Back Roads

by Tawni O'Dell

Overview

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE

Funny and heartbreaking, this New York Times bestselling debut perfectly captures the maddening confusion of adolescence and the prickly nature of family with irony and unerring honesty.

Harley Altmyer should be in college having the time of his life. He should be free from the backwards Pennsylvania coal town he calls home, with its lack of jobs and no sense of humor. Instead, he’s constantly reminded of just how messed up everything is...

Harley’s mother is in prison for killing his father, so he’s in charge of bringing up his younger sisters and working two jobs to pay the bills—and that doesn’t leave a lot of time for distractions. But lately, he’s getting more and more sidetracked by lusting after Callie Mercer, his middle-aged neighbor. As he struggles to keep it together, things begin to spin out of control. Soon Harley finds that as shattered as his family is, there are still more crushing surprises in store.

“In Harley, O’Dell has created a hero who’s heartbreakingly believable; like Holden Caulfield, he uses caustic humor to hide his pain. Readers will care very much about him and his future, if indeed he has one.”—St. Petersburg Times

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780451212450
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	06/01/2004
Series:	Oprah's Book Club Series
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	5.35(w) x 7.98(h) x 0.77(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Tawni O’Dell is the New York Times bestselling author of six novels, including Back Roads, which was an Oprah’s Book Club pick, a Book-of-the-Month Club Main Selection, and is now a major motion picture. She is also a contributor to several anthologies, including Becoming Myself: Reflections on Growing Up Female. Her works have been published in more than forty countries.

Read an Excerpt

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.
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

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 new talent.

 

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.

 

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Harley Altmyer is a complicated figure. He is part saint, part sinner; part child, part man. Discuss these contradictions. Which parts of him do you like? Which do you dislike?
    
2. How might Harley be different in other circumstances? Could he have had a normal life despite his abusive upbringing if he wasn't caring for his three sisters?
    
3. Harley sometimes has violent physical fantasies, many of them aimed at women. Do you think his fantasies are worrisome? Normal? To be expected, given his circumstances?
    
4. There are very few male influences in Harley's life. He obviously grew up in a family with fairly traditional gender roles. Yet Harley was not interested in hunting, sports, or other "manly" pursuits. Do you think this was a subconscious rejection of his father's worst masculine qualities? What effect do you think his father's scorn had on Harley's self-esteem?
    
5. Discuss why Amber is such a tragic figure. Did you feel that way even before the climax of the book? Why does Amber seek safety and comfort in the arms of all the wrong people? Why does it infuriate Harley? Are the reasons more complex than you initially suspected?
    
6. Why does Harley's mother take responsibility for the shooting? Do you think she did the wrong thing? In what ways was her false confession further abdication of her maternal responsibilities?
    
7. Discuss the theme of character as it applies to Misty. Do you think she is beyond redemption? Should Harley's mother have assumed her new role as head of the family and sought help for Misty?
    
8. Harley's father is as complicated a figure as Harley. In many ways, he is painted as a decent, hardworking, loving man. Does his casual violence negate all that? And how culpable is Harley's mother for overlooking the beatings?
    
9. Sexual tension between Harley and Amber is evident throughout this story. Is a certain portion of this natural when teens reach puberty? Did you find the violent love/hate relationship between Harley and Amber explained by their semi-incestuous past?
    
10. Do you think it's significant that Harley's first sexual relationship is with a woman who is much older, married and has children? In what ways does Callie mother Harley, and do you find that interesting in relationship to the themes of abandonment and incest that run through the book?

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"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." —New York Times Book review

Reading Group Guide

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.

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 RoadsHarley 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 new talent.

 

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.

 

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Harley Altmyer is a complicated figure. He is part saint, part sinner; part child, part man. Discuss these contradictions. Which parts of him do you like? Which do you dislike?
 

How might Harley be different in other circumstances? Could he have had a normal life despite his abusive upbringing if he wasn't caring for his three sisters?
 

Harley sometimes has violent physical fantasies, many of them aimed at women. Do you think his fantasies are worrisome? Normal? To be expected, given his circumstances?
 

There are very few male influences in Harley's life. He obviously grew up in a family with fairly traditional gender roles. Yet Harley was not interested in hunting, sports, or other "manly" pursuits. Do you think this was a subconscious rejection of his father's worst masculine qualities? What effect do you think his father's scorn had on Harley's self-esteem?
 

Discuss why Amber is such a tragic figure. Did you feel that way even before the climax of the book? Why does Amber seek safety and comfort in the arms of all the wrong people? Why does it infuriate Harley? Are the reasons more complex than you initially suspected?
 

Why does Harley's mother take responsibility for the shooting? Do you think she did the wrong thing? In what ways was her false confession further abdication of her maternal responsibilities?
 

Discuss the theme of character as it applies to Misty. Do you think she is beyond redemption? Should Harley's mother have assumed her new role as head of the family and sought help for Misty?
 

Harley's father is as complicated a figure as Harley. In many ways, he is painted as a decent, hardworking, loving man. Does his casual violence negate all that? And how culpable is Harley's mother for overlooking the beatings?
 

Sexual tension between Harley and Amber is evident throughout this story. Is a certain portion of this natural when teens reach puberty? Did you find the violent love/hate relationship between Harley and Amber explained by their semi-incestuous past?
 

Do you think it's significant that Harley's first sexual relationship is with a woman who is much older, married and has children? In what ways does Callie mother Harley, and do you find that interesting in relationship to the themes of abandonment and incest that run through the book?

Editorial Reviews

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

From the Publisher

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.

bn.com

O'Dell's storytelling has natural flair.

Los Angeles Times

A vivid writing style that makes for enjoyment reading.

Orlando Sentinel

O'Dell offers up a remarkable tale.

San Diego Union

O'Dell has tackled the real stuff of stories, and she's done it with compassion and a unique voice.

New York Newsday

Her novel is as racy and as outrageously unconventional as her autobiographical note...Back Roads is a very funny book.
— Baltimore Sun

Michael Shelden

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

Keith Phipps

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.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

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.\

Library Journal

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.

Rochelle O'Gorman