This Dark Road to Mercy by Wiley Cash

 

This Dark Road to Mercy by Wiley Cash 

Publisher:  William Morrow

Published:  January 28, 2014

ISBN:  978-0062088253

Pages:  240

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

 

Book Summary:  The critically-acclaimed author of the New York Times bestseller A Land More Kind Than Home returns with a resonant novel of love and atonement, blood and vengeance, involving two young sisters, a wayward father, and an enemy determined to see him pay for his sins. 

When their mother dies unexpectedly, twelve-year-old Easter and her six-year-old sister Ruby are shuffled into the foster care system in Gastonia, North Carolina, a town not far from the Appalachian mountains. But just as they settle into their new life, their errant father, Wade, an ex-minor league baseball player whom they haven't seen in years, suddenly appears and wants to spend more time with them. Unfortunately, Wade has signed away legal rights to his daughters, and the only way he can get Easter and Ruby back is to steal them away in the middle of the night. 

Brady Weller, the girls' court-appointed guardian, begins looking for Wade, and he quickly turns up unsettling information linking Wade to a recent armored car heist, one with a whopping $14.5 million missing. But Brady Weller isn't the only one hunting the desperate father. Robert Pruitt, a shady and mercurial man nursing a years-old vendetta, is also determined to find Wade and claim his due.

 

My Thoughts:  Wiley Cash’s debut, A Land More Kind than Home was an extraordinary book.  It was dark and violent but beautifully written, filled with mysterious, scintillating characters and, ultimately, it was uplifting.  It’s not uncommon for an author’s second book to pale, at least somewhat, in comparison with a phenomenal debut.  Wiley Cash is too gifted a writer for this to happen.  His second book is different from the first and not at all disappointing.   I thought This Dark Road to Mercy was a fantastic book.  

This Dark Road to Mercy  is dark but not as dark as A Land More Kind Than Home.  The two books share some similar themes and a few other common elements but they are two very different books. This book is set during the summer of 1998 when the baseball players, Sammy Sosa, from the Chicago Cubs, and Mark McGwire, from the St. Louis Cardinals, were competing to break New York Yankee, Roger Maris’, 1961 home-run record.  This setting added some fun to the book and lightened the story up in parts. It also added to the story-line's tension, helping to bring it all to a head towards the end of the book.   If you’re not a fan of baseball, don’t worry, the book isn’t baseball-intensive.  Cash connects the baseball theme through several characters, including 12-year old Easter Quilby, who is rooting for Sammy Sosa.  Easter is one of the main characters in this book.  She’s amazing and a major reason I recommended reading this book. Baseball and the home-run competition is one of the few things that excites and puts a smile on Easter’s face throughout much of the story.  Easter is one of three people who tell this story.  The others are Brady Weller, Easter and Ruby’s court-appointed guardian and Robert Pruitt, the bad guy.  Easter describes Robert Pruitt to her father, Wade.  It’s a child’s description but boy is it creepy-scary! 

Easter is more mature than most kids her age and very responsible.  She’s kept an eye on and cared for her younger sister, 7-year old Ruby, even before their mom died. When Easter and Ruby are put in foster care, Easter becomes especially watchful over Ruby.  Easter is also wise, funny, suspicious of others and cautious around people.  She’s observant and careful.  But she’s also a 12-year old girl who likes a boy in her school, Marcus, wishes she had dark brown hair and misses her mother.   When her long-estranged father, Wade, shows up at the foster home in North Carolina, Easter isn’t happy to see him.  She doesn’t trust him, with good reason, and part of her doesn’t want to see him.  She tries to push him away and get him to leave. But there’s a part of Easter that also wants a father and his love.   

Easter and Wade’s relationship changes and grows over the course of the story. Easter learns more about Wade when he takes Easter and Ruby out of the foster care home, possibly for good. As Easter begins to know Wade better and realizes he loves her and wants to be her father, Easter begins to warm up to him.  I really enjoyed ‘watching’ Easter’s relationship with Wade improve.  We get a couple of opportunities to see Easter as the 12-year old little girl she would be if she had a father around.  She smiles easier and faster, giggles and laughs.  She breathes easier because she doesn’t have to be mature and responsible all of the time. Easter also understands, better than many adults would understand this, that a relationship with Wade, even as her father, means accepting him as he is.  Easter knows Wade is her father whether she wants him to be or not. Now she knows, after a few days with him, that he wants to be her father.  Easter allows herself to begin feeling love for Wade.  She realizes that it’s best for Ruby if Easter gets along with Wade and treats him as her father.  Easter’s only twelve but she understands if her relationship with Wade is going to work, Easter’s going to have to help it work.  Easter’s not only smarter than her father, but more ‘worldly’ than Wade.  Towards the end of the novel, we learn from Easter’s behavior, she’s made a decision about Wade. 

Wade, for all his faults and flaws, and he has a lot of them, loves Easter and Ruby. He wants to be and behave as their father and he wants to treat them like his daughters.  The problem with Wade is he makes many bad decisions and has a lot of bad habits.  He is unable to see how his actions might have some troubling future consequences. He’s in no position, right now, for instance, to rent or buy a place to live with Easter and Ruby because of something stupid he’s done.

 

There’s a second plot-line in this book that I didn’t discuss.  It’s dark, ugly and violent. Easter, Ruby and Wade are all in danger and Easter and Wade have been threatened.  This is also due to a bad call on Wayne’s part.  Easter knows Wade’s in trouble.  But together, Easter and Wade have made sure Ruby has no idea anything’s amiss.  This other aspect of the story is fascinating and explains more about Wade. Cash does a remarkable job bringing the two parts of the story together close to the end of the book.  Tension has been growing and the atmosphere is ripe for an ‘explosion’.  You don’t want to miss it!  This book is short, just 240 pages.  And that’s my only complaint.  Still, I highly recommend, This Dark Road to Mercy. It’s worth reading.

~ ~ First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros ~ ~

 

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros is a weekly meme hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea every Tuesday.  Participants share the opening paragraph or two of a book they decided to read based on that paragraph. I’m participating in the reading dare ( it's not a reading challenge!) The TBR Triple Dog Dare at the blog, James Reads Books. The dare is the reason I am finally, finally reading this book. This is an author whose books I’ve wanted to, and meant to, read for a long time.  I have this book in audio and paperback so I’ll be “reading” both.  I’m really looking forward to this book and plan to read it at my leisure, probably on the annoying Access-a-Ride van for the disabled on the way to my Dr. appts., or while sitting in doctors waiting rooms, or at night before I fall asleep or when I can’t get to sleep. (You get the idea!) But I won’t be surprised if it turns out to be one of those books I cannot put down and I end up reading in a few days!  

Drop by Bibliophile By the Sea to read Diane's selection this week, it’s always a good one, and to see who else is participating. You'll probably get some good book titles, too! 

 

 

Case Histories

by

Kate Atkinson

 

I

Case History No. I 1970

Family Plot 

How lucky were they? A heat wave in the middle of the school holidays, exactly where it belonged. Every morning the sun was up long before they were, making a mockery of the flimsy summer curtains that hung limply at their bedroom windows, a sun already hot and sticky with promise before Olivia even opened her eyes. Olivia, as reliable as a rooster, always the first to wake, so that no one in the house had bothered with an alarm clock since she was born three years ago.

Olivia, the youngest and therefore the one currently sleeping in the small back bedroom with the nursery-rhyme wallpaper, a room that all of them had occupied and been ousted from in turn. Olivia, as cute as a button they were all agreed, even Julia, who had taken a long time to get over being displaced as the baby of the family, a position she had occupied for five satisfying years before Olivia came along. 

Rosemary, their mother, said that she wished Olivia could stay at this age forever because she was so lovable. They had never heard her use that word to describe any of them. They had not even realized that such a word existed in her vocabulary, which was usually restricted to tedious commands: come here, go away, be quiet,.and -most frequent of all -stop that. Sometimes she would walk into a room or appear in the garden, glare at them, and say, Whatever it is you're doing, don't, and then simply walk away again, leaving them feeling aggrieved and badly done by, even when caught red-handed in the middle of some piece of mischief -devised by Sylvia usually. 

What do you think?  Would you keep reading?

I included an extra paragraph just because I thought it was good & cute & you'd enjoy it. I hope you do!

~ ~ First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros ~ ~

 

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros is a weekly meme hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea every Tuesday.  Participants share the opening paragraph or two of a book we’ve decided to read based on that paragraph. I read this author’s first book.  It was terrific so, when I had a chance to get an ARC of his second book, I did.  It sounds mesmerizing and I cannot wait to read it. 

Don't forget to drop by Bibliophile By the Sea to read Diane's selection this week and to see who else is participating. You'll probably get some good book titles, too!

 

This Dark Road to Mercy

by

Wiley Cash 

       Chapter 1 - Easter Quillby 

      

Wade disappeared on us when I was six years old, and then he showed up out of nowhere the year I turned twelve. By then I’d spent half my life listening to Mom blame him for everything from the lights getting turned off to me and Ruby not having new shoes to wear to school, and by the time he came back I’d already decided that he was the loser she’d always said he was. But it turns out he was much more than that. He was also a thief, and if I’d known what kind of people were looking for him I never would’ve let him take me and my little sister out of Gastonia, North Carolina, in the first place.

 

      

My earliest memories of Wade are from my mom taking me to the baseball stadium at Sims Field back before she died. She’d point to the field and say, “There’s your daddy right there.” I wasn’t any older than three or four, but I can still remember staring out at the infield where all the men looked the exact same in their uniforms, wondering how I would ever spot my daddy at a baseball game if he looked just like everybody else.

 

What do you think?  Would you keep reading?

~ ~ First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros ~ ~

 

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros is a weekly meme hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea every Tuesday.  We share the opening paragraph or two of a book we’ve decided to read based on that paragraph. This is a book by an author I’ve always meant to read and haven’t yet.  He’s written many books, so, hopefully, this is just the first of many of his I’ll read! 

Don't forget to drop by Bibliophile By the Sea to read Diane's selection this week and to see who else is participating. You'll probably get some good book titles, too!

 

Talk Talk

 by

T.C. Boyle 

One 

 

She was running late, always running late, a failing of hers, she knew it, but then she couldn't find her purse and once she did manage to locate it (underneath her blue corduroy jacket on the coat tree in the front hall), she couldn't find her keys. They should have been in her purse, but they weren't, and so she'd made a circuit of the apartment — two circuits, three — before she thought to look through the pockets of the jeans she'd worn the day before, but where were they ? No time for toast. Forget the toast, forget food. She was out of orange juice. Out of butter and cream cheese. The newspaper on the front mat was just another obstacle. Piss-warm — was that an acceptable term? Yes — piss-warm  coffee in a stained mug, a quick check of lipstick and hair in the rearview mirror, and then she was putting the car in gear and backing out onto the street.

 

 

She may have been peripherally aware of a van flitting by in the opposite direction, the piebald dog sniffing at a stain on the edge of the pavement, someone's lawn sprinkler holding the light in a shimmer of translucent beads, but the persistent beat of adrenaline — or nerves, or whatever it was — wouldn't allow her to focus. Plus, the sun was in her eyes, and where were her sunglasses? She thought she remembered seeing them on the bureau, in a snarl of jewelry — or was it the kitchen table, next to the bananas, and she'd considered taking a banana with her, fast food, potassium, roughage, but then she figured she wouldn't because with Dr. Stroud it was better to have nothing at all in your stomach. Air. Air alone would sustain her.

 

What do you think?  Would you keep reading?

Review Labor Day by Joyce Maynard

 

Labor Day by Joyce Maynard 

Publisher:  William Morrow & Company

Published:  December 3, 2013 (movie tie-in edition)

ISBN:   9780062313638

Pages:  288

Rating:  5 out of out of 5 

 

Book summary: As the end of summer approaches and a long, hot Labor Day weekend looms, the life of lonely thirteen-year-old Henry Wheeler is irrevocably changed when he and his emotionally fragile mother show kindness to a stranger with a terrible secret.

In a manner evoking Ian McEwan's "Atonement" and Nick Hornby's "About a Boy," acclaimed author Joyce Maynard weaves a beautiful, poignant tale of love, sex, adolescence, and devastating treachery as seen through the eyes of a young teenage boy--and the man he later becomes--looking back at an unexpected encounter that begins one single long, hot, life-altering weekend. 

 

My Thoughts:  This is a fantastic book.  It’s the second book I’ve read by Joyce Maynard, the first being her most recent, After Her.  As soon as I read After Her, I wanted to read another book by Joyce Maynard because her prose style and story lines are so addictive.  Labor Day has been on my list of books to read for a long time so it was a natural choice to read it next.  I’ve read some wonderful reviews of Labor Day and I wanted to read the book before the movie came out because I find nine times out of ten, the book is better!  I wasn’t at all disappointed with Labor Day, being even better than I’d hoped or expected.  I didn’t want to be finished reading it because I was enjoying it so much.  However, the extremely satisfying end helped cushion that let down one feels at the conclusion of a great book. 

Labor Day is quiet and introspective.  A grown up Henry is the narrator, relaying what happened in his life during the 6 day Labor Day weekend when he was 13 years old.  Henry is more mature than a lot of boys his age but is also naïve, socially awkward and unpopular.  He doesn’t really have any friends, spending his free time at home with Adele, his divorced mother.  He is the only company she’s had since her divorce.  She doesn’t like to leave the house and spends most of her time inside.  When Henry isn’t keeping his mother company and Adele isn’t delivering one of her daily monologues to Henry, he spends his time either watching TV or thinking about girls and sex, of which he knows little but wants to know more. 

Henry cajoles Adele into taking him out to the store for things he needs for the upcoming new school year.  She reluctantly drives Henry to the local five-and-dime, Pricemart, just before Labor Day.  Henry is thirteen.  While Henry is browsing he’s approached by Frank, an adult, who’s a loner and physically injured.  He’s bleeding from his leg and his head.   As such he requests Henry’s help.  Surprisingly, Henry’s able to convince Adele to give Frank a ride.  The surprises continue as Adele allows Frank to come home with her and Henry. Adele even fixes Frank’s injured leg and the cut on his head.   

Adele doesn’t seem concerned with where Frank’s come from or who he is.  She makes it clear to Frank that her only concern is for Henry’s safety and well-being.  Frank assures her Henry is completely safe.  It slowly becomes clear that there’s a real connection between Adele and Frank.  Henry relays how Frank and Adele seem to communicate silently with looks and gestures. Frank understands the importance of Henry’s place in Adele’s life and has no interest in coming between them.  Frank is enthusiastic towards Henry. He wants to spend time with him, too.  He wants to teach Henry to throw a baseball.    

Frank breathes life into Adele and Henry’s world.  He cooks rather than just heating up TV dinners. He’s able to fix things around the house.  He knows how to bake a pie and he teaches Henry the proper way to do so. Adele and Henry see Frank for the person he truly is and trust him.  The most important think Frank does is release Henry from being his mother’s companion. Frank wants to be the one to care for Adele. Henry can feel the burden leaving him and that feeling manifests itself physically. He can breathe easier now that he knows he’s not responsible for his mother’s happiness.  What a burden for a thirteen-year old boy! 

Joyce Maynard’s characters, particularly Henry, are terrific.  They’re quiet and contemplative and they feel real. There’s nothing false about them: they’re just lonely, alone and looking to connect with someone.  I felt the author’s connection to Adele and Henry.  She trusts them and believes in them.  The book isn’t autobiographical, according to Maynard, but after reading a few interviews with her, it’s undeniable there’s at least a little bit of her in Adele, the divorced, lonely mother. It explains her interesting and quirky character and how well created she is.   Although I personally didn’t feel very connected to Adele or Henry, I sympathized with them, particularly Henry.  The poor kid doesn’t have a chance at fitting in with a mother whose happiness he feels is his responsibility.  Growing up is tough enough without such a burden.   

Did Maynard create Henry because she had a son (or daughter) in a similar situation?  If she did, perhaps this is a way now to reach out to him and explain herself, as well as let him know that now she understands what he must have gone through.  If not, then she is an author with vivid imagination and amazing creative abilities, not that they have to be mutually exclusive.  Frank’s origin is something we can only guess at.  Perhaps he was created as a necessary catalyst to propel the story forward, born in a flash of inspiration.  In any event, his character is a testimony to Maynard’s great story telling. Labor Day is a unique and creative story about love, family, believing in others and loyalty.  It’s beautifully written with ingenious characters and a fascinating plot.  It’s a book I highly recommend and believe it would be a shame for anyone to miss reading it.

 

It’s now a major motion picture starring Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin.

~ ~ First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros ~ ~

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros is a weekly meme hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by theSea every Tuesday.  We share the opening paragraph, or two, of a book we’ve decided to read based on that paragraph. I‘m reviewing this book next month.  I chose this book after reading its summary on Goodreads.  The characters and setting caught my attention. I was also struck by the author’s interest in music and writing music which is how he segued into book writing. The author’s three prior books are stories about the reality of struggling to grow up and the difficulties one encounters along the way. The storylines are based in reality and hard luck but also show glimmers of inspiration and hope.  All of the author’s books have won prizes, have been highly recommended and praised. I'm really looking forward to reading this book! 

Don't forget to drop by Bibliophile By the Sea to read Diane's selection this week and to see who else is participating. You'll probably get some good book titles, too!

 

The Free

by

Willy Vlautin 

Leroy Kervin opened his eyes to see a woman in a blue-and-white-starred bikini holding a pneumatic drill.  He could see her blond hair and high heels and thin, long legs.  For the first time in seven years he could see her without blurred vision.  He could see her clearly from the glow of a small colored nightlight.

He lay in a twin bed and looked at the girl.  He could read the company name below her on the calendar: JACKSON’S TOOL SUPPLY. He remembered that his cousin worked there. Suddenly he could think things through, he could put things together, where in the past years he’d been unable to.  It was like his mind had suddenly walked out of a never-ending snowstorm. Tears dripped down the side ofhis face in relief.  Was he finally free?  Was he really himself again? 

What do you think?  Would you keep reading?

The TBR Triple Dog Dare

Triple Dog Dare January 1, 2014 – April 2014

I am a little late to this party but very excited about the TBR Triple Dog Dare Reading Challenge hosted by CB at his blog, Ready When You Are, C.B..  I’ve been reading books from my shelf for the past few months because, when I went through them looking for a particular title, I found some great books.  There are still plenty of books I want to read and don’t yet own, but I’ve got a good start.  I especially want to participate in this meme if this is going to be the last year it's hosted. Hopefully somebody will host this meme next year!  Okay, enough of that!

 

Here's a list of books I hope to read while participating in this meme. Some I will read, and some will be replaced with others and so on and so forth:
 

The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown
Andrew's Brain by E. L. Doctorow

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

The Weight of Heaven by Thrity Umrigar
Bingo's Run by James A. Levine

The Fault in our Stars by John Green

A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady by Elizabeth Stuckey-French

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCamm

The Gathering by Anne Enright

Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by by Allison Hoover Bartlett
Take the Long Way Home by Gail Caldwell
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue
The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron
The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor
Goat Mountain by David Vann
The Coldest Night by Robert Olmstead

......etc.