Reckless Driver

by Lisa Vice

From Kirkus Short, present-tense sections related in a young girl's voice create a simply stunning first novel. Vice (Creative Writing/Univ. of California Extension Program, Santa Cruz) takes as her narrator Lana Franklin--six at the beginning of this story and an adolescent by the time it ends--then populates an entire Indiana town through Lana's pronouncements, conjuring up characters like Neila Grimes, who shares a party-line with the Franklins and whose eavesdropping presence is often given away by her parakeet's loose lips. Lana's immediate family is particularly her sister, Abbie, five years Lana's senior and apparently mature; their volatile mother; and their increasingly crazy father. Incest has become a commonplace fictional subject, but it's rarely handled as delicately as it is here. Lana is never coy, just perfectly ``Daddy says okeydoke. He's done with me sitting on his lap, so he pushes that doohickey on the side of his chair and lets me go,'' she reports early on, then later, when she is hospitalized with an unnamed, itchy disease, she remarks that ``Mom comes to visit and she's all happy saying thanks to me she's got grounds to get rid of the old man for sure this time just wait and see.'' One of the major accomplishments here is Lana's gradual growth and the subtle changes in her voice and vocabulary. The short-burst chapters accumulate the weight of a family photo album. Abbie and Lana invent a game called ``The Old Man's Gone for Good,'' in which they come up with ever more creative ways of imagining their violent father's death. For her part, their mother is not faithful to her husband and careless about what she says in front of her daughters. Only a few unnecessary third-person chapters showing Lana's father's point of view mar the striking economy of language and plot. A streamlined vehicle for a writer with tremendous talent.

Genres: Fiction

273 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1995

Reviews

[Somen Pillai · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the best books I have read in recent memory. family life in backwoods america mid-last century. the parents, the daughters and the dog, the neighbours, the church goers, the town's eccentric and/or tragic characters. interspersed with short stories, unique storytelling, the kind that breaks your heart and stays with you for life. I often go back and re-read some favourite passages...

I only wonder what happened to the author, there's no traces online. just this book and another, a few years later.

[Marcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

;flsjf;sd

[nickofd · Rating 2 out of 5]

it's harrowing but way too much for me. It's breaks my heart to dnf it but this isn't really for me.

[Holly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Set in the early 60s, this book is told from the perspective of Lana. When the book opens, Lana is 6-going-on-7, and it ends 3 years later. Lana and her sister live w/ their mom and dad in small town Indiana. Lana is your American average kid, but her family may have more skeletons in the closet than most.

I struggle w/ books writtten from the perspective of children - I understand it is a literary device - the world through the eyes of a child, an inherently happy, innocent kid who loves her mom and dad and sister and neighbors and home town. However, I'm not sure how the author escapes an overall feeling of "teen lit." I can appreciate it in small doses (and I actually really appreciated "Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime," maybe b/c the kid's perspective added to teh myster?) but in this case, the reader's adult understanding of what was really going on versus what the narrator knew fell flat.

Tragic family story that shows just how alone we can be, how misunderstood.

[Wee!wawaLAA!!! · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a really beautiful story about a young girl's life. It is said in such a simple way that it's complicated. I know, weird, huh?
So it's Lana's point of view, watching her parents fight, her sister become one of those extremely self-conscious person, her father's abuse/craziness/death, her mother's love life, up to the point of her sister's marriage and her mom and her moving to start a new life.
I honestly can say it's confusing, but only because it's from like a 10-year old's point of view, so she doesn't get a lot of stuff, so some things are just implied. :)
But it is most definetely sad. Her parents and sister are not exactly the best role models around, and she is obsessed with playing with fire. :P
So where does that leave her? That's the question that I want to find out.

[Lauren H · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was one of my favorite books when i was younger. it's pretty intense for a kid, but i think i convinced my parents it was harmless enough to buy for me. molestation, abuse, alcoholism, and so on, but this still stands out to me as a very emotional read. i should read it now to see how it's stood up to time. i also remember reading this and then going into "a tree grows in brooklyn" and finding them to be similar.

[Lindsey Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little girl coming of age during a very difficult time in a very dysfunctional family. I read this in middle school when my family was very dysfunctional and related to so much of this book. I think I have a soft spot for it because it was an escape for me during the time I read it. I loved how the author wrote through the girl's perspective as a little girl who grew and became more articulate as the chapters progressed. This is a book I have read a few times because I loved it so much.

[Bonnie Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

The characters in this novel are so real that it is painful to read about them. Told in Lana's own voice she struggles to make sense of the chaos and violence of her world. I read this book ten years ago and I stil can not forget it.

[justablondemoment · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very engaging in some places disjointed and confusing in others. The writing style was rather unique to me. Almost like a journal book but not quite. I am just as up in the air on how I felt about this book as I am on how to review and rate it. Settled on the middle ground with 3 stars.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Reminds me of "Bastard Out of Carolina," but it's the midwest. Lana's voice is clear and strong. I liked the style of short vignettes.

[Norah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is supposedly beautifully written, but I found it wallowing in sickly sentimentality. I didn't like the style at all, and didn't finish the book.