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Narrated by Andrew Eiden
Tawni O'DellUnabridged — 9 hours, 45 minutes
Narrated by Andrew Eiden
Tawni O'DellUnabridged — 9 hours, 45 minutes
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Harley Altmyer should be in college drinking Rolling Rock and chasing girls. He should be freed from his closed-minded, stricken coal town, with its lack of jobs and no sense of humor. Instead, he's constantly reminded of just how messed up his life is.
With his mother in jail for killing his abusive father, Harley is an orphan with the responsibilities of an adult and the fiery, aggressive libido of a teenager. Just nineteen years old, he's marooned in the Pennsylvania backwoods caring for his three younger sisters, whose feelings about him range from stifling dependence to loathing. And once he develops an obsession with the sexy, melancholic mother of two living down the road, those Victoria's Secret catalogs just won't do the trick anymore. He wants Callie Mercer so badly he fears he will explode. But it's the family secrets, the lies, and the unspoken truths that light the fuse and erupt into a series of staggering surprises, leaving what's left of his family in tatters. Through every ordeal, the unforgettable Harley could never know that his endearing humor, his love for his sisters, and his bumbling heroics would redeem them all.
Funny and heartbreaking, Tawni O'Dell's pitch-perfect characters capture the maddening confusion of adolescence and the prickly nature of family with irony and unerring honesty. Back Roads is a riveting novel by a formidable talent.
Set in western Pennsylvania, Back Roads is the story of newly orphaned Harley Altmyer (his mother is in jail for killing his abusive father) who, at 19, must shoulder the burden of caring for three younger sisters and struggle with his growing obsession for the sexy mother of two living just down the road. Selected by Oprah for her Book Club™ and celebrated by readers and critics alike, Back Roads announced the arrival of a major new talent.
Life has always been hard for Harley Altmeyer, the protagonist and narrator of Tawni O'Dell'sBack Roads, but never harder than since his mother went to prison for murdering his father, leaving him alone to care for his three sisters. Working two jobs in a rural Pennsylvania community that's reluctant to forget his family's past, Altmeyer struggles to make ends meet, serving as the head of his household while turning over nagging questions about his father's murder and postponing his inevitable breakdown as long as possible. Sacrificing his own needs at every turn, Altmeyer eventually finds his desires overtaking him as a friendship with a local housewife turns into something more intimate. O'Dell's subject matter may be a little overly familiar, as are the twists and turns of her melodramatic plot, but there's a deftness to the way she handles things--she shifts perceptions of characters and events as the story progresses--that keeps her novel interesting, making it seem far fresher than it could have. Much of this can be credited to the way O'Dell draws the central character: A thoroughly developed backwoods Holden Caulfield who may be on the verge of becoming a rural Travis Bickle, but whose inherent goodness remains close to the surface at all times, Altmeyer and his infinitely sad voice make Back Roads a memorable debut.
— The Onions A.V. Club
Her novel is as racy and as outrageously unconventional as her autobiographical note...Back Roads is a very funny book.
— Baltimore Sun
O'Dell's storytelling has natural flair.
A vivid writing style that makes for enjoyment reading.
O'Dell offers up a remarkable tale.
O'Dell has tackled the real stuff of stories, and she's done it with compassion and a unique voice.
Nineteen-year-old Harley is left to rear his three younger sisters after their mother is imprisoned for murdering their abusive father in this searing, hardscrabble Party of Five set in Pennsylvania mining country. Doubly resentful because his best friend is off at college, Harley spends his days slogging as a Shop Rite bagger and appliance-shop delivery person, coming home to cold cereal dinners prepared by six-year-old Jody. Harley is bitter about having to take over for his mother--"she still had us kids but we didn't have her"--and he can't shake the feeling that she prefers prison to their home life; a mystery lingers around his father's death. Meanwhile, 16-year-old Amber is sleeping her way through the town's teenage boys and flaunting her body in front of Harley; middle sister Misty, once her father's favorite and his hunting companion, practices shooting. Desperate for relief, Harley finds solace in rough but exhilarating encounters with married Callie Mercer, little Jody's best friend's mother, losing his virginity to her on a muddy creek bank and reveling in her sophisticated, sensitive words. But memories are stirring in his subconscious, and erotic dreams of the Virgin Mary metamorphose into nightmarish sexual visions. In his sessions with a court-appointed therapist, Harley edges closer to understanding his family's twisted dynamic, but it is only when the horrors of the present begin to catch up with those of the past that a series of shattering truths are revealed. By then it is too late for Harley to save everyone he loves, but in sacrificing himself, however hopelessly, he introduces a note of grace. O'Dell's scorching tale touches on all the tropes of dysfunctional families, but her characters fight free of stereotypes, taking on an angry, authentic glow. (Jan.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
In a small Pennsylvania town depressed by coal mine closings, a young man of 19 finds himself thrust into the role of parent. Harley has become the guardian of his three younger sisters as the result of their mother going to jail for the shooting death of their father. Each sibling finds his or her own way of coping with this family tragedy. During his regular visits with a psychotherapist Harley finds some comfort while at the same time feeling disdain for this woman. He is able to satisfy his youthful urges by beginning a series of sexual encounters with an older woman whose daughter is a playmate of his youngest sister. The characterizations are vivid, and each family member generates sympathy. Reader Dylan Baker does a satisfactory job of interpreting Harley's sense of frustration and cynicism. An absorbing novel worth purchasing for fiction collections.--Catherine Swenson, Norwich Univ. Lib., Northfield, VT Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\
O'Dell's writing is powerful, passionate and sometimes overcooked. She has created a compelling character in Harley Altmyer, a wounded teen-ager in charge of a brood of sisters. Their mother is serving a life sentence for murdering their father, leaving the stoical, angry young man with more responsibility than he can handle. Though her writing teeters close to melodrama in spots, O'Dell conjures up a vivid world in which domestic violence and sexual craving predominate. Audiophiles know they are in for a treat when they see Baker's name associated with a project. A hint of country in the actor's voice adds texture to his performance. He changes his intonation for the young girls but does so without sounding mincing or phony. He roughens and deepens his voice for a minor character and clearly changes his timing to suit the halting words of a small child.
Praise for Back Roads
An Oprah’s Book Club Pick
A Main Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club
“An intense story of family, frailty and dysfunction, set in the coal-mining towns of western Pennsylvania...captivatingly told.”—Chicago Tribune
“Tense...involving...deftly captures the voice of a teenage boy who's in trouble.”—The New York Times Book Review
“A page-turner...gritty, funny, sexy.”—Chicago Sun-Times
“Poignant...achingly beautiful prose...remarkable.”—San Diego Union
“Nearly impossible to put down.”—The Denver Post
“Outrageously unconventional...a very funny book.”—The Baltimore Sun
“Do not miss this one.”—Mademoiselle
| BN ID: | 2940169750959 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Blackstone Audio, Inc. |
| Publication date: | 08/04/2015 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
BACK ROADS
by Tawni O'Dell
INTRODUCTION
Praised as "hilarious, moving, and deeply disturbing," (Mademoiselle) this extraordinary debut novel features one of the most unforgettable voices to emerge in recent years, as we enter the world of Harley Altmyer, a nineteen-year-old in rural Pennsylvania struggling to raise his three younger sisters after his mother goes to jail for his father's murder.
"One day you're that guy who's happy he managed to survive high school and get that almighty piece of paper, and you're thinking you might try to get a job at Redi-Mix concrete where your dad's worked since the beginning of time. And at least you've got a family you can stand even if they are all sisters.Harley Altmyer should be in college drinking Rolling Rock and chasing girls. He should be freed from his closed-minded, stricken coal town, with its lack of jobs and no sense of humor. Instead, he's constantly reminded of just how messed up his life is.
One day you're that guy, and the next day you're assigned to a social worker and a therapist and given the choice of either being a LEGAL ADULT with three DEPENDENTS or an ORPHAN with NOBODY."
—From Back Roads
ABOUT TAWNI O'DELL
Tawni O'Dell, a western Pennsylvania native, earned a degree in journalism from Northwestern University. In addition to earning wages as a bank teller and a waitress, she put herself through college working as an exotic dancer jumping out of cakes at bachelor parties. A mother of two, she lives with her husband in Illinois. Back Roads is her first novel.
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