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Silver Alert: A Novel
"Smith's latest is as delicious as a slice of key lime pie – and gone just as fast." ―People
"It's very different and it's very special and it's very good! I loved it." —Dolly Parton
A driving force in literature, Lee Smith returns with a road trip novel, a story full of hope and humor about not going away quietly—at any age.
Herb’s charmed life with his dear wife Susan in their Key West house is coming undone. Susan, in her 70s, now needs constant care, and Herb is in denial about his own ailing health. The one bright spot is the arrival of an endlessly optimistic manicurist calling herself Renee. She sings to Susan during manicures, gets her to paint, and brings her a much-needed sense of contentment.
Then Herb and Susan’s adult children arrive to stage an intervention with their stubborn, independent father, and as a consequence, Renee’s gig with Susan—and her grand plans for her own life—start to unravel as well. Herb isn’t ready to let go of all that he has ever had, and it turns out that Renee is not the happy, uncomplicated girl she pretends to be. She is not even Renee; she is really Dee Dee, and she, too, has reasons of her own to hit the road. So Herb suggests one last joy ride in his Porsche with her riding shotgun; and they light out for parts north, setting off a Silver Alert.
As the unlikely friendship between Herb and Dee Dee deepens, we see how as one life is closing down, another opens up. This time that Dee Dee has spent with Susan, this time in Key West, and this time in the Porsche with the elderly Herb reveals to Dee Dee how much more truly lies ahead.
In this buoyant novel, the masterful Smith What life do we deserve? And how do we make it our own? Sometimes, you just have to seize the wheel.
"It's very different and it's very special and it's very good! I loved it." —Dolly Parton
A driving force in literature, Lee Smith returns with a road trip novel, a story full of hope and humor about not going away quietly—at any age.
Herb’s charmed life with his dear wife Susan in their Key West house is coming undone. Susan, in her 70s, now needs constant care, and Herb is in denial about his own ailing health. The one bright spot is the arrival of an endlessly optimistic manicurist calling herself Renee. She sings to Susan during manicures, gets her to paint, and brings her a much-needed sense of contentment.
Then Herb and Susan’s adult children arrive to stage an intervention with their stubborn, independent father, and as a consequence, Renee’s gig with Susan—and her grand plans for her own life—start to unravel as well. Herb isn’t ready to let go of all that he has ever had, and it turns out that Renee is not the happy, uncomplicated girl she pretends to be. She is not even Renee; she is really Dee Dee, and she, too, has reasons of her own to hit the road. So Herb suggests one last joy ride in his Porsche with her riding shotgun; and they light out for parts north, setting off a Silver Alert.
As the unlikely friendship between Herb and Dee Dee deepens, we see how as one life is closing down, another opens up. This time that Dee Dee has spent with Susan, this time in Key West, and this time in the Porsche with the elderly Herb reveals to Dee Dee how much more truly lies ahead.
In this buoyant novel, the masterful Smith What life do we deserve? And how do we make it our own? Sometimes, you just have to seize the wheel.
222 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 18, 2023
345 people are currently reading
6691 people want to read
About the author
Lee Smith
43 books985 followersGrowing up in the Appalachian mountains of southwestern Virginia, nine-year-old Lee Smith was already writing--and selling, for a nickel apiece--stories about her neighbors in the coal boomtown of Grundy and the nearby isolated "hollers." Since 1968, she has published eleven novels, as well as three collections of short stories, and has received many writing awards.
The sense of place infusing her novels reveals her insight into and empathy for the people and culture of Appalachia. Lee Smith was born in 1944 in Grundy, Virginia, a small coal-mining town in the Blue Ridge Mountains, not 10 miles from the Kentucky border. The Smith home sat on Main Street, and the Levisa River ran just behind it. Her mother, Virginia, was a college graduate who had come to Grundy to teach school.
Her father, Ernest, a native of the area, operated a dime store. And it was in that store that Smith's training as a writer began. Through a peephole in the ceiling of the store, Smith would watch and listen to the shoppers, paying close attention to the details of how they talked and dressed and what they said.
"I didn't know any writers," Smith says, "[but] I grew up in the midst of people just talking and talking and talking and telling these stories. My Uncle Vern, who was in the legislature, was a famous storyteller, as were others, including my dad. It was very local. I mean, my mother could make a story out of anything; she'd go to the grocery store and come home with a story."
Smith describes herself as a "deeply weird" child. She was an insatiable reader. When she was 9 or 10, she wrote her first story, about Adlai Stevenson and Jane Russell heading out west together to become Mormons--and embodying the very same themes, Smith says, that concern her even today. "You know, religion and flight, staying in one place or not staying, containment or flight--and religion." From Lee Smith's official website.
The sense of place infusing her novels reveals her insight into and empathy for the people and culture of Appalachia. Lee Smith was born in 1944 in Grundy, Virginia, a small coal-mining town in the Blue Ridge Mountains, not 10 miles from the Kentucky border. The Smith home sat on Main Street, and the Levisa River ran just behind it. Her mother, Virginia, was a college graduate who had come to Grundy to teach school.
Her father, Ernest, a native of the area, operated a dime store. And it was in that store that Smith's training as a writer began. Through a peephole in the ceiling of the store, Smith would watch and listen to the shoppers, paying close attention to the details of how they talked and dressed and what they said.
"I didn't know any writers," Smith says, "[but] I grew up in the midst of people just talking and talking and talking and telling these stories. My Uncle Vern, who was in the legislature, was a famous storyteller, as were others, including my dad. It was very local. I mean, my mother could make a story out of anything; she'd go to the grocery store and come home with a story."
Smith describes herself as a "deeply weird" child. She was an insatiable reader. When she was 9 or 10, she wrote her first story, about Adlai Stevenson and Jane Russell heading out west together to become Mormons--and embodying the very same themes, Smith says, that concern her even today. "You know, religion and flight, staying in one place or not staying, containment or flight--and religion." From Lee Smith's official website.
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February 28, 2023
Lee Smith packed a punch to the face, my face, after reading, Silver Alert. Not having ever read her many books that came before this one, I was shocked to discover characters I have never felt more at home with, falling head over heels in love with them. All those developed for this funny, falling out of age tale, presents readers with a book that you can sit down and quickly read while it carves a place out in your heart. Never have I so quickly devoured words as I did here, her expressions and character, gave me thoughts much like when I read Sink by Joseph Earl Thomas. Though Sink is a memoir of a young black boy growing up in a despairing situation, the reflections frome characters in both books are so unique, so twisted in their expressions and how they talk to their audience. I couldn't help but see the comparison to the bold statements so creatively made, so impressionable that they leave me, as a reader thinking of them, remembering them, long after finishing.
In Silver Alert readers are introduced to a quirky cast. One of the characters we get to know well, Herbert Atlas, was, in some ways to me, very much like my grandfather. And, in many more ways, he was not. But, they were both funny, friendly (to most), and loved their wife more than anything in the world, wouldn't leave her unless they were dead (and even then, try to defeat death to get back to her, even if they wanted the rest, themself). However Atlas, I will say, is very brutal in his outlook of the world, his treatment of himself and others. All of them except his dear wife. Because when the beautiful, vivacious Mrs. Atlas is diagnosed with early onset dementia at 57, he gives up his entire life, outside her, just to make sure that she has everything she needs and wants. The worst, that he gives up his own medical care, creates problems only a few years later (and I think, this was suspected) And, it is a hard life for him indeed, caring for an individual with dementia. But he always has a good outlook on it, as long as he gets to be by her side.
Mrs. Atlas, Susan, has become a handful to take care of. But, when a young manicurist, who calls herself Renee (not her real name), shows up at the house, a present from the children, she manages to charm the old woman as if she casted a spell making everything all right, better like it has never been since Susans diagnosis. Of course Herbert likes the young girl right away, and another reason he can't help but spy on her, the girl's “large chest”, as he happens to point out several times in the book. The snaggle toothed smile girl is really a charmer (despite the large chest). Mr. Atlas is the dirty old man that we have all met, at least once in life. However, the silly, charming type as he is discreet and never makes it a point to say anything untoward to the young woman. He is married, after all.
Poor Renee, however, has led no charmed life of her own. And, if the book wasn’t so upbeat, so sunny and light, you would cry over the life she describes, growing up the poor way this girl has. However she may have turned out, the girl really couldn't be blamed. Because if she had ended up like Aileen Wurnos it would come as no surprise, the things and life events she has lived through (even with only brief descriptions the girl tries not to think about) and what other people have done to her. Smith is the first author to ever relay such a disastrous backstory without making me cry and still doing honor to the subject by being respectful of these events having happened to a person. When we talk about “resilience”, we talk about people like Renee. And, while the girl is very ignorant, you can’t blame a person for some of the things they do in their ignorance, if they were never taught better, if they were never taught at all. Especially if they weren't taught to know what they were doing is wrong.
Renee has no family left in her life. Barely no one, really, at all. If there is anyone in the girl's life, they will end up hurting her in the end. Whether knowingly or not. Before, when Renee had family, all she had was her mother who really seemed like no mother at all. When she died Renee was left with a stepfather who, in all likelihood, led to her mother’s demise, or, who began the woman’s end, when they met and established their relationship. Of course the stepfather keeps Renee in his life after her mother dies, and, when I learned of this I was only left to wonder, what for? Even as I said this to myself, I knew. I was only hoping that was not the reason. Unfortunately, it was. When her mother dies, she only takes the place of doing things to a man no child should be forced to do. In her offhanded, “don’t try to think about it too much” way, Renee tells readers of some of these times, and we learn how the character of the girl was made and why she is who she is now. How Renee has her “sunny side” and her snaggle toothed smile, that is the question. How did it remain after all she has been through?
Sadly, not knowing any good people, to be able to keep bad people out of her life, is not in the cards for little, big boobed Renee. Her only friend in the world and roommate, Tamika, hooks up with a sleazy guy and they begin doing drugs together. And since Renee is often at the Atlas home and the Atlases are old, Tamika and her boyfriend figure there are pills in the house. Pills that they want. But, Tamika knows her friend and knows that Renee will not steal drugs to get her high so they concoct a story. Tamika’s son needs an expensive operation or she will die. Feeling bad for her friend, but not wanting to steal from the Atlas’s, Renee is confronted with cognitive dissonance she could never herself define.
As a reader it was disheartening to see Renee do such a bad thing to people she cared about, when she steals their pills for her friend. But, I had to remind myself of the girl's ignorance and the fact that Renee has no one else in her life, no one at all to turn to. And, that she was lied to by a friend. You would think that people who were hurt by others over and over again, taken advantage of, in this way in their life would think that of everyone, be suspicious of their motives. That in fact is not true, as I have a husband whose life was very much like Renee’s. He never had one person in his life who looked out for him and he, himself, is the same way. Never suspect of the motives of others, and always trusting what comes out of their mouth. If I was to put my finger on the reason why, it would be because with each person he meets he is hoping that they will be a good person, treat him well, and stay in his life, won't take advantage of him and leave him in the dust, like those before. Life is strange like that. Especially when people don’t know or aren’t told to know better or more.
The change in Mr. Atlas’s life comes because of a doctor's visit. And, I suspect he knew that he was having problems the last time he went in, because he had not been back for four years, despite the fact he needed desperately to be. When the children learn he has stage four cancer, despite what Herbert wants (and no one thinks Susan knows what she wants), they want the pair to move apart. Susan, to a place where she can get help with her dementia, more specialized care and Herbert very close, his needs being met and taken care of, his end near. Of course, these decisions were made without discussion or the consent of Herbert, and none sit well with him. He refuses to participate in the packing up and dispersal of the house, his belongings. He does not want the end to come before his final end. There are some people who want their end to come with familiarity, in a place they know, surrounded by what they know. In fact, I am sure most people who are cognizant want this. And Herbert is one of these people who is not ready to give up living. And, to him, giving up Susan, all his things, all he knows, is just that.
And then there is poor Renee who had finally found people, the Atlases, who were kind to her. With them, though she is not family, not treated as such, she has still found a familiarity, a comfort in them, as close to a home as the girl has probably ever got (and may ever get). Because the Atlases are kind people who want nothing from her, who treat her with kindness and love. And, with them packing and leaving the home, Renee is no longer a part of their life. It comes at such an unfortunate time as Renee had met a guy, thought they both had fallen in love and now finds out she is pregnant. However the father, just another user and abuser (not of drugs though), who wants what he wants from Renee and then wants to move on, abandons the girl. And all that time, Renee had thought they would be together. I have never wanted to shake a girl more and say, “After all this time, all the bad in your life, when will you wake up?” But, I couldn’t do that to my husband and, in understanding him and how he is, it made me understand Renee, all the better (However I still wanted to shake her, wake her up).
I will leave you with this one thought to ponder, not wanting to ruin the whole book so that those who read this might pick it up: What do you think would happen when, after the house is packed up, during Renee’s goodbye to Herbert, Herbert picks up the second set of Porsche keys no one knows he has, and the two leave, together? It is at this point, the beginning of the end of Silver Alert that I tell readers to find out the end (and more of the whole beginning and story). As it is just as great, if not better, than the whole rest of the book which I will always hold dear, wanting more of this writer, just loving the writing! I have never been more happy to have gotten the advanced read of Lee Smith’s Silver Alert, not just for the fact I would have died had I missed this read but I would have hated to miss the writer and their shelf of work that I now must read and follow until my end (hopefully a long time away from now)!
Happy Reading!
In Silver Alert readers are introduced to a quirky cast. One of the characters we get to know well, Herbert Atlas, was, in some ways to me, very much like my grandfather. And, in many more ways, he was not. But, they were both funny, friendly (to most), and loved their wife more than anything in the world, wouldn't leave her unless they were dead (and even then, try to defeat death to get back to her, even if they wanted the rest, themself). However Atlas, I will say, is very brutal in his outlook of the world, his treatment of himself and others. All of them except his dear wife. Because when the beautiful, vivacious Mrs. Atlas is diagnosed with early onset dementia at 57, he gives up his entire life, outside her, just to make sure that she has everything she needs and wants. The worst, that he gives up his own medical care, creates problems only a few years later (and I think, this was suspected) And, it is a hard life for him indeed, caring for an individual with dementia. But he always has a good outlook on it, as long as he gets to be by her side.
Mrs. Atlas, Susan, has become a handful to take care of. But, when a young manicurist, who calls herself Renee (not her real name), shows up at the house, a present from the children, she manages to charm the old woman as if she casted a spell making everything all right, better like it has never been since Susans diagnosis. Of course Herbert likes the young girl right away, and another reason he can't help but spy on her, the girl's “large chest”, as he happens to point out several times in the book. The snaggle toothed smile girl is really a charmer (despite the large chest). Mr. Atlas is the dirty old man that we have all met, at least once in life. However, the silly, charming type as he is discreet and never makes it a point to say anything untoward to the young woman. He is married, after all.
Poor Renee, however, has led no charmed life of her own. And, if the book wasn’t so upbeat, so sunny and light, you would cry over the life she describes, growing up the poor way this girl has. However she may have turned out, the girl really couldn't be blamed. Because if she had ended up like Aileen Wurnos it would come as no surprise, the things and life events she has lived through (even with only brief descriptions the girl tries not to think about) and what other people have done to her. Smith is the first author to ever relay such a disastrous backstory without making me cry and still doing honor to the subject by being respectful of these events having happened to a person. When we talk about “resilience”, we talk about people like Renee. And, while the girl is very ignorant, you can’t blame a person for some of the things they do in their ignorance, if they were never taught better, if they were never taught at all. Especially if they weren't taught to know what they were doing is wrong.
Renee has no family left in her life. Barely no one, really, at all. If there is anyone in the girl's life, they will end up hurting her in the end. Whether knowingly or not. Before, when Renee had family, all she had was her mother who really seemed like no mother at all. When she died Renee was left with a stepfather who, in all likelihood, led to her mother’s demise, or, who began the woman’s end, when they met and established their relationship. Of course the stepfather keeps Renee in his life after her mother dies, and, when I learned of this I was only left to wonder, what for? Even as I said this to myself, I knew. I was only hoping that was not the reason. Unfortunately, it was. When her mother dies, she only takes the place of doing things to a man no child should be forced to do. In her offhanded, “don’t try to think about it too much” way, Renee tells readers of some of these times, and we learn how the character of the girl was made and why she is who she is now. How Renee has her “sunny side” and her snaggle toothed smile, that is the question. How did it remain after all she has been through?
Sadly, not knowing any good people, to be able to keep bad people out of her life, is not in the cards for little, big boobed Renee. Her only friend in the world and roommate, Tamika, hooks up with a sleazy guy and they begin doing drugs together. And since Renee is often at the Atlas home and the Atlases are old, Tamika and her boyfriend figure there are pills in the house. Pills that they want. But, Tamika knows her friend and knows that Renee will not steal drugs to get her high so they concoct a story. Tamika’s son needs an expensive operation or she will die. Feeling bad for her friend, but not wanting to steal from the Atlas’s, Renee is confronted with cognitive dissonance she could never herself define.
As a reader it was disheartening to see Renee do such a bad thing to people she cared about, when she steals their pills for her friend. But, I had to remind myself of the girl's ignorance and the fact that Renee has no one else in her life, no one at all to turn to. And, that she was lied to by a friend. You would think that people who were hurt by others over and over again, taken advantage of, in this way in their life would think that of everyone, be suspicious of their motives. That in fact is not true, as I have a husband whose life was very much like Renee’s. He never had one person in his life who looked out for him and he, himself, is the same way. Never suspect of the motives of others, and always trusting what comes out of their mouth. If I was to put my finger on the reason why, it would be because with each person he meets he is hoping that they will be a good person, treat him well, and stay in his life, won't take advantage of him and leave him in the dust, like those before. Life is strange like that. Especially when people don’t know or aren’t told to know better or more.
The change in Mr. Atlas’s life comes because of a doctor's visit. And, I suspect he knew that he was having problems the last time he went in, because he had not been back for four years, despite the fact he needed desperately to be. When the children learn he has stage four cancer, despite what Herbert wants (and no one thinks Susan knows what she wants), they want the pair to move apart. Susan, to a place where she can get help with her dementia, more specialized care and Herbert very close, his needs being met and taken care of, his end near. Of course, these decisions were made without discussion or the consent of Herbert, and none sit well with him. He refuses to participate in the packing up and dispersal of the house, his belongings. He does not want the end to come before his final end. There are some people who want their end to come with familiarity, in a place they know, surrounded by what they know. In fact, I am sure most people who are cognizant want this. And Herbert is one of these people who is not ready to give up living. And, to him, giving up Susan, all his things, all he knows, is just that.
And then there is poor Renee who had finally found people, the Atlases, who were kind to her. With them, though she is not family, not treated as such, she has still found a familiarity, a comfort in them, as close to a home as the girl has probably ever got (and may ever get). Because the Atlases are kind people who want nothing from her, who treat her with kindness and love. And, with them packing and leaving the home, Renee is no longer a part of their life. It comes at such an unfortunate time as Renee had met a guy, thought they both had fallen in love and now finds out she is pregnant. However the father, just another user and abuser (not of drugs though), who wants what he wants from Renee and then wants to move on, abandons the girl. And all that time, Renee had thought they would be together. I have never wanted to shake a girl more and say, “After all this time, all the bad in your life, when will you wake up?” But, I couldn’t do that to my husband and, in understanding him and how he is, it made me understand Renee, all the better (However I still wanted to shake her, wake her up).
I will leave you with this one thought to ponder, not wanting to ruin the whole book so that those who read this might pick it up: What do you think would happen when, after the house is packed up, during Renee’s goodbye to Herbert, Herbert picks up the second set of Porsche keys no one knows he has, and the two leave, together? It is at this point, the beginning of the end of Silver Alert that I tell readers to find out the end (and more of the whole beginning and story). As it is just as great, if not better, than the whole rest of the book which I will always hold dear, wanting more of this writer, just loving the writing! I have never been more happy to have gotten the advanced read of Lee Smith’s Silver Alert, not just for the fact I would have died had I missed this read but I would have hated to miss the writer and their shelf of work that I now must read and follow until my end (hopefully a long time away from now)!
Happy Reading!
July 6, 2023
Let’s get right to the heart of the matter here… I didn’t hate Lee Smith’s Silver Alert, but I didn’t like it either.
To start, I should say this was my first Lee Smith book. I can’t say if all her stories have the same feel, but I didn’t care for the designed jumps and holes in the narrative in this one. Smith lets readers fill in the gaps for themselves in this character driven story.
And there a lot of characters here. Mainly because Herb had a few wives and a few kids. He loved love! :) Herb and Susan’s story was both beautiful and heartbreaking all at the same time. And Renee (Dee Dee) was growing on me, but the sequence of events at the end really soured her for me.
The Florida Keys was the true shining star here. You’ll feel and even smell the sun beating down. Along with the colors and charm and kitsch. The setting popped off the page!
To sum up, Silver Alert is a tale that puts all of life’s peaks and valleys on display. Especially the fragility and spontaneity of it all. We never know what the day will bring. Love, pain, or a high-speed-top-down joy ride in a canary yellow Porsche.
I’m not going to go out of my way to recommend this book. But I do think I’m going to read another Lee Smith. Just to see if the writing style is the same. Sooooo, what’s that all mean? *shrugs* Beats me! Make of it what you will.
May 27, 2023
This book was a mess, and I can't recommend it. What a massive disappointment.
The tone of this book does not match the content. It was jarring, and I was confused by the author's choices. The cover of the book is lovely, with bright colors and a cute image of a cottage in Key West, one of my favorite vacation spots. The book jacket reviews said it was hilarious with energetic prose. The book is about Herb, an 80-something man whose wife, Susan, has early-onset dementia. Yeah, hilarious. A manicurist, Renee, comes into their life and has a way with Susan, seeming to easily calm her, which Herb cherishes. Renee, aka Dee Dee, has secrets of her own, including an incredibly abusive childhood that was basically full of sex trafficking. Sure, also hilarious!
The book is written in this lighthearted tone as if it's trying to be fun and funny, and yet the topics are so awful and heartbreaking. How could any of this be funny? In addition, Dee Dee is somewhere in her late teens or early 20s, but we get her point of view throughout the book and she talks like she's a 10 year old and glosses over her abuse — actually, she's not glossing over it; the author is glossing over it. I don't get it.
The other major problem that I had from the beginning is that this book is called "Silver Alert," after the emergency alerts put out when someone elderly goes missing. So, we expect a silver alert in the book. In fact, the book jacket explains that Herb and Dee Dee go on one last joy ride in his Porsche. So, I kept waiting for that, thinking the book would be about their road trip and getting caught eventually. But the road trip doesn't begin until about three-fourths of the way through the book! And it's the book's ending. So, why would the author choose a book title — and the marketing department write a blurb — that tells you the end of the book? I kept waiting for the silver alert to happen through most of the book and it didn't. Baffling. Skip this one.
The tone of this book does not match the content. It was jarring, and I was confused by the author's choices. The cover of the book is lovely, with bright colors and a cute image of a cottage in Key West, one of my favorite vacation spots. The book jacket reviews said it was hilarious with energetic prose. The book is about Herb, an 80-something man whose wife, Susan, has early-onset dementia. Yeah, hilarious. A manicurist, Renee, comes into their life and has a way with Susan, seeming to easily calm her, which Herb cherishes. Renee, aka Dee Dee, has secrets of her own, including an incredibly abusive childhood that was basically full of sex trafficking. Sure, also hilarious!
The book is written in this lighthearted tone as if it's trying to be fun and funny, and yet the topics are so awful and heartbreaking. How could any of this be funny? In addition, Dee Dee is somewhere in her late teens or early 20s, but we get her point of view throughout the book and she talks like she's a 10 year old and glosses over her abuse — actually, she's not glossing over it; the author is glossing over it. I don't get it.
The other major problem that I had from the beginning is that this book is called "Silver Alert," after the emergency alerts put out when someone elderly goes missing. So, we expect a silver alert in the book. In fact, the book jacket explains that Herb and Dee Dee go on one last joy ride in his Porsche. So, I kept waiting for that, thinking the book would be about their road trip and getting caught eventually. But the road trip doesn't begin until about three-fourths of the way through the book! And it's the book's ending. So, why would the author choose a book title — and the marketing department write a blurb — that tells you the end of the book? I kept waiting for the silver alert to happen through most of the book and it didn't. Baffling. Skip this one.
April 19, 2023
This book has a cute cover and the title "Silver Alert" made me laugh, so I grabbed it because as I'm getting old I like to read about other older people and what kind of situations they get themselves into. The published description:
"This funny and endearing novel of family, secrets, and aging follows an elderly man who heads off on a joyride with a new young friend—who may have some secrets of her own.
Aging Herb’s charmed life with his dear wife, Susan, in their Key West house is coming undone. Susan now needs constant care, and Herb is in denial about his own ailing health. The one bright spot is the arrival of an endlessly optimistic manicurist calling herself Renee. She sings to Susan during manicures, gets her to paint, and brings her a sense of contentment.
But then Herb and Susan’s adult children arrive to stage an intervention on their stubborn, independent father, and as a consequence, Renee’s gig with Susan—and her grand plans for her own life—start to unravel as well. So much had seemed as if it could change for Renee, who is not the happy, uncomplicated young girl she pretends to be. She is actually named Dee Dee, and she’s fleeing a dark past.
And Herb can’t just let go of all that he has ever had. So, he suggests one last joy ride in his Porsche. And the two take off north out of Key West, soon setting off a Silver Alert. As the unlikely friendship between Herb and Dee Dee deepens, we see how as one life is closing down, another opens up.
In this buoyant novel, the masterful Smith What do we deserve? And how do we make it our own? Sometimes, you just have to seize the wheel."
Herb was a fun-loving man, but yeah - he needed help. It's hard for children when their parents need care but won't admit it. Herb needed help even though he wouldn't admit it, and his wife, Susan definitely needed full-time care. It was fun reading about Herb's adventure. It made me laugh a little even though I was concerned about what would happen to him.
Thanks to Algonquin Books through Netgalley for an advance copy.
"This funny and endearing novel of family, secrets, and aging follows an elderly man who heads off on a joyride with a new young friend—who may have some secrets of her own.
Aging Herb’s charmed life with his dear wife, Susan, in their Key West house is coming undone. Susan now needs constant care, and Herb is in denial about his own ailing health. The one bright spot is the arrival of an endlessly optimistic manicurist calling herself Renee. She sings to Susan during manicures, gets her to paint, and brings her a sense of contentment.
But then Herb and Susan’s adult children arrive to stage an intervention on their stubborn, independent father, and as a consequence, Renee’s gig with Susan—and her grand plans for her own life—start to unravel as well. So much had seemed as if it could change for Renee, who is not the happy, uncomplicated young girl she pretends to be. She is actually named Dee Dee, and she’s fleeing a dark past.
And Herb can’t just let go of all that he has ever had. So, he suggests one last joy ride in his Porsche. And the two take off north out of Key West, soon setting off a Silver Alert. As the unlikely friendship between Herb and Dee Dee deepens, we see how as one life is closing down, another opens up.
In this buoyant novel, the masterful Smith What do we deserve? And how do we make it our own? Sometimes, you just have to seize the wheel."
Herb was a fun-loving man, but yeah - he needed help. It's hard for children when their parents need care but won't admit it. Herb needed help even though he wouldn't admit it, and his wife, Susan definitely needed full-time care. It was fun reading about Herb's adventure. It made me laugh a little even though I was concerned about what would happen to him.
Thanks to Algonquin Books through Netgalley for an advance copy.
April 21, 2023
Thank you Algonquin books for an early release copy of this book.
Unfortunately, this book wasn’t for me. I didn’t really get it. I didn’t get any of it. The information about the characters was so shallow and surface level. I feel like the intention was to make it deep and emotional by making one of the main characters a survivor of sex trafficking but it missed the mark for me. I kept feeling like a chapter would pick up with no explanation for why things were the way they were.
Herb is an elderly man who apparently is sick, maybe dying, kind of unclear. He’s married to his third wife who has dementia and doing is best to take care of her. The family decides that both of them need to live in a home. Herb doesn’t want to move, then all of a sudden it’s moving day. Unclear if he was forced or begrudgingly agreed.
Dee Dee is a woman hired to do Herb’s wife’s nails. All of a sudden a few chapters later, she seems to be working as more of a caretaker for the wife, but that’s also unclear how it came to be.
Herb finds the keys to his old Porsche and he and Dee Dee decide to take a ride. Unclear really what this is about. Dee Dee wants to go to Disney. There’s a Silver Alert because Herb shouldn’t be driving.
Overall, I felt no connection to literally anyone. I found myself constantly questioning what was going on and how we got to that point. And with such little information on the main characters, forget remembering anything about the side characters.
Overall, just not for me.
Unfortunately, this book wasn’t for me. I didn’t really get it. I didn’t get any of it. The information about the characters was so shallow and surface level. I feel like the intention was to make it deep and emotional by making one of the main characters a survivor of sex trafficking but it missed the mark for me. I kept feeling like a chapter would pick up with no explanation for why things were the way they were.
Herb is an elderly man who apparently is sick, maybe dying, kind of unclear. He’s married to his third wife who has dementia and doing is best to take care of her. The family decides that both of them need to live in a home. Herb doesn’t want to move, then all of a sudden it’s moving day. Unclear if he was forced or begrudgingly agreed.
Dee Dee is a woman hired to do Herb’s wife’s nails. All of a sudden a few chapters later, she seems to be working as more of a caretaker for the wife, but that’s also unclear how it came to be.
Herb finds the keys to his old Porsche and he and Dee Dee decide to take a ride. Unclear really what this is about. Dee Dee wants to go to Disney. There’s a Silver Alert because Herb shouldn’t be driving.
Overall, I felt no connection to literally anyone. I found myself constantly questioning what was going on and how we got to that point. And with such little information on the main characters, forget remembering anything about the side characters.
Overall, just not for me.
March 7, 2025
Theis fast, easy, and funny read is set in Key West, Florida. It's a bit different than Lee Smith's other books, but it works for me.
July 14, 2023
3.5 stars!
Silver alert is a heartwarming story of improbably matched characters that are both loveable and quirky, yet facing challenging hardships.
📖𝙎𝙞𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝘼𝙡𝙚𝙧𝙩
✍🏻Lee Smith
🗓️4.18.23
🏝️Fiction
Thank you to my friends at @algonquinbooks for the #gifted copy
Silver alert is a heartwarming story of improbably matched characters that are both loveable and quirky, yet facing challenging hardships.
📖𝙎𝙞𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝘼𝙡𝙚𝙧𝙩
✍🏻Lee Smith
🗓️4.18.23
🏝️Fiction
Thank you to my friends at @algonquinbooks for the #gifted copy
May 17, 2023
DNF without cussing and the author's chosen God--- profanity, I'm assuming this would be a magazine article. In the first 10% there has been nothing enjoyable. Another NetGalley miss.
October 22, 2022
This book holds a hidden gem of a story that is not fully realized until the very end. For me, it was a bit of a slow start to get into the beginning of the book and its characters, but halfway through things come together in a way that reveals a mystery and moves toward an ending for one of the prime characters that you will root hard for. Very satisfying. Highly recommended. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
May 25, 2023
This is trying to be a screwball comedy about hard-hitting issues. It didn’t work for me.
May 6, 2023
I was fortunate enough to hear Lee Smith, queen of southern fiction, read from her latest novel at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill. The moment she introduced us to Herb and Dee Dee, the protagonists of SILVER ALERT, I was smitten. I’m drawn to quirky, broken, spunky characters, and these are two of the best.
Herb is trying to protect and control his shrinking world as he cares for his much younger third wife in their Key West home. (Susan has Alzheimer’s.) Enter Renee, real name Dee Dee, the bubbly young aesthetician with a snaggletooth. She’s been hired to paint Susan’s nails but, Herb discovers, has the ability to defuse Susan’s outbursts with singing and art supplies.
Dee Dee and Herb make an unlikely pair. He’s a grumpy geezer; she’s naïve and sunny. His life is ending at 83; hers is just beginning at 23. He’s wealthy; she’s renting a run-down pink trailer. Their lives are messy and messed-up: he has health issues he doesn’t want to confront, while she’s running from a dark past in rural North Carolina.
Things go from bad to worse. Herb’s kids plan a move to assisted living, and Dee Dee becomes pregnant by a tortured poet. Then Herb finds the car keys he hid from the family, and invites Dee Dee to take a spin with him in the yellow Porsche he’s banned from driving.
What starts as a spontaneous joyride ends up in a plan to visit Disney World, where Dee Dee can fulfil her childhood dream of meeting princesses. Except now they’re in a race to outwit the authorities—and Herb’s family.
Full of heart and humor, their road trip becomes a sweet, but powerful, story about how meeting the right person at the right moment can change your life. The setting on the Florida Keys is a bonus.
Herb is trying to protect and control his shrinking world as he cares for his much younger third wife in their Key West home. (Susan has Alzheimer’s.) Enter Renee, real name Dee Dee, the bubbly young aesthetician with a snaggletooth. She’s been hired to paint Susan’s nails but, Herb discovers, has the ability to defuse Susan’s outbursts with singing and art supplies.
Dee Dee and Herb make an unlikely pair. He’s a grumpy geezer; she’s naïve and sunny. His life is ending at 83; hers is just beginning at 23. He’s wealthy; she’s renting a run-down pink trailer. Their lives are messy and messed-up: he has health issues he doesn’t want to confront, while she’s running from a dark past in rural North Carolina.
Things go from bad to worse. Herb’s kids plan a move to assisted living, and Dee Dee becomes pregnant by a tortured poet. Then Herb finds the car keys he hid from the family, and invites Dee Dee to take a spin with him in the yellow Porsche he’s banned from driving.
What starts as a spontaneous joyride ends up in a plan to visit Disney World, where Dee Dee can fulfil her childhood dream of meeting princesses. Except now they’re in a race to outwit the authorities—and Herb’s family.
Full of heart and humor, their road trip becomes a sweet, but powerful, story about how meeting the right person at the right moment can change your life. The setting on the Florida Keys is a bonus.
May 10, 2023
My biggest issue with this book is the publisher’s description of it as funny and endearing. Yes, there are some endearing scenes, but 90% of the book is very serious content - child trafficking, abuse of all sorts, drug addiction, and more. It’s hard to find the humor. The book bounces between this serious content and softer depictions of the two protagonists dealing with aging, dementia care, bad boyfriends, and other pretty downer topics. The promised road trip and silver alert are very small parts of the book, and not all that funny or endearing.
April 16, 2024
I’ve been trying to get back into reading, so I went to the library last week and just browsed around until something caught my eye. Silver Alert’s cover did just that. The preview and the marketing on the cover promised a thoughtful, heartwarming road trip shared between the young and naive and the old and jaded. I had recently visited the book’s setting, Key West for the first time as well, so I figured I’d give this a shot despite not knowing the author.
Not only did I not get what I expected, I didn’t get much of a story either. The book flies by quick, mostly due to the dual internal dialogues between main characters Herb Atlas and Dee Dee Mullins being overly simplistic. However, beyond weird tone shifts, flat side characters, and humor that doesn’t land, Silver Alert ultimately fails as a story because its two main characters do not grow alongside each other, or even interact meaningfully, as the preview promises.
** Spoilers Ahead **
Rich retiree Herb spends his days lamenting the loss of his formerly lively wife’s mind to Alzheimer’s and projecting that anger on to all the standard things angry old men find time to complain about: young people having fun at the beach, traffic cones at construction sites, his children and their partners, tech companies (just what the heck is cloud computing, am I right?) new car models, and anything that isn’t exactly the same as it was in the 1950s. Realistic, sure, but shallow nonetheless. He’s cranky, he’s horny, he’s crass, and he loves his wife, who tragically doesn’t recognize him anymore. He spices up his internal monologue with plenty of profanity to really hammer home how cranky and down-to-earth he is, which gets stale immediately.
Herb’s foil, Dee Dee, the 20-something mani/pedi girl he brings in to do his wife’s nails, has the vocabulary and rationality of a preteen, which comes off as infantilizing before she’s revealed as a victim of sex trafficking which removed her from the educational system in seventh grade. The basic dialogue and diction make sense in context, but definitely wears out its welcome quickly.
So we’ve got our two characters, each neglected by the people and systems responsible for supporting them. Dee Dee slipped through the cracks of her rehab program and is abandoned by her rich boyfriend, driving her to swipe prescriptions from Herb’s house to support herself and the child in her womb who she can’t possibly raise but refuses to give up. Meanwhile, Herb’s numerous and narratively underdeveloped children and step children, rightfully, but not so nicely, host an intervention to move his beloved wife Susan to a nursing home where she can receive care that 80-something year old, cancer stricken Herb cannot provide. Yep, he loves his wife so much he’d rather deny her healthcare (which he can easily pay for AND visit her during) than swallow his ego in front of his cartoonishly obnoxious son-in-law. I find it hard to sympathize.
Nobody will listen to Herb’s feelings, and nobody is willing to address the systemic, deep rooted issues keeping Dee Dee in desperate poverty. Guess it’s time for these two to start hanging out so we can explore their dynamic! Young and poor meets old and rich. Hopeful meets jaded. Perhaps a man near his end can impart some sage wisdom to a woman who is just beginning. Maybe he’ll take a break from yelling at the clouds long enough to learn something himself before his life tragically slips away.
Nope. The books spends 70% of its time setting up the promised spontaneous road trip between the two characters, and the remaining 30% doing nothing with that setup. They don’t even have a compelling reason to start driving together, they just go out to lunch and then decide to keep driving down the highway on a whim. Neither character challenges the other or sparks any kind of growth in the other. They barely even develop a relationship as they sit almost entirely lost in their own heads during the whole drive.
Dee Dee spends their trip (which they eventually decide needs to end at Disney World) gazing out the window and reading every single billboard out loud, then Herb corrects her pronunciation (remember, she can barely read), Herb conjures up some non sequitur rant about how professional baseball sucks nowadays because the teams all moved their training camps to Arizona, Dee Dee politely giggles (partially because she has no idea what he’s talking about, “who are the Mets?”) and fawns at him like he’s worldly and wise, and Herb thinks about how nice she is (definitely nicer than those jerks trying to give my wife healthcare! They don’t laugh at my jokes!)
That’s it. That vapid cycle of (1) girl says dumb thing, (2) old man corrects her and rants, (3) girl calls old man smart or funny, (4) old man basks in undeserved praise, repeats three or four times and then Herb crashes the car and dies wordlessly offscreen, leaving Dee Dee with some money to get rehab and go to community college. Herb is swiftly wiped from reality after undergoing zero change over 200 pages and his children, grandchildren, and most importantly, his wife, the supposed central drive of his character, who was STILL ALIVE while Herb was driving away from his feelings, are never mentioned again. As such, his death leaves almost no impact, because after he dies, the book just ends. Five. Pages. Later.
There is nothing here. There are no stakes. There’s nothing waiting at the end of this drive, nothing happening during it, and hardly any reason to start driving in the first place. There is no character arc. There is no personal growth because there is no interpersonal conflict from which to grow. There is no profound statement about accepting loss or growing old or living life to the fullest or living on your own terms, or any of the topics these two characters’ interactions could’ve explored while cruising down the ocean highway. A bitter old man rants aimlessly at a ditzy young woman who is barely listening to him for 50 pages and then he dies and she uses his money to go to college. To Dee Dee, Herb might as well have been a briefcase full of cash and a college brochure. The trip leaves no emotional impact on either of them. You could replace the entire drive with a scene of Dee Dee winning a bunch of money on Wheel of Fortune while Herb gets shot in the studio parking lot and the story ends in the same place and carries the exact same emotional weight. Herb dies exactly as regretful, self-absorbed, lonely, and crotchety as he is on the first page. Dee Dee’s the same but now she has enough money to live. It’s a shame to get all this setup with such promise only to have the climax be wasted on meaningless small talk that just fills time. That’s what this book is: filler.
Not only did I not get what I expected, I didn’t get much of a story either. The book flies by quick, mostly due to the dual internal dialogues between main characters Herb Atlas and Dee Dee Mullins being overly simplistic. However, beyond weird tone shifts, flat side characters, and humor that doesn’t land, Silver Alert ultimately fails as a story because its two main characters do not grow alongside each other, or even interact meaningfully, as the preview promises.
** Spoilers Ahead **
Rich retiree Herb spends his days lamenting the loss of his formerly lively wife’s mind to Alzheimer’s and projecting that anger on to all the standard things angry old men find time to complain about: young people having fun at the beach, traffic cones at construction sites, his children and their partners, tech companies (just what the heck is cloud computing, am I right?) new car models, and anything that isn’t exactly the same as it was in the 1950s. Realistic, sure, but shallow nonetheless. He’s cranky, he’s horny, he’s crass, and he loves his wife, who tragically doesn’t recognize him anymore. He spices up his internal monologue with plenty of profanity to really hammer home how cranky and down-to-earth he is, which gets stale immediately.
Herb’s foil, Dee Dee, the 20-something mani/pedi girl he brings in to do his wife’s nails, has the vocabulary and rationality of a preteen, which comes off as infantilizing before she’s revealed as a victim of sex trafficking which removed her from the educational system in seventh grade. The basic dialogue and diction make sense in context, but definitely wears out its welcome quickly.
So we’ve got our two characters, each neglected by the people and systems responsible for supporting them. Dee Dee slipped through the cracks of her rehab program and is abandoned by her rich boyfriend, driving her to swipe prescriptions from Herb’s house to support herself and the child in her womb who she can’t possibly raise but refuses to give up. Meanwhile, Herb’s numerous and narratively underdeveloped children and step children, rightfully, but not so nicely, host an intervention to move his beloved wife Susan to a nursing home where she can receive care that 80-something year old, cancer stricken Herb cannot provide. Yep, he loves his wife so much he’d rather deny her healthcare (which he can easily pay for AND visit her during) than swallow his ego in front of his cartoonishly obnoxious son-in-law. I find it hard to sympathize.
Nobody will listen to Herb’s feelings, and nobody is willing to address the systemic, deep rooted issues keeping Dee Dee in desperate poverty. Guess it’s time for these two to start hanging out so we can explore their dynamic! Young and poor meets old and rich. Hopeful meets jaded. Perhaps a man near his end can impart some sage wisdom to a woman who is just beginning. Maybe he’ll take a break from yelling at the clouds long enough to learn something himself before his life tragically slips away.
Nope. The books spends 70% of its time setting up the promised spontaneous road trip between the two characters, and the remaining 30% doing nothing with that setup. They don’t even have a compelling reason to start driving together, they just go out to lunch and then decide to keep driving down the highway on a whim. Neither character challenges the other or sparks any kind of growth in the other. They barely even develop a relationship as they sit almost entirely lost in their own heads during the whole drive.
Dee Dee spends their trip (which they eventually decide needs to end at Disney World) gazing out the window and reading every single billboard out loud, then Herb corrects her pronunciation (remember, she can barely read), Herb conjures up some non sequitur rant about how professional baseball sucks nowadays because the teams all moved their training camps to Arizona, Dee Dee politely giggles (partially because she has no idea what he’s talking about, “who are the Mets?”) and fawns at him like he’s worldly and wise, and Herb thinks about how nice she is (definitely nicer than those jerks trying to give my wife healthcare! They don’t laugh at my jokes!)
That’s it. That vapid cycle of (1) girl says dumb thing, (2) old man corrects her and rants, (3) girl calls old man smart or funny, (4) old man basks in undeserved praise, repeats three or four times and then Herb crashes the car and dies wordlessly offscreen, leaving Dee Dee with some money to get rehab and go to community college. Herb is swiftly wiped from reality after undergoing zero change over 200 pages and his children, grandchildren, and most importantly, his wife, the supposed central drive of his character, who was STILL ALIVE while Herb was driving away from his feelings, are never mentioned again. As such, his death leaves almost no impact, because after he dies, the book just ends. Five. Pages. Later.
There is nothing here. There are no stakes. There’s nothing waiting at the end of this drive, nothing happening during it, and hardly any reason to start driving in the first place. There is no character arc. There is no personal growth because there is no interpersonal conflict from which to grow. There is no profound statement about accepting loss or growing old or living life to the fullest or living on your own terms, or any of the topics these two characters’ interactions could’ve explored while cruising down the ocean highway. A bitter old man rants aimlessly at a ditzy young woman who is barely listening to him for 50 pages and then he dies and she uses his money to go to college. To Dee Dee, Herb might as well have been a briefcase full of cash and a college brochure. The trip leaves no emotional impact on either of them. You could replace the entire drive with a scene of Dee Dee winning a bunch of money on Wheel of Fortune while Herb gets shot in the studio parking lot and the story ends in the same place and carries the exact same emotional weight. Herb dies exactly as regretful, self-absorbed, lonely, and crotchety as he is on the first page. Dee Dee’s the same but now she has enough money to live. It’s a shame to get all this setup with such promise only to have the climax be wasted on meaningless small talk that just fills time. That’s what this book is: filler.
June 11, 2023
I'm usually all about age-gap/intergenerational friendship stories but this one was just okay. I liked the Alzheimer's rep but overall the story just didn't capture my heart or attention very well. Luckily it was a quick read/listen and the narration by Caitlin Davies was good. While this one was a miss for me I would still read something else by this new to me author.
June 17, 2024
What a strange journey life can be with all of its challenges and other people who can get in the way. In Silver Alert, Lee Smith brings together an Octogenarian man and a young woman who appears to be a naive twenty-something, to tell a tale of facing adversity and living life on your own terms.
I love a road trip story, and this novel culminated in the road trip of a lifetime for this strange pair. But before that, it was filled with tenderness and whimsy and was an easy read interlaced with humor. Well worth a read if looking for something light.
Then, after a long pause, “It’s very hard to be a good person.”
“Shit, baby,” Herb says, as the traffic starts to move again, “It’s hard to be any kind of person.”
May 14, 2023
5 Stars for the narration alone! Caitlin Davies did such a fantastic job with her quick speaking turn of southern phrases and inflection, I was riveted. It was real easy to get swept up in this and it was over so fast.
I do have a soft spot for the Appalachian mountain area, so this was an easy choice for me. I'm also a sucker for stories with older characters - the quirkier and grouchier, the better the story usually. There were a lot of topics covered here and some were challenging to read about, but overall the feel of the book was meant to be about an overcoming spirit.
Between the southern lingo and backwoods characters, this was just a lovely change of pace from what I read on the regular.
I do have a soft spot for the Appalachian mountain area, so this was an easy choice for me. I'm also a sucker for stories with older characters - the quirkier and grouchier, the better the story usually. There were a lot of topics covered here and some were challenging to read about, but overall the feel of the book was meant to be about an overcoming spirit.
Between the southern lingo and backwoods characters, this was just a lovely change of pace from what I read on the regular.
May 31, 2023
Smith's novel is probably shorter than it needs to be, but it is still a great story. I think it could have been even better with more character development and deeper back stories. It appears that Smith wants to shine a light on human trafficking and prostitution born out of extreme poverty and family disfunction. She also wants to explore the trials and tribulations of aging and caring for loved ones suffering from dementia, including the impact on the rest of the family. This book feels a little bit like a Clyde Edgerton novel, but the young female protagonist is a classic Lee Smith creation -- so believable.
August 16, 2023
I definitely do not recommend this book. The main male character is an old perv and the book is written like this is a funny thing that we are just supposed to roll our eyes at and say 'Aww he doesn't know any better and he's harmless'. Absolutely unacceptable. The main female character is written like an absolute idiot. The description of this book being funny and heartwarming is ridiculous. There was nothing funny about this book's portrayal of harassment, drug use, disease or aging and this book was in no way heartwarming. If you want what this book claims to offer, go read Fredrik Backman.
September 3, 2023
Rounded up to 4 stars.
Much different type of book for me to read.
Short story, long adventures.
Good dialect.
Parts are funny, others sad.
Hopes & dreams…
Sometimes they do come true.
Much different type of book for me to read.
Short story, long adventures.
Good dialect.
Parts are funny, others sad.
Hopes & dreams…
Sometimes they do come true.
April 23, 2023
Lee Smith has been the queen of Southern fiction for many years and her latest work, Silver Alert, helps her retain her place at the top of a myriad of southern writers. This book is quirky and funny and introduces us to a main character who will remind a lot of people of their father or grandfather or most anyone they know over 80 years old.
Herbert Atlas is an 83 year old man who lives in Florida in a huge house. He's proud of what he's accomplished in life and isn't ready for the changes that are coming at him. His wife, Susan, has Alzheimer's disease and though he diligently takes care of her, she's changed so much that he won't be able to take care of her needs much longer. Plus he is not well despite the fact that he's unwilling to accept that he has health problems too. Renee shows up on one of Susan's bad days to give her a pedicure. Herb refers to Renee in his mind as 'not Renee' because he's sure that isn't her real name. Renee helps Susan relax during the pedicure and Herb is thrilled with her results and asks her to come back. After several trips to the house, Herb and Renee have become friendly and she manages to help him a lot with Susan. When his kids decide to come for lunch one day, he knows that they've planned an intervention. They've decided that he can no longer take care of Susan and they have found a place for her at memory care unit with a room for him that's very close. Even though he doesn't feel ready, he goes along with their plans...until one day when all of the boxes are packed and the furniture moved out, he decides that it's time for one last adventure and he and Renee go for a drive in his Porsche that causes a Silver Alert to be issued.
Renee is an interesting character. Even though she's always cheerful around Herb and Susan, she is living difficult life and has a sordid past. She was sexually trafficked from a young age and even after she escaped from that life, she is still getting into rough situations and is pregnant with a boyfriends baby - a boyfriend ho wants nothing do with a baby.
The two main characters are totally opposite - Herb is old, outspoken, and wants life to continue as it is. Renee is young and fill of life and wants drastic changes in her life. As Herb life is narrowing, Renee's is just opening up. This short and sweet book will make you laugh out loud while it gently reminding you the importance of taking control of your life no matter what age you are.
Herbert Atlas is an 83 year old man who lives in Florida in a huge house. He's proud of what he's accomplished in life and isn't ready for the changes that are coming at him. His wife, Susan, has Alzheimer's disease and though he diligently takes care of her, she's changed so much that he won't be able to take care of her needs much longer. Plus he is not well despite the fact that he's unwilling to accept that he has health problems too. Renee shows up on one of Susan's bad days to give her a pedicure. Herb refers to Renee in his mind as 'not Renee' because he's sure that isn't her real name. Renee helps Susan relax during the pedicure and Herb is thrilled with her results and asks her to come back. After several trips to the house, Herb and Renee have become friendly and she manages to help him a lot with Susan. When his kids decide to come for lunch one day, he knows that they've planned an intervention. They've decided that he can no longer take care of Susan and they have found a place for her at memory care unit with a room for him that's very close. Even though he doesn't feel ready, he goes along with their plans...until one day when all of the boxes are packed and the furniture moved out, he decides that it's time for one last adventure and he and Renee go for a drive in his Porsche that causes a Silver Alert to be issued.
Renee is an interesting character. Even though she's always cheerful around Herb and Susan, she is living difficult life and has a sordid past. She was sexually trafficked from a young age and even after she escaped from that life, she is still getting into rough situations and is pregnant with a boyfriends baby - a boyfriend ho wants nothing do with a baby.
The two main characters are totally opposite - Herb is old, outspoken, and wants life to continue as it is. Renee is young and fill of life and wants drastic changes in her life. As Herb life is narrowing, Renee's is just opening up. This short and sweet book will make you laugh out loud while it gently reminding you the importance of taking control of your life no matter what age you are.
March 8, 2024
Thank sweet Jesus this is over. Don’t get distracted by a cute cover with a pink beach house. I have nothing more to say. 😑
May 3, 2023
4 1/2
Herb Atlas is a dynamo without a filter who has acquired wealth and wives but remains an old-fashioned New York kind of guy nearing the end of his life. His idyllic life with his last wife, Susan, is unravelling when she is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s. Although he’s hired nurses and extra help, nothing seems to be working until the day, aesthetician Renee shows up with beautiful polishes and a song in her heart she’s willing to share. But Herb’s kids and step-kids aren’t having it. They amass, have a supposed intervention, which is really no intervention at all but rather a coup in which they take over everything, sending Susan off to a care facility soon to be followed by Herb, regardless of his wishes. But Herb has the keys to be yellow Porsche and is going on one last adventure with Renee/Dee Dee in the passenger’s seat in Lee Smith’s vibrant Silver Alert.
Although Silver Alert tackles some difficult subjects like abuse, sex trafficking, aging, illness, the novel is filled with hope. Perhaps it’s a cliché to make the observation that childhood and elderhood are extremely similar phases in which an individual has no control over their lives. In the first, they haven’t acquired it while in the second it’s removed from them. Renee who will be referred to as Dee Dee (her birth name) from here on became a victim early on without any control over her life but fate–and some kind-hearted people–are guiding her toward a better life. Herb finds that after a medical diagnosis that his family disregards any wishes that he might have as they railroad him into what is easiest for them. They sort through his belongings, keep what they want, and sell or give away the rest. If there is anything sadder than being at the end of your life and having the reins snatched from your hands, I’m not sure what it would be. It’s for the best, it’s for the best, but whose best?
Both Dee Dee and Herb are richly drawn characters. Dee Dee’s voice comes alive on the page. Her love for sparkly things and Dolly Parton, her desire to see the Disney Princesses, her desire to have a house of her own, and make her own way. Likewise, Herb has such a rich history, lived so many adventures. Silver Alert is as much a character study as a novel that ends with a most beautiful attempt at escape in a yellow bird car built for speed.
My only complaint is that I wished we could have spent more time with Herb and Dee Dee on their remarkable drive.
Thanks to the publisher for a copy for an honest review.
Herb Atlas is a dynamo without a filter who has acquired wealth and wives but remains an old-fashioned New York kind of guy nearing the end of his life. His idyllic life with his last wife, Susan, is unravelling when she is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s. Although he’s hired nurses and extra help, nothing seems to be working until the day, aesthetician Renee shows up with beautiful polishes and a song in her heart she’s willing to share. But Herb’s kids and step-kids aren’t having it. They amass, have a supposed intervention, which is really no intervention at all but rather a coup in which they take over everything, sending Susan off to a care facility soon to be followed by Herb, regardless of his wishes. But Herb has the keys to be yellow Porsche and is going on one last adventure with Renee/Dee Dee in the passenger’s seat in Lee Smith’s vibrant Silver Alert.
Although Silver Alert tackles some difficult subjects like abuse, sex trafficking, aging, illness, the novel is filled with hope. Perhaps it’s a cliché to make the observation that childhood and elderhood are extremely similar phases in which an individual has no control over their lives. In the first, they haven’t acquired it while in the second it’s removed from them. Renee who will be referred to as Dee Dee (her birth name) from here on became a victim early on without any control over her life but fate–and some kind-hearted people–are guiding her toward a better life. Herb finds that after a medical diagnosis that his family disregards any wishes that he might have as they railroad him into what is easiest for them. They sort through his belongings, keep what they want, and sell or give away the rest. If there is anything sadder than being at the end of your life and having the reins snatched from your hands, I’m not sure what it would be. It’s for the best, it’s for the best, but whose best?
Both Dee Dee and Herb are richly drawn characters. Dee Dee’s voice comes alive on the page. Her love for sparkly things and Dolly Parton, her desire to see the Disney Princesses, her desire to have a house of her own, and make her own way. Likewise, Herb has such a rich history, lived so many adventures. Silver Alert is as much a character study as a novel that ends with a most beautiful attempt at escape in a yellow bird car built for speed.
My only complaint is that I wished we could have spent more time with Herb and Dee Dee on their remarkable drive.
Thanks to the publisher for a copy for an honest review.
May 30, 2023
Lee Smith is known, essentially, as an Appalachian writer, yet her last 2 novels are set in Florida. That is fine, but Silver Alert is just unsatisfying.
Dee Dee is a young woman with a past. Herb, an elderly cancer patient, hires her to give his wife, who has Alzheimer's, a pedicure. Herb's wife, Susan, is violent and erratic, except when she's with Dee Dee, who, it turns out, is poor, uneducated, and has a very dark personal history. At one point in the novel, Herb and Dee Dee hit the road, sparking the Silver Alert of the title.
The characters in Silver Alert seem incomplete and are hard for the reader to grasp. They are not developed enough, especially the peripheral characters. Herb, though intended to be gruff with a heart of gold, comes off as a cursing, mean old man. The character of Dee Dee is OK, but she is not very complex. The fact that almost every character refers to Dee Dee as "honey" is also annoying. It's always, "I'll help you, honey" or, "I recommend that you do this and that, honey." Maybe this is meant to invoke a cultural affectation from the Florida Keys, but the word "honey" is overused in the novel.
Smith is a master at Appalachian literature, but her latest falls flat, which is all the more disappointing as it is rumored that this may be her last.
Dee Dee is a young woman with a past. Herb, an elderly cancer patient, hires her to give his wife, who has Alzheimer's, a pedicure. Herb's wife, Susan, is violent and erratic, except when she's with Dee Dee, who, it turns out, is poor, uneducated, and has a very dark personal history. At one point in the novel, Herb and Dee Dee hit the road, sparking the Silver Alert of the title.
The characters in Silver Alert seem incomplete and are hard for the reader to grasp. They are not developed enough, especially the peripheral characters. Herb, though intended to be gruff with a heart of gold, comes off as a cursing, mean old man. The character of Dee Dee is OK, but she is not very complex. The fact that almost every character refers to Dee Dee as "honey" is also annoying. It's always, "I'll help you, honey" or, "I recommend that you do this and that, honey." Maybe this is meant to invoke a cultural affectation from the Florida Keys, but the word "honey" is overused in the novel.
Smith is a master at Appalachian literature, but her latest falls flat, which is all the more disappointing as it is rumored that this may be her last.
May 7, 2023
Lee Smith is a truly amazing writer. She has opened new worlds to me over the years of reading her books that I would never know otherwise. This one is no exception.
May 18, 2023
DNF-just can’t handle the horrible language….
April 27, 2024
Lee Smith, the Author of “Silver Alerts” has written an intriguing and thought-provoking novel. This is a novel that compares and contrasts the young and the old, and the rich and the poor. The genres for this book are Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Southern Fiction, Chick-Lit, and Humor. In this emotional book, the themes revolve around family, aging, drugs and alcohol, secrets, and betrayals. The author vividly describes the scenery and the dramatic characters.
Herb, a wealthy eightyish year old man, who lives with his seventy year old wife Susan in Key West. Susan has dementia, and has been difficult to take care of. The children feel that it is time for Herb and Susan to leave their home, and be in a controlled environment. One of the “protagonists” of the story, a young woman, comes to Herb’s house and gives Susan a pedicure. While she does this, she sings and comforts Susan. This “protagonist” calls herself “Renee”, but has another name and identity. She has the feeling that this would be a wonderful opportunity to work for them.
“Renee” has a questionable friend, that makes some demanding requests of hers. Renee has many secrets. Herb has hidden his keys for his Porsche away, and decides to take the car and Renee for an adventurous ride. “Renee” has always dreamed of going to Disney Land, and Herb is trying to fulfill her wish. He also wants a last adventure that is in his control. Herb has just received disappointing medical news about himself. I would highly recommend this book to others to join Herb and “the Protagonist” on their adventure.
Herb, a wealthy eightyish year old man, who lives with his seventy year old wife Susan in Key West. Susan has dementia, and has been difficult to take care of. The children feel that it is time for Herb and Susan to leave their home, and be in a controlled environment. One of the “protagonists” of the story, a young woman, comes to Herb’s house and gives Susan a pedicure. While she does this, she sings and comforts Susan. This “protagonist” calls herself “Renee”, but has another name and identity. She has the feeling that this would be a wonderful opportunity to work for them.
“Renee” has a questionable friend, that makes some demanding requests of hers. Renee has many secrets. Herb has hidden his keys for his Porsche away, and decides to take the car and Renee for an adventurous ride. “Renee” has always dreamed of going to Disney Land, and Herb is trying to fulfill her wish. He also wants a last adventure that is in his control. Herb has just received disappointing medical news about himself. I would highly recommend this book to others to join Herb and “the Protagonist” on their adventure.
June 17, 2024
3.25 ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
As short as this book is, it took me forever to read it. It was a little hard to get into, especially from Herb’s POV. I know he’s old but he rambled and it was just hard to read at times. I read about half of it while I was getting tires Walmart and it’s the only book I had or it probably would have taken me even longer to read. Actually, once I used to the characters, I started to enjoy the book. I hated the ending. I feel like there should have been more. We don’t know what took place There was just way too much I needed to know. I love Lee Smith. Her book Family Linen is what turned me into an avid reader. I read here and there before that but when I read that book for my Appalachian Literature class, it changed my views towards reading. I realized there books about people like the people I knew. Southern and crazy. Once I found that genre, I started branching out and now I read anything and everything but Lee Smith will always be special to me and Family Linen will always be one of my favorite books. This one, not so much.
As short as this book is, it took me forever to read it. It was a little hard to get into, especially from Herb’s POV. I know he’s old but he rambled and it was just hard to read at times. I read about half of it while I was getting tires Walmart and it’s the only book I had or it probably would have taken me even longer to read. Actually, once I used to the characters, I started to enjoy the book. I hated the ending. I feel like there should have been more. We don’t know what took place There was just way too much I needed to know. I love Lee Smith. Her book Family Linen is what turned me into an avid reader. I read here and there before that but when I read that book for my Appalachian Literature class, it changed my views towards reading. I realized there books about people like the people I knew. Southern and crazy. Once I found that genre, I started branching out and now I read anything and everything but Lee Smith will always be special to me and Family Linen will always be one of my favorite books. This one, not so much.
April 17, 2024
The story itself was pretty good. A wealthy, elderly man living the high life in Key West with his failing (3rd) wife becomes entangled with a pretty, young aesthetician when she arrives to give his beloved a mani/pedi. This turns out to be way more her story than his. I would've given another star had the writing not been sub-par.
I am amazed that this author has 14 other titles published. I haven't read any of them, nor do I intend to do so based on this book. The author does not seem to understand the difference between a comma and a period. She is unable to give the readers information about her characters such that they can come to their own conclusion. For example, instead of describing an elegant, expensive outfit for Susan, she says she was dressed real classy. Classy is one of her favorite adjectives.
This story was, however, highly readable. Luckily, the poor writing was eclipsed by a fairly interesting storyline.
I am amazed that this author has 14 other titles published. I haven't read any of them, nor do I intend to do so based on this book. The author does not seem to understand the difference between a comma and a period. She is unable to give the readers information about her characters such that they can come to their own conclusion. For example, instead of describing an elegant, expensive outfit for Susan, she says she was dressed real classy. Classy is one of her favorite adjectives.
This story was, however, highly readable. Luckily, the poor writing was eclipsed by a fairly interesting storyline.
July 26, 2023
Sweet easy read. Wish’s I could find Mr atlas in my life.
February 17, 2024
I think I'm just not a Lee Smith fan. I only finished this because it was short. It wasn't terrible, but also not at all compelling.
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