Although gas prices may be soaring and long lines may be forming at the
pumps during summer, the contemporary road-trip-by-car novel continues to be a
popular, major story thread that epitomizes journeys through life. Here are a few books to consider if you're thinking about taking a literary road trip:
For the literary-minded driver who
gets lost in thought, How to Read the Air by Dinaw Mengestu
recounts travels from Peoria to Nashville, as a flawed man, facing a painful
divorce, retraces a road trip his parents made on their honeymoon in an effort
to understand his past and rediscover himself.
The long road to forgiveness is the
route taken in A Gift for My Sister by
Ann Pearlman, which reunites two estranged half-sisters who are forced to
travel from California to their old home town in Michigan. Miles of highway and
the stifling confines of a car prove a ripe breeding ground for resentment and
sibling rivalry.
For those who get behind the wheel
and often forget where they're going, try Bill Warrington's Last Chance by
James King. In this novel, Bill, an absentminded 79-year-old kidnaps his
14-year-old granddaughter; together, the pair set off from the Midwest in an
old Chevy Impala, heading toward California and hoping to force a dysfunctional
family reunion.
And for the
adventurous who love to hop in the car and just take off, The Lion Is In by
Delia Ephron offers a wild, whimsical, often bumpy car ride out of Baltimore
when three women, each bearing burdens and secrets, are forced to go on the
lam. A retired circus lion they encounter in North Carolina ultimately changes
their lives.
No matter the destination, buckle up and enjoy the ride
offered by each of these literary getaways.
NOTE: This article
is a reprint and is being posted (in a slightly different form) with the permission of Shelf
Awareness. To read
this column as published via Shelf Awareness for Readers (6/25/13), link HERE