Done Far from Home
Anne DeGrace
Avon, Nov 2009, $14.99
ISBN 9780061728808
Teenager Jo travels far from her home in, Canada due to Eamon. He came to stay with her and her parents and took her virginity and her mother. Seeing him with the latter sent her on the road. The teen finds work near Calgary General Hospital at Cass’s Roadside Cafe as a waitress.
Seven months after she decided to hit the road on a particular nasty weather day in 1977, many people stop at the roadside eatery for a break in their arduous travel. Octogenarian Eunice tells her story insisting she has nothing to live for anymore. The businessman says his life is ruined as he runs away with no place to go. Bob the Mountie stops explaining he is in the middle of a crisis. Others like the trucker also tell their tale all linked to Pink the American hitchhiker who didn’t pay his tab or leave a tip.
FAR FROM HOME is an odd but fascinating Canadian tale that reads more like a series of anecdotal entries linked by the diner or Jo’s back story re her family. Thus, a day at the diner or at the lead character’s life at home make for an intriguing but not deep look at a variety of people passing through the life of Jo or Pink. Although there is no dramatic revelation as the lead character simply must decide between staying, heading east back through Calgary or west to Vancouver (south and north are not an option); fans will enjoy this Canadian café cozy as Anne DeGrace provides a warm character study.
Harriet Klausner
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment