Desperation Road

A very graceful book which presents a vision of kindness and humanity in a harsh and violent world. Many of the characters are indeed in a state of desperation: from guilt, from rage, from an overwhelming desire to protect a child, to survive in the face of brutality and pain. At the heart of the book is Russell, just released from prison after killing a man in a careless, senseless accident. Returning home means also facing the people he injured through his unthinking actions.

Farris Smith's writing is very internalised with little in the way of conventional speech and dialogue between characters, but this adds to the claustrophobic, insular nature of the story, reflected in the small-town environment and the concern with the inner lives of the characters and the division between what they appear from the outside and who they are inside.

The violence and psychic hurt that takes place is wounding, but is offset by moments of healing, of people helping each other rather than tearing each other apart.

So an intense read that is beautifully sustained - best read in a single sitting to appreciate the emotional payoffs.

To be posted on Amazon.co.uk and Goodreads

** I received a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review **

So I really wasn't sure what to expect from this one but I can sincerely say I got more than I expected.. Much more.
I won't go into the story but I will say that it's well done and the characters are all spot on and it's a predicament we'll probably all read then think "Thank god that's not me".
However I got really frustrated and annoyed with Russell for continuously doing that which ruined his life. But in the grand scheme of things I suppose it's pretty trivial.
I can't recommend this book enough, it's brilliant.
I'll definitely reread this one. 5* for me..

Michael Farris Smith is a name and a talent to be treasured. He has written a wonderful novel about guilt, revenge, consequences and ultimately redemption.

The book is beautifully written and paced and moved and touched me.

It captures perfectly the feel of small town America where everybody knows everyone else and their lives are intertwined.

The book eventually comes full circle and the ending is satisfactory and provides a feeling of optimism for the future.

Just read it. Highly recommended.

Copy furnished by Net Galley for the price of a review.

A man is released from prison after serving eleven years for manslaughter. A young mother with her small daughter in tow wearily makes her way toward a women's shelter after a terrible ordeal. Two men filled with rage and blood in their eyes seek retribution for the death of their brother. These lives and others are destined to collide in a small town in the Mississippi Delta.

What this author can do with his character creation is pure gold. You don't want to miss this one.

A very good read. Held your interest right up to the end.

Desperation Road is a beautiful story about regret, redemption and second chances.

One mistake eleven years ago cost Russell Gaines everything he held dear – his freedom, the woman he loved and his place in the community. Just released from prison, he finds that he may have served his time and paid the price for his wrongdoings, but the past has left an ugly stain that will forever make him a marked man. At the same time, another lost soul comes back to the place she once called home. A young woman with a small child in tow, homeless and down on her luck, running from a terrible crime. When their paths intersect, Russell discovers that staying on the right side of the tracks may not be as easy as it seems, even for an innocent man. Unwillingly caught at the wrong place at the wrong time, he will have to make some difficult choices once again. Will paying an old debt ultimately jeopardise his own freedom?

Michael Farris Smith has a way with words that drew me in immediately and held me under its spell. Although the characters are flawed, and the world they inhibit is not a kind place, the general feeling of the story is hopeful and heart-warming, belying the constant undercurrent of danger, tension and pain. With astute characterisations and evocative writing, the author sets a vivid scene with real-to-life characters that will leave and impact long after the last page has been turned. Even the support cast march through the pages as life-like as your friends, your enemies, your family, your neighbours, each with a rich history to draw on, a life lived, choices made. I could hear the roar of the trucks as they whizzed past the truck stop, and smell the damp earth near the lake where Russell sits in his car amongst the buzz of small insects and the embers of a dying fire. Michael Farris Smith is that good that he captures a snippet of life in the time capsule of his novel, ready for the reader to breathe in its scent, hear its sounds. Reading it was like sitting in the middle of a snow globe with emotions swirling around me like small white dust, tugging at my heartstrings. A truly memorable and unputdownable book, highly recommended.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free electronic copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Superb atmospheric moral novel about a recently released prisoner returning home and becoming involved with a woman and her daughter who have a terrible secret. Violent yet tender this is beautifully written with an ending that satisfies. Recommended.

Michael Farris Smith has written an effortlessly erudite, complex and lucid novel of consequence set in the ravaged town of McComb, Mississippi. It tells of the travails of lives brimful of pain unraveling under the relentless and searing southern heat. It displays a bone deep understanding of Southern traditions and people, and in the narrative I could hear the timeless musical laments of jazz and blues singers such as Robert Johnson, Leadbelly and Bessie Smith. It is the story of Russell, released after 11 years of imprisonment and Maben, and her daughter, Annalee, fleeing a unspeakable scenario that results in a fatal shooting. Their paths cross, and certain actions and possibilities come into play. The focus is on the themes of alcohol and drug addiction, love, loss, regrets, redemption and dreams that slip away beyond reach.

The tone is set when upon reaching McComb, Russell is welcomed by a vicious beating by Larry and Walt, the brothers of the man he killed. Russell sees that in the eyes of some people, no amount of atonement will suffice, not even the loss of his precious relationship with Sarah. Larry is exploding with visceral rage and hate ignited by the self hatred within him, driven to destroy all that he touches. Russell finds some solace in his father, who has begun a relationship with an ex-slave, Consuela, after his wife dies whilst Russell was still in prison. Maben struggles to find a place of rest and work and escape the consequences of her actions. She is slowly and inexorably sliding to a place where she is hanging by a thread and seeing nothing that can alleviate a desperate ending. Then she meets Russell, who upon hearing her tale, hopes to find redemption. Connections between the two of them become clearer later on.

The expressive prose has a finesse and vitality that seamlessly ensnares the reader. The sharply drawn characters weave their way into your consciousness as real and authentic people. I imagine that as the author has a preacher for a father, that the themes of judgement, forgiveness and justice were points for constant discussion which then went on to inform this novel. There is certainly great symbolism in the concrete statue of the Virgin Mary in the book. I felt faint echoes of the biblical story of Job's suffering whilst I was reading. It is the author's ability to bring humanity to every character, irrespective of what they may have done that marks this as an outstanding and superb read. Highly recommended. Thanks to Oldcastle Books for an ARC.

Thank you.
Enjoyed it.
Will purchase copies for family and friends.

I thought this was an excellent book. It is very well written, insightful and gripping.

Desperation Road tells of two apparently unconnected lost and half-broken souls whose stories emerge gradually. They are Maben, a youngish woman, wandering with her young daughter, and Russell who is newly released from prison. How their stories converge and intersect emerges slowly and compellingly. The book is set in Mississippi, with a fine sense of place and oppressive heat. It is hard to give a sense of the plot without saying more than I would like to have known before starting, but it emerges that Russell has just been released from prison and that Maben is driven to a desperate act to save herself and her daughter. From there we get a powerful, building sense of menace for both of them as things close in around them. We also get some wonderful portraits of compassion and decency, an examination of difficult moral choices and some thoughtful observations on the nature of guilt and of redemption.

The prose is excellent. It is quietly, almost hypnotically compelling at times. There is a deceptive simplicity to it with no similes but a lovely rhythm, somehow, which changes to suit the mood. It has a quiet, unsensational tone; sometimes dreadful things are hinted at or explicitly told which have real impact when narrated in a quiet, matter-of-fact but rather beautiful way. Although it's not really poetic, its powerful, realistic voice felt a bit like some song lyrics by people like Jason Isbell or Bruce Springsteen.

Michael Farris Smith is both clear-eyed and compassionate in his view of his characters, and I felt that I had read something haunting and important here, as well as being completely gripped by the story. In short, I loved this and I can recommend it very warmly.

(I received an ARC via Netgalley.)

I love brooding tales set in the steamy Deep South. Stories of troubled people whose destiny seems set from page one: there will be trouble, it’s just a case of where and when. This is such a tale. Russell has just been released from Parchman Penitentiary where he’s served eleven years for vehicular homicide. He’d been enjoying a late night drive around the back roads, close to his home town in McComb, Mississippi. He’d had a drink too. And when his vehicle crashed into a parked truck a boy was killed. But his time has been served and now Russell is going home to see if it’s possible to pick his life back up again.

At the same time, another previous resident of McComb is also making her way back to the town, with her young daughter Annalee. Maben doesn’t intent to stay long but there’s a homeless shelter there - at least there used to be – and she needs somewhere for to hold up for a day or two. Will the two paths cross? Almost inevitably.

I loved the way the characters were fleshed out. I really warmed to Maben, a troubled girl who’s made some wrong choices and suffered from bad luck too. She wants to take care of her daughter – no, she needs to take care of her daughter, it’s the only thing that makes the struggle to pull through worthwhile. Her story is heart wrenching but she’s tough, a survivor. Russell has always been a touch reckless. He’s been scarred by the knocks life has dealt him but at least he’s happy to be free again. He means well but he’s really got no plan, no direction. He’ll drift along for a while and see which threads he’s able to pick up from his past life.

This book just sizzles with atmosphere and tension. The problems just keep piling up and it’s never clear how it’s all going to play out. There were times whilst I was reading this that I caught myself whispering ‘no don’t, don’t’, I was so caught up in it. The ending was dramatic, surprising and not surprising all at the same time. It was, in my view, brilliantly done. If I don’t read a better book this year, I won’t be surprised. Simply brilliant.

He drove when he was drunk. He killed a man. That is Russell's story.

After eleven years behind bars he just wants to be left alone to get on with his life. But that isn't likely to happen.

Maben is on the run. She is always running from someone or something. Has been for years. Years of not knowing where she is going or what she is doing. She runs from one disastrous situation straight into another, always believing that the next step would be better, always winding up in a tighter squeeze.

It is inevitable that their paths will cross - again.

Brutal and grim, but at the same time powerful and beautiful.

Thank you to Little Brown and Co. via Netgalley for providing a digital copy of Desperation Road by Michael Farris Smith for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.