Lo acabo de terminar y ahora mismo me siento muy triste.

I hate to admit this, but I've resisted reading this book despite having it on my shelves for the past six years or so because of the Oprah sticker and because it's blurbs made it look like a run of the mill mystery. The narrator and the narrative voice makes this novel. Despite his basically acting like a nineteen-year-old boy with all the sexual tension and inexperience associated with it, and despite my basically not liking him or his actions, I felt sympathy and even empathy for him throughout the book. Like many debut novels, this one is bookended by an opening an closing scene designed to confine the novel. But unlike so many books where the opening and closing detract from the novel, this author manages to keep them short and relatively related rather than setting the story as a flashback to twenty years ago or some other trite bookending.

Brutal.

This was as emotionally wringing as anything by Jesmyn Ward.

Set in the Rust Belt, Back Roads follows a 19-year-old who is working two jobs and trying to take care of his 3 younger sisters after their mother went to prison for murdering their abusive father. He's also lusting after the mother of his youngest sister's best friend, and their relationship sets in motion a string of events that brings family secrets to light.

If you like dark family dramas, this might be worth your while.

4 out of 5 stars.

This book which I read on Kindle Edition, was my first attempt at literary fiction in over 20 years. The book started out quite depressing and stayed that way for a very long time, it was only in the last 50-75 pages that it all came together and put a very surprising twist on what can and does happen in anywhere, USA... In the end, I was glad I read it, and would recommend it as a book of the month book at any given time... trauma causes trauma,
I really admire the older brother and the way the girls and him all came together and worked together to manage to stay with each other... it was definitely a come from behind book, but well, worth its literary weight.

A darker, disturbing read but couldn't help but try to cheer on the main, Harley.

I bought Back Roads while I was on vacation in Florida. I bought the hard cover from the clearance shelf at Barnes & Noble for $5! I started reading it and couldn't put it down! I hadn't read a good book like that in a long time! Tawni O'Dell reminded me why I loved to read! I actually felt guilty that I only paid $5 for a hard cover version of such an amazing book! I loved it so much that I wrote to Tawni and asked her if she would sign it for me if I sent it to her with return postage paid. She agreed. It so happened that I vacationed not far from where she lives. I asked her if I could meet her someplace so she could sign the books (I bought two more copies, one for my best friend and another for my daughter's teacher). She agreed to meet me at Denny's. When I called her to tell her I was on my way, she invited me to go to her home! I felt humble knowing I would be in the home and presence of such a great writer! She greeted me at the door and welcomed me into her home. We sat and talked over coffee and pastry. She signed my books, personalizing each. I left there knowing that I would read every book she ever writes, and that I would not mind paying full price for her books! Back Roads made me laugh, cry, sigh, shake my head and feel like I was right there as I was reading. The characters are real; you can relate to their experiences. Tawni brings you into the book! Make sure you start reading when you won't have to worry about stopping! Therefore, do not start reading it on your lunch break at work! You will probably be compelled to call your boss and say you had to go home during lunch and can't return! Enjoy!

Good lord, I don't even know what to think about this book. These characters are twisted, and it made me hyper-aware of all the kids growing up in crazy families and generally ignored by the system because they seem to be functioning.

The author seems to have a solid understanding of the culture of generational poverty, as well as the abuse that can occur in families and the lengths to which those family members will go to "protect" each other. Again, I see the specter of a well-meaning system that can't quite connect with the people it tries to help.

Harley was an appealing anti-hero, one I wanted to tell to quit being quiet about what he needed and what happened to him and his sisters. I felt that the author didn't give him a voice that was 100% authentic and believable, but the characters were, for the most part, well-developed. Like real people, it was possible to look at them with disgust one minute, and then with grudging respect.

The description of the book promised it would be "funny and heartbreaking," but I failed to find "funny" in it. I just found Harley's bumbling attempts to take care of everyone to be nothing but tragic. Just a really sad book.

Don't worry about your life, it could be more messed up like the guy in this book.

This was my first time reading an Oprah selection and I was disappointed. While it is a story that moved easily along, integrating me into the lives of the characters, I felt repulsed by the description of certain events in the book. To call it "gritty" doesn't quite capture how gross certain scene descriptions can be. And in those moments, I could no longer believe in the characters or the events in their lives. I was intrigued by the psychology of Harley, and the unfortunate circumstances of the characters' lives. I was hoping Harley's psychosis would have developed more completely so that the twist ending led me on a more intense ride. As it is, the other characters psychological issues aren't fully explored to create the needed suspension at the end of the story. Too many characters with too many flaws stemming from the events of their lives, until I could no longer believe in the integrity of the characters or the story. Somewhere towards the end, it fell apart instead of coming together.

Tawni O’Dell needs to write more books!!!!

The only redeeming quality of this book I can find is that it captures the nihilistic narcissism of the American teenage male -- but that is also a large part of the reason I found the work deplorable. The makings of a good plot exist somewhere in here -- brother left to care for his sisters after their mother is imprisoned for murdering their abusive father -- this could be good. The title infers a place for the rural setting as character, but this is promise that never develops. All we have here is a horny version of Holden Caulfield -- the most simpering, self-indulgent, narcissistic, and odious character in all of literary history. Nothing happens here but time spent in the headspace of an over-sexed teenage narcissist. Does the writer capture that character? Sure... but my question is, why would you want to capture this mindset? Add to this some repugnant sex and incest scenes (the only things around which the weak plot revolves), and you have an utterly nauseous re-rendering of Salinger's already obnoxious character.

*re-read on audio. Maybe listening to this book made it feel even more disturbing and unsettling. A job well done by Andrew Eiden. Tawni O’Dell is a very talented author, and it’s a shame I hardly ever come across one of her books here on GR.*

*original review*

I once read this book a long time ago in a translation. I never forgot about it, and now I’ve read the original version, i can only say it’s just as raw, gritty, intense and haunting as I remember. Unsettling. Maybe even more. Translations don’t always do justice to the original and it feels that way with this book as well.

Harley is a difficult protagonist. When you refuse to look closer, you could almost dislike him. On the surface he seems selfish, only trying to get what he wants and how he wants it, not caring if he hurts others in the process. He tries to hide his caring personality, his troubled love for his sisters, who depend on him now their father was shot by their mother, who serves time in jail.
But Harley is only a 19 year old confused and hurt boy, barely a man. He has 2 jobs, worries about finances, worries about his sisters and how to get their lives back on track again after all the trauma they went through. But he comes from a disfunctional family long before the tragedy and he can no longer keep it together. He slowly loses touch with reality, a downhill ride specially when he starts te realise what truly happened the day his mother shot his father.

I couldn’t help but feel for Harley. He tried to fight his psychological downfall, but he couldn’t win that battle. Under the surface of a typical 19 years old adolescent was a caring person who tried to do whatever he could, but he was severely traumatised himself. He had obligations and responsibilities he was too young and too damaged to deal with.

The writing was excellent, the whole story told from Harley’s pov, which was exhausting at times, but I don’t think it could have been done differently in order to understand him and his actions or his character. This author has a way of revealing the story bit by bit, and it made a lasting impression on me. I wasn’t able to forget about it after the first time I read it, and now I’m sure it will stay with me for a long time to come.