Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
"Explain this to me: One minute there is a boy, a life thrumming with possibilities, and the next there are marked cars and strangers in uniform and the fractured whirling lights. And that, suddenly, is all the world has to offer." This is the voice of Ethan Learner, a college professor who has just watched his 10-year-old son, Josh, die in a hit-and-run accident on a silent Connecticut road.
John Burnham Schwartz's Bicycle Days (1989) received favorable reviews but seemed very much an autobiographical first novel. His second fiction, Reservation Road, however, is a book that resists genres: a tragedy where all the characters are flawed and none are entirely guilty; a thriller where the killer, Dwight, wants to be caught but is too laden with self-loathing to turn himself in; and an experimental novel where the narrative jumps gracefully among three perspectives.
In the opening pages Schwartz establishes strong connections between fathers and sons. Moments before the accident Ethan watches his son standing precariously close to the curb; he sees possibilities in Josh, a shy boy whose musical gifts indicate a sensitivity that is no less present, though more mature, in his father. At the same time, Dwight and his son, Sam (also 10), are rushing home from an extra-innings Red Sox game where Dwight tries to rebuild the fragments of attachment left after a bitter divorce. Schwartz reveals depth in simple gestures--a hand, for example, placed in a hand, only to be self-consciously pulled away. Dwight drives on after hitting Josh, though he slows in a moment of hesitation in which Ethan hears him calling "Sam" or "Sham"--he's not sure which. Out of grief, and with only scattered clues, Ethan begins his quiet pursuit of the killer, a pursuit that fuels the novel to its poetic conclusion. In Reservation Road, John Burnham Schwartz has crafted a lasting work of literature, a page-turner that's also a rich character study. --Patrick O'Kelley
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Amazon.com Audiobook Review
Reservation Road is a chilling tale of the emotional fallout that follows the hit-and-run murder of a 10-year-old boy. Each chapter of this abridged version is read by one of three different narrators. Actor John Shea plays the part of Ethan Learner, a college professor who witnesses his son's death. Shea's methodical, melancholy tones accurately portray a man desperately searching for the unknown killer. Stanley Tucci (Deconstructing Harry) reads for Dwight Arno, a deeply damaged man who's torn between turning himself in for the crime and saving his own hide. Tucci's raspy and forthright delivery fits Arno's self-loathing nature. Despite his animated interactions with the other actors, Tucci's character is quite believable. Meanwhile, TV actress Anne Twomey reads the part of Grace, Ethan's wife. Her soft-spoken, deeply pained monologues give balance to a story that focuses primary on the emotions of two men. These distinct, varied tones swiftly carry the listener through this harrowing tale of murder, lies, and revenge. (Running time: three hours, two cassettes) --Gina Kaysen
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Reservation Road
Reservation Road,John Burnham Schwartz,Vintage,0375702733,Fiction,Fiction - Psychological Suspense,General,Literary,Psychological,Suspense,Fiction / Literary
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