The Road to California by Louise Walters - Book Club Questions

THE ROAD TO CALIFORNIA

LOUISE WALTERS 

Proud single parent Joanna is accustomed to school phoning to tell her that her 14 year old son, Ryan, is in trouble. But when Ryan hits a girl and is excluded from school, Joanna knows she must take drastic action to help him.

Ryan's dad, Lex, left home when Ryan was two years old. Ryan doesn’t remember him - but more than anything he wants a dad in his life. Isolated, a loner, and angry, Ryan finds solace in books and wildlife. 

Joanna, against all her instincts, invites Lex to return and help their son. But Lex is a drifter who runs from commitment, and both Joanna and Ryan find their mutual trust and love is put to the test when Lex returns, and vows to be part of the family again.

BOOK CLUB QUESTIONS

This book is about journeys. Can you identify all the different types of journeys that take place in the story?

Which journey did you find most powerful or thought provoking? How did the journey change that character?

How did you respond to Ryan's voice? How convincing did you find it? What do you think were the challenges for the author in writing this character?

Which character did you relate to the most and why?

Parenting is a big theme in this book. What issues do you think this book raises about parenting? Does it have any messages about parenting?

Which other themes are explored in the book? 

The quilt is used as a metaphor. How effective did you find this? 

What do you think about the title of this book? Can you think of an alternative?

Which three words would use to describe this book?

Click here to read my Q & A with Louise

MY REVIEW

This is an interesting story. It is a novel packed full of heartbreak, anger, pain, guilt and sadness yet it also feels unrushed. This is a novel which observes, records and gently lets the reader shadow Joanna, Ryan and Lex as they negotiate their difficult and challenging emotional journeys through a rough time in their lives. Walters has created a book which gives the author time to lead their characters through a period of change yet also weaves in dramatic events, the emotional highs and lows that disrupt their happiness, affect their relationships and threaten to break them. It is well judged and well balanced. This is a story about characters under pressure but it is not about pushing the characters relentlessly through the moments of action or shock. It is more an echo of real life, about real people and real situations. It is more about watching the characters evolve, grow, change and learn throughout the chapters.

The main focus of the story is Ryan, a young boy who doesn't quite fit in, who is left to his own devices when he should have had more direction and a boy confused about his feelings, particularly towards his mother. He's not always easy to like and his violence and exclusion from school at the beginning reflects his issues, but he is a young boy and once the reader learns more of his hidden pain about his missing father, his behaviour and misdirected anger begins to make sense. I think Walters has also captured a boy on the cusp of adulthood and that tumultuous period of adolescence when life is frustrating and adult decisions seem always against you. Ryan is a harsh critic of his mother and the dynamics between them are well evoked, sensitively portrayed and well crafted. It is an interesting relationship to watch develop, one where blame is often seem on both sides but no judgement sought or given.

The author prefers to stay with Ryan for the most part of the novel but by using third person, she has the opportunity to sit more closely with Joanna and Lex at key points in the story. This helps the reader to learn more about these character's and explore the relationships between them in more detail. Perhaps it also makes the reader feel more like an observer or unable to fully engage with these characters which would echo the experience of the main characters who also feel isolated and separate. I liked that the characters appeared quite straightforward at first but as the novel unfurled, my feelings towards them was challenged and more complexities about them revealed. I was also surprised at how much I became attached to them emotionally.

Walters has written a book which tackles universal themes such as parenting, single parenting, growing up, abandonment, friendship and love. But she has also tackled themes of exclusion, home schooling, community and what happens when you can't face up to your responsibilities and commitments. We are immersed in the small world of just three characters but their experiences will resonate with readers. The characters do require your sympathy but there is also hope at the end of the book and an underlying sense that something more positive, more heartwarming has come to pass.

The author's writing is distinctive. Walters takes her time establishing atmosphere and is able to convey the character's inner most thoughts through just one or two phrases. It is understated yet poignant and resonant.

She had walked to school from the market to collect Ryan, and together, but very much apart and in silence, they had walked home.

There are some great details like the use of the quilt and Joanna's artistic skills and some recurrent metaphors that are used effectively. I liked Joanna's thriftiness and Ryan's sarcastic responses to this. Without this poetic use of language the story may have lost some of it's charm but the lilting phrasing and careful dialogue creates interest and engagement.

By the end, I felt like I had been on a journey with the characters. There are some vivid scenes etched on my mind and there is also a lasting imprint of some of the characters. Perhaps the characters made decisions and chose paths that I couldn't relate to but Walters made their story relevant and important. It's hard to sum up this book and to really capture it's essence in one or two lines but perhaps it is a novel about vows, the oaths and commitments we swear to each other and learning to come to terms with expectation versus disappointment, fantasy and reality. It is not a page turner but it is a book where you are thoroughly rewarded for every page you do turn.

The Road to California is a book about journeys and should be savoured.