About this title: Thomas Flynn's rocky relationship with his son Chris is finally moving away from distrust and scorn, a decade after Chris served time. When a burglary break their uneasy detente, will Chris be pulled back into treachery and violence?
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Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Acceptable. Former Library book. Shows definite wear, and perhaps considerable marking on inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: New. DVD is in brand new condition! Factory sealed, never been played. Hall Street Books proudly ships from Brooklyn, NY. All orders are processed and shipped within 24 hours, M-F. 100% money back No-Worry guarantee with expedited delivery and delivery confirmation available. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Date Published: 2009-05-12
ISBN-13:9780316156493ISBN:0316156493
Description: Like New in Like New jacket. Clean copy with dust jacket! No highlighting or underlining! Gently read once! You're gonna love this book! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Date Published: 2009-05-12
ISBN-13:9780316156493ISBN:0316156493
Description: New. FIRST EDITION STATED. Hardback w/ DJ. You are buying a Book in NEW condition with very light shelf wear to include very light edge and corner wear. Buy it Now! ! ! As always, thank you for buying this book from International Book Source, YOUR ONE source FOR ALL your BOOK related NEEDS. Please remember to CHOOSE carefully how QUICKLY you would like to RECEIVE this material FAST, or standard (on next page). Thanks again! ! ! ! read more
Description: Very good. Box is slightly smooshed, otherwise A Brand New Copy. Never Opened. Still Factory Sealed in the Publisher's Original Shrinkwrap. Book-on-CD. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Little Brown & Co
Date Published: 2009-05-12
ISBN-13:9780316156493ISBN:0316156493
Description: NEW. Hardcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780316156493. read more
Edition: First edition-First printing.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Little Brown and Company, New York
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780316156493ISBN:0316156493
Description: Fine book in fine dust jacket. Signed by author on full title page. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780316156493ISBN:0316156493
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Orion
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780752875439ISBN:0752875434
Description: Good. **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! read more
Binding: Spoken Word Compact Disc
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Date Published: 2009-06-30
ISBN-13:9781600247316ISBN:1600247318
Description: NEW. Spoken Word Compact Disc. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9781600247316. read more
"Title: The Way Home Author: George Pelecanos ISBN: 978-0-316-15649-3 Pages: 323 Release Date: May 2009 Publisher: Little Brown and Company Genre: Literary Crime Fiction Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Summary: Hidden beneath the floorboards in a house he's remodeling, Christopher Flynn discovers something very tempting-and troubling. Summoning every bit of maturity and every lesson he's learned the hard way, Chris leaves what he found where he found it and tells his job partner to forget it, too. Knowing trouble when he sees it-and walking the other way-is a habit Chris is still learning. Chris's father, Thomas Flynn, runs the family business where Chris and his friends have found work. Thomas is just getting comfortable with the idea that his son is grown, working, and on the right path at last. Then one day Chris doesn't show up for work-and his father knows deep in his bones that danger has found him. Although he wishes it weren't so, he also knows that no parent can protect a child from all the world's evils. Sometimes you have to let them find their own way home.
My brief review: This is not a thriller or a traditional whodunnit but a story about a boy growing up and trying to find his way in the world and his place in his family. There's is a crime but it is more of a vehicle to illustrate several points including that of the role and result of punishment as doled out by the juvenile justice system. Arguably for some it is a deterrence, for others it is not.
At the heart of this novel is a father son relationship. It's a fractured relationship that was once strong and invigorating to father and son. Thomas Flynn and Chris love each other but have lost respect for each other as Chris grew into a teenager and are no longer able to communicate. Growing up is a difficult time in a young person's life. There are a myriad of pressures to contend with from parents, friends, school and society. Chris rebels against the rules, authority and his father's expectations. Poor judgment and stupid decisions made under the guise of being cool eventually land him in Pine Ridge Juvenile Detention. It might end up being one of the best things that happens to Chris. But not his dad. Thomas Flynn is too concerned with what the neighbors will think and too blind-sided by his determination to make Chris into the son he thinks Chris should be. But even after Chris sheds his bad boy image, starts working for his dad and maintains a low profile, Thomas isn't happy. Chris doesn't understand his father and finds it easier to stay away from his family despite wanting to be able to talk to his father. But he's also thinking about starting his own family.
The values and beliefs both Thomas and Chris hold tightly will be tested. They will be forced to reconsider their views of life, each other and human nature. Chris is still young and may be able to build a life he can be proud of that includes his mother and father. Thomas needs to reconcile the things that desperately upset him and come to terms with life before it is too late. And father and son will soon realize how important are the small and large decisions you make for yourselves, your family and your friends. George Pelecanos has given us a captivating story about life and relationships and how the decisions we make in our own lives will effect the lives of those we love."
"I heard a recommendation for this book on NPR sometime over the summer while on a long drive to a social work home visit. I don't remember the specifics of the review, but I guess it left enough of an impression because I put a hold on the book at my local library. It has been months since I heard the review and placed the hold, and now after reading it, I can't figure out what was the draw. There is quite a bit of profanity in this book that didn't seem particularly malapropos or overly excessive, but it did become tiresome for me after awhile. This book is also not a really traditional crime novel and seems to be more of a character study or social commentary. There's nothing wrong with that, but maybe I was expecting something different and that is why it fell flat for me. I didn't hate it enough, though, to actively avoid this author in the future. In fact, I'll probably give him at least one more go around."
"George Pelecanos in his book "The Way Home" took me inside the hearts, heads and environments of young men in America. The story takes place in Washington D.C. The lives of Chris, Ali, Ben, Lawrence and the other boys is tough and raw. For one reason or another these boys end up in juvenile facilities. While locked up, life is unpredictable and grim. It's almost like living on the streets without anyone to help or protect you. After leaving this place, the boys continue a daily struggle to exist without meeting trouble again.
In "The Way Home" most of the boys are blacks, Hispanics and only a few white boys. Only Chris comes from a two parent home. His father owns a carpeting business. Automatically, Chris has a job waiting for him when he gets out of Pine Ridge. Chris and his dad will give other boys a hand up to make money honestly and to learn a trade. Still, life is unpredictable. Temptation comes from the least expected places. Violence also doesn't always come in the dark, in a bar or in an alley. Violence, in this instance, takes a side route by way of two thugs named Sonny and Wayne in a house that is being redecorated.
Also, there aren't just guys in "The Way Home." There are also girls and women. I think Amanda and Katherine make the hard places softer to land for Chris and Thomas Flynn. This book made me think a lot about the lives of some youths, what they go through every single day in order to survive. I thought about parents like Thomas and Amanda Flynn who try there best and still see failure ahead for their children.
I also thought about Dorita, the young mother in the book. She lies on the couch watching tv, watching her kids and eating chips, drinking sodas. I thought a lot about her past, present and future, especially the future of her son Marquis who wants to grow up to be a scientist. Sadly, no one knows exactly how to get him out of the neighborhood before it's too late.
George Pelecanos pulls no punches in this book. Without one judgmental word he showed me reality. At times I wanted to run from his book. Throw it down and not finish it. Other times I just wanted to cry and close my eyes to reality. Then, at the end, I wanted to act. I wanted to do something to change the ugly places of this world.
I will never forget the characters in "The Way Home" because they are "real" people with different names living in different cities around the country. These people are our future, if we allow each other to live to see a future."
"The power of George Pelecanos is in his deeply realistic characterizations of his protagonists and his characters' dialogue, which is some of the best I have ever come across in any genre. You feel for them, feel like you know them, and love and hate them. In this respect, this book is vintage Pelecanos. That said, there is a Pelecanos formula for plot that he rarely deviates from, which is there are some good guys, there are some bad guys, and then the good guys debate whether to go above the law or work within the law to take care of the bad guys. That is it. Really.
This book is pitched as a father/son story, which in some respects it is (the passages at the end of part one where Flynn recalls riding a bike with his baby son on the back is poignant and beautiful), though this characterization seems tangential at times. The story essentially fits into the plot structure above.
I so, so want Pelecanos to go deeper and write something with as much grit without the inevitable gun fight at the end. He is so close to doing that and I selfishly want him to write that book so I can read it!"
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