The Way Home by George Pelecanos
Fathers and sons. The relationship can often be difficult and frustrating, like a pissing contest between arguing men, their egos clashing, grating against each other. Each one frustrated and conflicted, because they don't know how to express their love for the other. They don't know how to say I love you. They don't know how to let go, to find common ground.
So instead they become adversaries locked in a perpetual battle, both seemingly fighting for what the other one has. Like a superhero confronting his nemesis, right versus wrong, my way or the highway. The spot where old school meets new school, where the past stares into the face of the future, and the present glimpses its future in the past. Where the replaced meets their replacement, the son proclaiming It's my time, old man, the father holding off the march of time as best he can, knowing defeat is inevitable, his time will soon pass. Knowing one day all his power will belong to his son. All of his legacy will belong to his son, his conqueror.
And the only thing the father can ask is to be conquered by a better man, by a son who'll protect his legacy, who will appreciate and respect it. He expects it. Expects his son to be twice the man he is. He raises him to be better, riding him every day not to make his mistakes. Because being a successful father means leaving your legacy in the hands of someone better than yourself.
So fathers have expectations of their sons; expectations that can be grating and a point of contention, something to be rebelled against during bouts of youthful spite. When expectations aren't met, the father disapproves, disappointed with his failures. He pushes harder, demanding more, eventually creating unrealistic expectations. Making it harder for his son to get the one thing he deeply desires: his father's approval. But at some point, if one can't get approval, one settles for disapproval.
Because sometimes that's the only way to get your father's attention.
Take Christopher Flynn and his father Thomas. Despite being raised in an upper-middle class home, Chris decides he doesn't want his life to be anything like his dad envisions for him. He doesn't need college; that's just not his thing. He was made for something else. Unfortunately something else eventually lands Chris in a juvenile facility.
Now, after serving his time, he must find his way back into society. Find his place in the world. Find his way back home out of the darkness that consumed his previous life. But something tempting steps in Chris's way, something hard to refuse and ignore. Something that could put him back on the dark path he's trying to leave behind.
A father's expectations and a son's perilous journey to meet those expectations serves as the emotional center of George Pelecanos's breathtaking new novel The Way Home. This is Pelecanos at his absolute finest: a mixture of classic crime drama, both realistic and utterly gripping, smart and insightful social commentary, and an overwhelming amount of heart. In this respect, it's similar to the amazing work Pelecanos did as a writer and producer of HBO's brilliant series The Wire. The Way Home is about real people struggling with real situations, always trying to do their best. It's about searching for redemption, searching for a chance to turn their life around after a past filled with failures. Searching to find their way home, searching to find themselves. It's a journey of self-discovery encased in a crime drama. And it's spectacular.
But even though you try to do your best, try to do the right thing and turn your life around, life sometimes still goes bad. It's how you respond to these setbacks that measures you as a person. It's about the choices you make even in the face of adversity. Do you give up, or persevere? Do you spit in its eye, or cower in a corner, fearfully wetting yourself?
The characters shine in the novel; it's hard not to root for them to succeed. I wanted Chris to figure things out, to get his life back on track, to achieve some sort of redemption. To really connect with his father, finding that common ground where the two could be happy with their relationship. No one should be defined by youthful indiscretions forever; they deserve the room to grow, to become better people. And Pelecanos makes it hard for the reader to not want this for Chris.
Though The Way Home may seem like an incredibly engaging crime drama on the surface, first and foremost it is a character drama. This is what raises the novel above other crime thrillers, pushing it securely into the realm of literary fiction. This is what made me want to call my Dad, just to tell him I love him.
Final Grade: 88 out of 100
So instead they become adversaries locked in a perpetual battle, both seemingly fighting for what the other one has. Like a superhero confronting his nemesis, right versus wrong, my way or the highway. The spot where old school meets new school, where the past stares into the face of the future, and the present glimpses its future in the past. Where the replaced meets their replacement, the son proclaiming It's my time, old man, the father holding off the march of time as best he can, knowing defeat is inevitable, his time will soon pass. Knowing one day all his power will belong to his son. All of his legacy will belong to his son, his conqueror.
And the only thing the father can ask is to be conquered by a better man, by a son who'll protect his legacy, who will appreciate and respect it. He expects it. Expects his son to be twice the man he is. He raises him to be better, riding him every day not to make his mistakes. Because being a successful father means leaving your legacy in the hands of someone better than yourself.
So fathers have expectations of their sons; expectations that can be grating and a point of contention, something to be rebelled against during bouts of youthful spite. When expectations aren't met, the father disapproves, disappointed with his failures. He pushes harder, demanding more, eventually creating unrealistic expectations. Making it harder for his son to get the one thing he deeply desires: his father's approval. But at some point, if one can't get approval, one settles for disapproval.
Because sometimes that's the only way to get your father's attention.
Take Christopher Flynn and his father Thomas. Despite being raised in an upper-middle class home, Chris decides he doesn't want his life to be anything like his dad envisions for him. He doesn't need college; that's just not his thing. He was made for something else. Unfortunately something else eventually lands Chris in a juvenile facility.
Now, after serving his time, he must find his way back into society. Find his place in the world. Find his way back home out of the darkness that consumed his previous life. But something tempting steps in Chris's way, something hard to refuse and ignore. Something that could put him back on the dark path he's trying to leave behind.
A father's expectations and a son's perilous journey to meet those expectations serves as the emotional center of George Pelecanos's breathtaking new novel The Way Home. This is Pelecanos at his absolute finest: a mixture of classic crime drama, both realistic and utterly gripping, smart and insightful social commentary, and an overwhelming amount of heart. In this respect, it's similar to the amazing work Pelecanos did as a writer and producer of HBO's brilliant series The Wire. The Way Home is about real people struggling with real situations, always trying to do their best. It's about searching for redemption, searching for a chance to turn their life around after a past filled with failures. Searching to find their way home, searching to find themselves. It's a journey of self-discovery encased in a crime drama. And it's spectacular.
But even though you try to do your best, try to do the right thing and turn your life around, life sometimes still goes bad. It's how you respond to these setbacks that measures you as a person. It's about the choices you make even in the face of adversity. Do you give up, or persevere? Do you spit in its eye, or cower in a corner, fearfully wetting yourself?
The characters shine in the novel; it's hard not to root for them to succeed. I wanted Chris to figure things out, to get his life back on track, to achieve some sort of redemption. To really connect with his father, finding that common ground where the two could be happy with their relationship. No one should be defined by youthful indiscretions forever; they deserve the room to grow, to become better people. And Pelecanos makes it hard for the reader to not want this for Chris.
Though The Way Home may seem like an incredibly engaging crime drama on the surface, first and foremost it is a character drama. This is what raises the novel above other crime thrillers, pushing it securely into the realm of literary fiction. This is what made me want to call my Dad, just to tell him I love him.
Final Grade: 88 out of 100