Bestselling author Michael Thomas Ford demonstrates once again why he is the master of portraying the contemporary gay experience, in this moving, beautifully told story of love, family, and finding one's place in the world.
When a car accident leaves photographer Burke Crenshaw in need of temporary full–time care, he finds himself back in the one place no forty–year–old chooses to be—his childhood bedroom. There, in the Vermont home where he grew up, Burke begins the long process of recuperation, and watches as his widowed father finds happiness in a new relationship that's a constant reminder of everything Burke wants and lacks.
Meeting Will Janks is an unexpected complication. Will is the twenty–year–old son of Burke's high school best friend, Mars. After what transpired between them one summer long ago, Burke had hoped he and Mars might become more than friends, but Mars has always pretended that night never happened. Will, in contrast, makes no secret of his interest in Burke, who can't resist his attraction to the handsome young man.
The burgeoning relationship draws Burke out of himself and into the community he left behind. Exploring local history, he discovers an intriguing series of letters from a Civil War soldier to his fiancé. With the help of librarian Sam Guffrey, he begins to research a 125–year–old mystery that seems to be reaching into the present day. The more Burke delves into the past, the more he's forced to confront the person he has become: the choices he made and those he avoided, his ideas of what it takes to be a successful gay man, his feelings about his mother's death, and the suppressed tension that simmers between himself and his father.
Compelling, frankly funny, and often wise, The Road Home is the story of one man's coming to terms with who he is, what he wants out of life, and where he belongs—and the complex, surprising path that finally takes him there.
3 Reasons To buy this book
A gorgeous romance that just creeps up on you...like true love
You might long to live in a small town after reading this wonderful book
Michael Thomas Ford is a master storyteller and "The Road Home" is our favorite.
Review
The term "coming–of–age novel" is usually used to describe a story in which a youthful character develops morally, emotionally and/or intellectually, in making the transition to maturity. Some of us "late bloomers" may not actually take that step until later in life, as is the case with Michael Thomas Ford's 40 year old protagonist in The Road Home.
Professional photographer Burke Crenshaw is living the gay single life in Boston, until a broken leg and arm in an auto accident force him to convalesce at his boyhood home, a sheep farm in rural Vermont. Having been estranged from his father for many years, and having that silence magnified by the subsequent death of his mother, Burke feels like a stranger with his uncommunicative father, although his new girlfriend, Lucy, does her best to make him feel welcome. A bittersweet memory from his teen years surfaces, when Burke sees his first crush, Mars Janks. Mars's 20 year old son Will, who works with his dad in his veterinary practice, is also the spitting image of his dad at that age, and life gets suddenly more complicated for Burke when Will makes a pass at him. Burke also gets involved in researching what may have been a local gay couple who fought in the Civil War, and meets an interesting local librarian whose varied interests include attending gay pagan festivals. Ultimately, Burke must face the reality of his relationship with his father, and how it has affected his ability to maintain other relationships and choices made in his life.
Ford is a master at creating relateable, full–nuanced and emotionally–realistic characters and this is no exception to his track record. The story guides the reader to examine his own relationships and choices in life, and reassess priorities in life.
