which Harley resented as well. When she was hit, she never cried which shamed Harley greatly because of his extreme sensitivity. Misty was "more of a bit than Harley ever was" in their father's eyes as she loved hunting with her dad and spending time with him doing "manly" things.
Jodie the youngest sister, is six and has long golden locks. She thinks hot dogs cut into pieces are choking hazards and she collects stuffed dinosaurs and umbrellas from the local Chinese restaurant. She is so sweet and loveable and endearing. When is her turn to "cook" dinner she makes everyone a mean bowl of cereal. Jodie is great at keeping secrets and little does Harley know, these secrets could change his life irrevocably.
Harley works and daydreams the days away until he has a close encounter with the happily married mother of Jodie's best friend. Little did he know this encounter would change the course of her life and the lives of Harley's family forever.
It's raw, powerful, and distributing. It shocks and amazes me every time I read it again. The depth of the characters is what tired me to this book. And the beautiful, vivid descriptions held my attention. I loved the way O'Dell wrote these characters because they do perfectly imperfect. A flawed family forced to grow up when they're all still just children s with no healthy role models to help them navigate their new reality.
I try to read this once a year just to remind myself that this was one of my first favorite books as a young adult discovering adult literature. This is a twisted story I warn those who are squeamish about sex issues, dysfunctional families, familial violence and taboo topics to avoid this novel. This book is not for the faint of heart as I wrote on the acknowledgments page almost 20 years ago! Reader beware. And enjoy!
July 24, 2017
Okay so this book...I went into it not expecting anything - it's not normally the book I'd read. It contains some very mature topics so if you're not comfortable reading those then this book really isn't for you!
So I decided to pick this book up purely because Jennifer Morrison is going to be playing Callie in the film adaptation and she's been talking about it for a while. I can't wait to see how the film adaptation turns out and how Jen portrays Callie on screen.
This book honestly made me so shocked, angry, sad and confused (In a good way)! I've got to say the story was messed up aha! I'm still not over the ending honestly I had to drop my book and silently scream into my hands!!
So I decided to pick this book up purely because Jennifer Morrison is going to be playing Callie in the film adaptation and she's been talking about it for a while. I can't wait to see how the film adaptation turns out and how Jen portrays Callie on screen.
This book honestly made me so shocked, angry, sad and confused (In a good way)! I've got to say the story was messed up aha! I'm still not over the ending honestly I had to drop my book and silently scream into my hands!!
November 23, 2008
I'm having a hard time rating this book. It's incredibly dark and morose, but the author does an excellent job taking us into the head of a 19-year-old small town boy who has been dealt an extremely tough hand--taking care of three sisters after his mother has murdered his father. I really felt for Harley, whose family life was so compromised that his attempts to rise above it were doomed from the start. Nevertheless, I had hopes that Harley could somehow survive, perhaps get away and start a new life for himself. His story is heartbreaking and tragic.
February 6, 2025
When there is a disfunctional family; it usually means the parents were mistreated when they were young. Disfunction leads to abuse and sometimes incest. The children are the innocent victims. They suffer horribably beacause of these things. That what this story was all about. The saddness of it all.
July 25, 2012
This book had it all. Heartache, heartbreak, humor, and horror. So much has been written about Harley, the main character of the book, things that make him out to be a horrible guy but the thing I found most evident about him was pretty simple. He missed his mom and longed for her presence in his life. Maybe not even his mom but "a" mom, any mom. When he asked the neighbor to meet him at the mining office he asked her to bring the stuff to make smores. Earlier in the book his little sister was talking about Callie making them smores and Harley almost seemed jealous. Through out the book all of Harley's demons and battles seem to stem from the fact that he resents not having a mom to do the things a mom should be doing. Not just for his sisters but for him as well.
This book is very well written and has many lines that are psychologically profound with regards to the characters.
"...I wanted her to tell me it was true. To tell me she knew about it. To speak the unspeakable. To prove the unbelievable. It would make dad more deserving of what he got. It would make mom more justified in what she had done. It would take away some of my own guilt. It would be all Misty's fault now. Mom hadn't killed him because he beat me...."
I read a review earlier from someone who said Harley was too messed up and "hick" to have that type of self inflection. I think a young man who has lead the kind of life Harley has lead is going to have a very astute ability to self analyze.
Bottom line...I liked the book because of all the psychological nuances that were there to be explored. I think this is an excellent Book Club book because it leaves the reader wanting to discuss it long after the last page has been turned.
This book is very well written and has many lines that are psychologically profound with regards to the characters.
"...I wanted her to tell me it was true. To tell me she knew about it. To speak the unspeakable. To prove the unbelievable. It would make dad more deserving of what he got. It would make mom more justified in what she had done. It would take away some of my own guilt. It would be all Misty's fault now. Mom hadn't killed him because he beat me...."
I read a review earlier from someone who said Harley was too messed up and "hick" to have that type of self inflection. I think a young man who has lead the kind of life Harley has lead is going to have a very astute ability to self analyze.
Bottom line...I liked the book because of all the psychological nuances that were there to be explored. I think this is an excellent Book Club book because it leaves the reader wanting to discuss it long after the last page has been turned.
September 14, 2008
I. Hated. This. Book.
It was dark, it was depressing, it was gross, and not just the subject matter... I can handle incest in my fiction, but you throw in a guy who quits showering and STILL get some down-town action as well as buggering his sister... and yeah. You get the *dingdingding* disgusting factor vote from me.
The saddest part is that the author is really talented. She writes really well. It wasn't the writing. It was the STORY.
This really showed a dark part of humanity; sickness, mental degradation, and dysfunction. It was entirely too depressing. I kept waiting for some shred of hope, some bit of light to make it's way through and maybe help at least one of these poor characters out, but no. It started on a depressing note and ended even worse.
If you're remotely suicidal, don't read this one, kids. Just, don't.
It was dark, it was depressing, it was gross, and not just the subject matter... I can handle incest in my fiction, but you throw in a guy who quits showering and STILL get some down-town action as well as buggering his sister... and yeah. You get the *dingdingding* disgusting factor vote from me.
The saddest part is that the author is really talented. She writes really well. It wasn't the writing. It was the STORY.
This really showed a dark part of humanity; sickness, mental degradation, and dysfunction. It was entirely too depressing. I kept waiting for some shred of hope, some bit of light to make it's way through and maybe help at least one of these poor characters out, but no. It started on a depressing note and ended even worse.
If you're remotely suicidal, don't read this one, kids. Just, don't.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 24, 2019
Wow and Disturbing. I wish I would've read it with Oprah as that had to have been a good discussion. The middle! I was close but not quite. The ending! I had an inkling, but the wrong culprit.
You're just jealous because those are. the shorts you wanted at Fashion Bug.
Too fat. Too geeky. Too seventies. Too eighties. Too obvious. (clothes and how an outfit looked)
Scrambled eggs and Bacon-O's.
He was one of those guys who took more pride in what he owned than who he was.
Those who know the truth are not equal to those who love it. -Confucious
You're just jealous because those are. the shorts you wanted at Fashion Bug.
Too fat. Too geeky. Too seventies. Too eighties. Too obvious. (clothes and how an outfit looked)
Scrambled eggs and Bacon-O's.
He was one of those guys who took more pride in what he owned than who he was.
Those who know the truth are not equal to those who love it. -Confucious
September 30, 2013
A dark dark book that I couldn't put down. I have a thing for stories that take place in poor mining towns.
September 27, 2014
Tremendo, duro, hermoso... magnífico
November 17, 2018
5 STARS
"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." (From Amazon)
I have read this a few times and listened to the audio. I love this book. Every time I read this novel my heart breaks. The characters are realistic and sometimes life just sucks.
"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." (From Amazon)
I have read this a few times and listened to the audio. I love this book. Every time I read this novel my heart breaks. The characters are realistic and sometimes life just sucks.
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