Dirt road
Author:
Publisher:
Catapult
Pub. Date:
Varies, see individual formats and editions
Language:
English
Description
Booker Prize winner James Kelman's new novel, Dirt Road, tells the story of a teenage boy who travels with his father from Scotland to Alabama to visit with relatives after the death of his mother. In the American South, he becomes swept up into the world of zydeco and blues. ""A powerful meditation on loss, life, death, and the bond between father and son. . . . Kelman has created a fully–realized, relatable voice that reveals a young man’s urgent need for connection in a time of grief." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
After his mother’s recent death, sixteen–year–old Murdo and his father travel from their home in rural Scotland to Alabama to be with his émigré uncle and American aunt. Stopping at a small town on their way from the airport, Murdo happens upon a family playing zydeco music and joins them, leaving with a gift of two CDs of Southern American songs. On this first visit to the States, Murdo notices racial tension, religious fundamentalism, the threat of severe weather, guns, and aggressive behavior, all unfamiliar to him. Yet his connection to the place strengthens by way of its musical culture. Murdo may be young but he is already a musician.
While at their relatives’ home, the grieving father and son experience kindness and kinship but share few words of comfort with each other, Murdo losing himself in music and his reticent and protective dad in books. The aunt, “the very very best,” Murdo calls her, provides whatever solace he receives, until his father comes around in a scene of great emotional release.
As James Wood has written of this brilliant writer’s previous work in The New Yorker, “The pleasure, as always in Kelman, is being allowed to inhabit mental meandering and half–finished thoughts, digressions and wayward jokes, so that we are present” with his characters. Dirt Road is a powerful story about the strength of family ties, the consolation of music, and one unforgettable journey from darkness to light.
After his mother’s recent death, sixteen–year–old Murdo and his father travel from their home in rural Scotland to Alabama to be with his émigré uncle and American aunt. Stopping at a small town on their way from the airport, Murdo happens upon a family playing zydeco music and joins them, leaving with a gift of two CDs of Southern American songs. On this first visit to the States, Murdo notices racial tension, religious fundamentalism, the threat of severe weather, guns, and aggressive behavior, all unfamiliar to him. Yet his connection to the place strengthens by way of its musical culture. Murdo may be young but he is already a musician.
While at their relatives’ home, the grieving father and son experience kindness and kinship but share few words of comfort with each other, Murdo losing himself in music and his reticent and protective dad in books. The aunt, “the very very best,” Murdo calls her, provides whatever solace he receives, until his father comes around in a scene of great emotional release.
As James Wood has written of this brilliant writer’s previous work in The New Yorker, “The pleasure, as always in Kelman, is being allowed to inhabit mental meandering and half–finished thoughts, digressions and wayward jokes, so that we are present” with his characters. Dirt Road is a powerful story about the strength of family ties, the consolation of music, and one unforgettable journey from darkness to light.
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ISBN:
9781936787500
9781936787517
9781936787517
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Grouping Information
Grouped Work ID | f65671d0-c6b7-8327-6542-0cd9397dfec5 |
---|---|
Grouping Title | dirt road |
Grouping Author | james kelman |
Grouping Category | book |
Grouping Language | English (eng) |
Last Grouping Update | 2023-05-27 02:08:35AM |
Last Indexed | 2023-05-27 02:33:24AM |
Solr Fields
accelerated_reader_point_value
0
accelerated_reader_reading_level
0
author
Kelman, James, 1946-
author_display
Kelman, James
available_at_catalog
Central
North Natomas
North Natomas
detailed_location_catalog
Central
North Natomas
North Natomas
display_description
Booker Prize winner James Kelman's new novel, Dirt Road, tells the story of a teenage boy who travels with his father from Scotland to Alabama to visit with relatives after the death of his mother. In the American South, he becomes swept up into the world of zydeco and blues. ""A powerful meditation on loss, life, death, and the bond between father and son. . . . Kelman has created a fully–realized, relatable voice that reveals a young man’s urgent need for connection in a time of grief." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
After his mother’s recent death, sixteen–year–old Murdo and his father travel from their home in rural Scotland to Alabama to be with his émigré uncle and American aunt. Stopping at a small town on their way from the airport, Murdo happens upon a family playing zydeco music and joins them, leaving with a gift of two CDs of Southern American songs. On this first visit to the States, Murdo notices racial tension, religious fundamentalism, the threat of severe weather, guns, and aggressive behavior, all unfamiliar to him. Yet his connection to the place strengthens by way of its musical culture. Murdo may be young but he is already a musician.
While at their relatives’ home, the grieving father and son experience kindness and kinship but share few words of comfort with each other, Murdo losing himself in music and his reticent and protective dad in books. The aunt, “the very very best,” Murdo calls her, provides whatever solace he receives, until his father comes around in a scene of great emotional release.
As James Wood has written of this brilliant writer’s previous work in The New Yorker, “The pleasure, as always in Kelman, is being allowed to inhabit mental meandering and half–finished thoughts, digressions and wayward jokes, so that we are present” with his characters. Dirt Road is a powerful story about the strength of family ties, the consolation of music, and one unforgettable journey from darkness to light.
After his mother’s recent death, sixteen–year–old Murdo and his father travel from their home in rural Scotland to Alabama to be with his émigré uncle and American aunt. Stopping at a small town on their way from the airport, Murdo happens upon a family playing zydeco music and joins them, leaving with a gift of two CDs of Southern American songs. On this first visit to the States, Murdo notices racial tension, religious fundamentalism, the threat of severe weather, guns, and aggressive behavior, all unfamiliar to him. Yet his connection to the place strengthens by way of its musical culture. Murdo may be young but he is already a musician.
While at their relatives’ home, the grieving father and son experience kindness and kinship but share few words of comfort with each other, Murdo losing himself in music and his reticent and protective dad in books. The aunt, “the very very best,” Murdo calls her, provides whatever solace he receives, until his father comes around in a scene of great emotional release.
As James Wood has written of this brilliant writer’s previous work in The New Yorker, “The pleasure, as always in Kelman, is being allowed to inhabit mental meandering and half–finished thoughts, digressions and wayward jokes, so that we are present” with his characters. Dirt Road is a powerful story about the strength of family ties, the consolation of music, and one unforgettable journey from darkness to light.
format_catalog
Book
eBook
eBook
format_category_catalog
Books
eBook
eBook
id
f65671d0-c6b7-8327-6542-0cd9397dfec5
isbn
9781936787500
9781936787517
9781936787517
itype_catalog
Adult Fiction
last_indexed
2023-05-27T09:33:24.395Z
lexile_score
-1
literary_form
Fiction
literary_form_full
Fiction
local_callnumber_catalog
FICTION Kelman, J.
owning_library_catalog
Sacramento Public Library
owning_location_catalog
Central
North Natomas
North Natomas
primary_isbn
9781936787500
publishDate
2017
publisher
Catapult
recordtype
grouped_work
subject_facet
Coming of age. -- Fiction
Fathers and sons -- Fiction
Mothers -- Death -- Fiction
Scots -- United States -- Fiction
Southern States -- Description and travel -- Fiction
Zydeco music -- Fiction
Fathers and sons -- Fiction
Mothers -- Death -- Fiction
Scots -- United States -- Fiction
Southern States -- Description and travel -- Fiction
Zydeco music -- Fiction
title_display
Dirt road
title_full
Dirt Road A Novel
Dirt road / James Kelman
Dirt road / James Kelman
title_short
Dirt road
topic_facet
Death
Description and travel
Fathers and sons
Fiction
Literature
Mothers
Scots
Zydeco music
Description and travel
Fathers and sons
Fiction
Literature
Mothers
Scots
Zydeco music
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