The Road Home

This is a wonderful novel. I always enjoy Rose Tremain, and The Road Home is certainly one of my favourites.
It's fabulously written, as ever, and Lev is a sympathetic hero, though she certainly doesn't hide his faults. His flashes of anger, culminating in the book's most brutal scene, are convincingly built up - and his treatment of long-suffering Lydia is pretty shoddy.
I agree that there's the odd stereotype among the characters, but I most certainly do not share the view that this story has a fairytale ending. It's highly ambiguous - is everyone really happy and how rosy is the future?
Because Rose Tremain's novels are all so different from each other, I was surprised - and charmed - to find her using a character from an earlier novel quite prominently. Ruby Constad, an old lady who Lev comes to know, is the heroine of Tremain's much earlier novel Letter to Sister Benedicta. The poor woman's life hasn't improved along the way, but I think her appearance here shows how much Tremain cares for her. And if you realise that, you can see she's far more than the convenient plot device she might, at first, appear.

A mirror through which to view a 'Green and pleasant land'. (0/0 people found this helpful)

I enjoyed this book, which isn't surprising considering it was written by Rose Tremain. As usual the prose, construction, attention to detail, plot progression and pace were brilliant: I'm certain Rose Tremain could write a novel about a matchbox and it would be riveting and informative.
For me, Lev, the central character is in essence a mirror that Tremain holds up for us to see the England we'd maybe rather ignore or forget: the pretentious garbage of celebrity and affluence; the coldness and fickle allegiances of a morally bankrupt society; the pockets of loneliness and sadness that exist within families and institutions.
There are aspects of the book that didn't work for me. I felt Lev's character was a little one-dimensional and slightly underdeveloped. His outbursts of temper seemed incongruous and, somewhat irritatingly, his mastery of English seemed to be achieved at a phenomenal rate. I felt the ending was a little brief, not really tying together or enhancing what went before. However his work ethic, determination and pragmatism were an accurate reflection of the Eastern European workers I know.
Some of the characters in the story are memorable: the scarred, sensitive and lonely Christy; the life force that is Rudi; the driven GK Ashe. Others were less believable or bordered on parody: the farmer Midge was irritatingly underdeveloped and his cod rural speech and mannerisms annoying; I didn't find Sophie believable, a shame given her central role.
But, the negatives above can't detract from the overall quality of the book. I was held throughout Lev's odyssey and as I neared the end I actually longed for it all to turn out well for him. I finished with a feeling that my latent dislike of much of what is modern England had flowered into something approaching full blown disgust.
This book reminded me of the famous lines from Burns:

'Oh wad some power the Giftie gie us
To see oursels as others see us!'

Beautifully written but predictable tale (2/2 people found this helpful)

Fascinating to read so many rave reviews. I read this on a very long train journey and if I hadn't been stuck there would probably have abandoned it. Rose Tremain has a wonderful prose style and she organizes her plots really well with lots of development, but the novel didn't grip me at all. Characters were boring, situations obvious (mobile phone going off during concert, stereotypical rich/poor London, even more stereotypical run-down anonymous ex-eastern bloc country etc), the ending warm & cosy. Did nobody else find Lev deeply tedious? She is very good at doing her homework, so the top-class restaurant, police treatment of migrants, retirement home, and lots of other stuff were thoroughly credible. But I felt disappointed; maybe I'm just expecting too much.
Norman Housley

Wonderful book (0/0 people found this helpful)

I just loved this book, first of hers I hv read. Easy to navigate but dealing with quite complex topics, the ugliness of which Tremain does not shy away from. The reader warms to Lev as he encounters a Britain so different from the one he expected, as he struggles with his anger, despair and ultimately shares a hopeful and optimistic ending. Is it a coincidence that the more sympathetic characters could also be called immigrants as well? I came away slightly ashamed of our increasingly rude and self obsessed society but also hopeful of the human spirit and it's never ending fight for dignity. Moreover the humour pervades every page!

Superbly written, perceptive novel (1/1 people found this helpful)

Having been recommended to me on good authority and having heard of the reputation of (but never read) Rose Tremain, I had high expectations of this novel. Well it didn't disappoint me, in fact it exceeded those expectations.

Other reviewers have gone into detail here on the plot, suffice to say that Lev journeys to the UK from Eastern Europe to look for work and earn money to send home and improve the lives of his daughter and mother, his wife having died tragically young. He overcomes difficulties, and is lucky enough to encounter some genuinely kind, thoughtful and friendly people who help make it possible for him to see his plans through, though not without emotional and financial setbacks along the way. How interesting for us as readers to be able to experience this look at how life may be for an immigrant to the UK, one who wants to work hard here.

On his journey, and during his stay in the UK, Tremain observes with clever insight the pitfalls, sheer hard-work, sadness, pain, and genuine friendships that can all arise when entering a foreign land and trying to make a (temporary) life there. And yes, though the ending is fairly upbeat and perhaps a little more romanicised than the rest of the novel, I was so glad that it ended this way, to see the result of all the work.

Beautifully written, very perceptive, and most of all the characters were so well drawn and interesting, and I felt that I was journeying along with Lev, willing him on to succeed and keep working hard for his dream.

Rose Tremain

Reader Reviews:

Rose Tremain does it again (0/0 people found this helpful)

A mirror through which to view a 'Green and pleasant land'. (0/0 people found this helpful)

Beautifully written but predictable tale (2/2 people found this helpful)

Wonderful book (0/0 people found this helpful)

Superbly written, perceptive novel (1/1 people found this helpful)

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