Home Stretch
Fiction
HarperVia
June 22, 2021
Hardcover
320
Free from publisher
It is 1987 and a small Irish community is preparing for a wedding. The day before the ceremony, a group of young friends, including the bride and groom, are involved in an accident. Three survive. Three are killed.
The lives of the families are shattered and the rifts between them ripple throughout the small town. Connor survived, but living among the angry and the mourning is almost as hard as carrying the shame of having been the driver. He leaves the only place he knows for another life, taking his secrets with him. Travelling first to Liverpool, then London, he eventually makes a home—of sorts—for himself in New York, where he finds shelter and the possibility of forging a new life.
But the secrets—the unspoken longings and regrets that have come to haunt those left behind—will not be silenced. Before long, Connor will have to confront his past.
A powerful and timely novel of emigration and return, Home Stretch demonstrates Norton’s keen understanding of the power of stigma and secrecy—and their devastating effect on ordinary lives.
I knew nothing about the author (seems he's a BBC celebrity broadcaster), but the synopsis sounded like something I'd be interested in. So when I was offered the chance to review the book for a book tour, I accepted, eager to try a new to me author. I may have to go back and read his two previous novels because I really enjoyed this one! The major premise is the effect a deadly car crash has on a small Irish community. The beginning throws a lot of names at the reader, but don't let that deter you, the major portion of the book concentrates on a brother and sister. The brother (and driver of the car) cannot handle the pressure of being ostracized from those in the town, so he flees to a variety of locations, eventually landing in New York. He doesn't have any communication with his family, so the book delves into what the differences are between having a child die, or having a living child disappear. Connor's sister Ellen stays in town and seems to have the perfect life, but we see inside that life and find all is not as it appears from the outside. The story does go back and forth time, but the years are clearly annotated as chapter headings, so not really an issue and made the story more interesting. I really liked the plot points showing the progressive changing of attitudes toward gay individuals, and the writing and pacing were excellent. Connor's story broke my heart, and I just wanted him to find peace within himself. My only small quibble would be the coincidence of how Connor ends up coming back to his family (what are the chances of two people meeting in NYC?), but if you can allow yourself to just go with the flow, you will be rewarded with lots of excellent twists and turns! The ending was very satisfying.
An excellent portrayal of a community, then a particular family in crisis. I am excited to see what else this author has coming next, and will be checking out his backlist.
