Long Drive Home

Every month I look over the books I have read and am always a bit ashamed of how few male authors I read. I really do like women's fiction novels, but read a wide variety of books (at least in my mind), so I am always a bit amazed at how I seem to favor women writers.

Long Drive Home by Will Allison reads much like a women's fiction novel, but is written by a male and from a man's perspective.

Glen and his wife Liz are raising their six year old daughter Sara in New Jersey. Liz's career has taken off, so Glen works from home and takes responsibility for many of the day to day child rearing tasks. One day on his way home from picking Sara up from school they are nearly involved in a car accident when a teen driver cuts him off. Minutes later that same teen driver reappers and with the turn of Glen's steering wheel, everyone's lives are changed. Glen must deal with the guilt he feels about what happened and wonders what Sara saw or knows about the accident. His wife Liz becomes convinced Glen will be sued, and as their marriage crumbles, Glen continues to question what his decision has cost him. Now two years later Long Drive Home is part confessional as Glen pens a letter to Sara to explain how his split second decision forever altered their lives.

This was a very fast read and totally engrossing. I started Long Drive Home last night and finished it off this morning. I have Allison's first book waiting for me in one of my TBR stacks, and am excited to read more of his work. While I like the cover on this book, it is the exact same cover as from the paperback version of Mockingbird by Katherine Erskine. Why, oh why do publishers do this? While reading a book in Glen's perspective, I could certainly see Glen's thought process. Even though I didn't understand Glen's road rage, Allison did a great job of telling his story. Liz was harder for me to read. I could understand how she felt let down by Glen and unable to trust him, but her ability to decide their marriage was done seemed hard to believe.

I think this one has a lot of potential for book clubs. There are plenty of things to discuss. Has anyone else read this one? I would love to know what you think of it.