Review: "Q Road" by Bonnie Jo Campbell

Sometimes I get books simply to complete a collection. Sometimes they are really hard to find in stores like Barnes and Noble and Half Priced Books, so I must go online to buy them, which, for a guy who loves bookstores as much as I do and want to help them in anyway possible, is tantamount to treason. The books are usually from authors who are somewhat mid-list at the moment, who have a small fan base, may have been nominated for a big name award, but are far from having their face on the cover of Time Magazine. They have weird binding sometimes and almost no blurbs praising the book, except from author friends. But never judge a book by its cover, or shitty binding, cause sometimes they are quite a treat, like Q road by Bonnie Jo Campbell, author of the National book Award nominated American Salvage and the fantastic Once upon a River. You can tell by reading this this is a first novel that has not been put through the wood chipper for changes. It is slow at parts and needs to be cut down by at least 20 pages. But those who inhabit this story are a riot. It all centers on a day in 1999 on Q (or Queer) Road near Greenland, Michigan, when the oldest barn in town burns down. We meet a wide range of people, like George who married a younger girl named Rachel after her mom died (after she killed George’s brother), young David who wants to impress Rachel, Nicole, who dreams of murdering, her salesman husband Steve, and the sad Elaine and Sheriff Parks, whose loneliness goes unnoticed and uncared for. It all adds to a fun ride with many poignant moments in this flawed piece of Americana. Hopefully, once Campbell gets bigger, this gets re-released and edited, cause a little polish will turns this book around.

Rating: 4/5