Chicks On Lit discussion

Starting a new thread for our spring 2018 group read of Desperation Road by Michael Farris Smith. Our discussion leader will be Irene..

Who will be joining us for this read? I have my copy and am looking forward to a great discussion!

Here is my proposed reading schedule. Let me know if this works. If anyone needs more time to get a copy of the book, we can push it off a week or so.

April, - begin reading ch. 1-17
May 1-7 - Discuss ch. 1-17 & Read ch. 18-34
May 8-14 - Discuss ch. 17-34 & Read ch. 35-51
May 15 - Discuss entire book

This schedule has us reading just shy of 100 pages per week.

I have never joined a group read on here but I am going to give this one a try. Got a kindle copy tonight so ready to start. BTW the kindle version is $2.99

Great, glad to have you join us.

Welcome Kim! Happy to have you join us! Thanks for the heads up about the kindle version!

I am unfortunately not going to join you for this discussion, although the book looks amazing!
Am battling to find it here in South Africa and the libraries in my area do not stock it. Also missed out on the Kindle deal it showed 11.49 dollars when I logged in.
Hopefully can join you guys again next time.

Sorry that you can't get your hands on a copy. We will miss you.

I started this one last night to get a jump on the reading and I have to say this is a very engrossing story. I had finished 7 chapters before I knew it! Sucked me right in! Looking forward to the discussion.

Good to hear.

Our discussion begins today.

What are your initial impressions of the book? Did it capture your interest immediately or did you have problems getting into it?

We are being introduced to a large cast of characters; I'm not sure which will become significant other than Russell and Maben. Is this confusing? Are all these characters sufficiently fleshed out? Does Smith resort to stereotypes in order to handle so many characters?

All these characters are seriously broken in some way. How do you feel about a story populated by broken people? Do you like heros in your novels or are you content with antiheros?

Maben is trecking miles with a 4 year old trudging behind, not sure where she is going, not exactly the model for good parenting. Russell is an exconvict. Has Smith made you sympathetic toward these people despite their obvious flaws? If so, how does he do this?

For me the book sucked me right in! I finished the first 17 chapters really quickly and had to make myself stop and wait for this discussion to start.

So far I am not having trouble keeping characters and stories straight. For me the author is doing a good job of keeping the two story lines separate, and giving enough repeated chapters of each character before moving scenes, to keep me feeling like I understand what is going on.

I have no issue with the story being populated by "broken" people. I really didn't think of them as "broken", more just real people who are having a hard time in life.

I feel sorry for Maben and her daughter. I am interested to learn more about what is going on here with her. I was really scared for the daughter when Maben got taken away by the cop, and my heart broke when Maben returned to find her sobbing and crying in the motel window. Poor kid!

I am going to be late.

My library is installing a new comp. This means holds will be delayed.

Look forward to you joining us Renee.

I also am fining this a very quick read. I did not get to it until Monday and had the first 17 chapters read in almost no time. The short chapters make it addictive. I feel as if I can just read one more and one more, sort of like potato chips.

I am surprised that I am not confusing characters. Even really minor ones like the man fron the initial chapter that gave Maben a lift or Boyd the cop who is a high school football buddy of Russell is clear in my head. I am surprised that Russell has a one night stand, not with a hooker, the first day out of jail. I must live in some bubble. Taking strangers home from the bar to have sex is not only incredibly dangerous in my world, it is kinda of creepy and desperate.

I want to know what Russell was jailed for, but I don't know why I want this info. Would it change my attitude toward him? I am impressed when an author can make me sympathetic to characters that would not normally be part of my social circles. I am naturally critical of a Maben and a Russell (unless he was unjustly imprisoned which does not seem to be the case). Maben should have a plan, should have called to see if the shelter was open, something rather than expecting a 4 year old to walk 10 plus miles under the scorching sun. Russell appears to be guilty of a serious crime since he was imprisoned for a decade. Yet, Smith has made me see the humanity in these characters that I am naturally critical of. In real life, I don't get close enough to listen to the story of a Maben or a Russell.

I am also critical of Boyd. He knows Russell is just out of jail, but turns a blind eye to his loaded gun in the truck because Russell is his high school friend. I hate a world in which it is not what you know or what you do, but who you know that determines the rules.

The author is doing a very good job of weaving this plot. And I agree with you, Irene, then author is making me sympathetic for these characters that I would probably normally judge for their faults and shortfallings. I am interested to see where this goes!

I read the next 17 chapters and want to post but am trying to wait until May 8.

Tomorrow might be a bit busy for me, so I am going to post my thoughts and questions a few hours early. If you have not finished Ch. 34, you might not want to read ahead because there might be a spoiler.

We now know more about Maben and Russell. Has your opinion of either of them changed?

Most people (including fictional characters) get rid of a murder weapon as quickly as possible. Maben holds on to the gun. Does it say anything about her as a character or is it just an easy place for the author to keep it until it is needed in the story?

Not only does Maben hold on to the gun, but she keeps it loaded in her bag of clothes. She leaves her 4 year old daughter with a stranger from the shelter while she gets a temp position washing dishes for a few hours. Knowing that the child will probably not be under thee constant gaze of those workers, that it is possible that she could spill something on her clothes and need to change or even simply jostle the bag, this seems extremely irresponsible. Maben is also depicted as not being able to follow through on a course of action. She starts out to turn a trick, then backs off. She holds a gun to Russell to force a ride, but carries the gun so loosely that he takes it out of her hand. She says she is looking for a place to toss the gun, but never does it. And, when she gets a few dollars from washing dishes, she promptly heads off to the bar for a beer even though her daughter is with strangers. Does any of this effect how you see Maben?

We now know why Russel was in jail, vehicular manslaughter. Eleven years seems like a long time for a good old white boy, but..... He gets out of jail and his caring father has stocked his fridge with beer. Russell heads to the bar, then picks up more liquor and goes riding around, even though he killed a man driving drunk. He says he is sorry for what he did, but is he if he repeats the pattern the first chance he gets? He does not even fight with himself to try to resist or justify the drinking; he just drinks and the father enables it. Does this change your thoughts of Russell?

Did you think his old girlfriend was right or wrong for going on with her life, marrying someone else while he was in prison and not wanting to start up a friendship with him now? Is his expectations/hopes of his old girlfriend realistic? Does it say anything about Russell?

Why is Russell so willing to help this strange woman given his history with the law and what she is fleeing? Is he heroic or foolish? Does it feel real or are we being set up for a "happy ending"?

I am also caught up for this week!

My opinion of Maben and Russell has not changed, though I found it a bit of a plot stretch that Russell was the driver that hit and killed Maben's boyfriend years ago. What are the real odds of two people from a situation like this running into each other so soon again years later?

I thought Maben was an idiot for keeping the gun, and also for keeping it loaded and leaving it alone with her daughter. The fact that she left her daughter alone in the shelter also does not bode well for her parenting skills.

It does feel a bit like we are being set up for an unrealistic happy ending.

I have lost sympathy for these characters. Initially, I felt like they were victims of circumstances a bit beyond their control or ability to control. But, now I am seeing them as individuals who make awful choices and take little personal responsibility. They seem unable to learn from past tragedy. I like them much less at this point in the story.

I also find that there is a bit too much that is a stretch of credibility. When we learned that Maben and Russell are connected by that drunk driving accident, I ssort of checked out of the story line. Really? Maybe had they come together in a slower, more round-about fashion, I would have believed it. But, they both just arrive in town and in 24 hours he is giving her shelter? And, where is Maben's family? If the accident happened in that town, the victim's family is there, can't I assume that Maben would have been from there? So why isn't there any family or friends that she can turn to? Russell has both family and friends and that is after 11 years in jail. So why doesn't Maben have anyone around in her life?

Sheila, It looks as if it is only the two of us who are currently in this discussion. I know that some have not yet been able to get a copy. I hope they will post their thoughts when they are able to read it. But, since it is just the two of us currently reading and discussing, I would be glad to push forward the discussion of the ending of the book. I have finished it. As long as you don't have any objections, we could discuss the ending whenever you have also finished it. That means that you could begin the process to identify the next group read at any time.

I am finished also Irene so talk away!

I have to admit the ending left me shaking my head. This story seemed to start out so well, so engrossing, sucked me in, then it just became so unrealistic.

I agree; it devolved into a Lifetime Channel movie.

I started by liking Maben and Russel, sympathizing with their lot in life. But, as the story went on, I became very frustrated with them, even to the point of judging them. Russell has spent 11 years in jail for killing a man while driving drunk. So what does he do from the moment he gets off the bus in his home town? He starts driving around while drinking non stop. Did he learn anything from the tragedy? Did he care that he killed a man or only that he got locked up for it? And, his father enables it by having a 6 pack in the fridge waiting for him Wow,can we get much more irresponsible?

and then we have Maben. Wwe ffind out that she once left her daughter with a boyfriend and the guy tried to molestthe the child. But what does she do over and over again? Leave the little girl with Russell, Russell's father and so on even though she knows nothing about them.

And that sceen with Boyd backing down the stairs, gun in hand, because Consuella is shouting at him in Spanish was so ludicrous. How did this get an average of 4 stars on GR?

I completely agree that neither of these characters seemed to have learned anything from their past mistakes.

Lifetime Channel Movie is a perfect description for this one! LOL

Sorry I nominated a less than stellar read. I kept seeing such great reviews of it. Well, on to the next one.

Irene, we win some we lose some - I think as readers we will all agree that there are books that people rave about and we say ‘huh’ and then other times we are also trying to get our best friends granny to read it too because it was so good.

The wonderful thing about this group is that we read books together and share them from the comfort of our homes even though we each may love hundreds or thousands of kilometres away.

So don’t feel bad, am sure your next recommendation will have us all cheering and saying well done!

Thanks, and I take comfort in knowing that it was voted by the group, so others thought it sounded good also.

Popping in......
I didn't read this because I had too many other reading commitments (sorry, Irene).
Don't feel bad about a non-stellar suggestion, Irene. We can only go by the book blurbs, reviews and, sometimes, favorite authors. They all let us down at times. It's still fun to read a mediocre book with a group and moan about it together. :D
(that's how I got through Kristin Lavransdatter....oh, how I moaned. LOL!)

Ya, and I rather liked KL.

LOL! That could have led to a good discussion.

Yes, I think it was in this group that we read it several years ago.

I read it in another group, also several years ago. That group saw so many kids (none developed well in the story) and too much whining and guilt.
It would have been nice to see a more balanced discussion. Seeing other points of view often helps me see a story in a more rounded way.

I agree, that is why I enjoy the discussions on GR.

Do NOT feel bad about nominating this one Irene! It is always fun to read a lackluster, bad, horrid, or even just mildly disappointing group with a book because then we can all compare thoughts!

arhhhh I apologize I thought this was cancelled. I am going to have to catch up. Now where did I leave my book. I have been making so many oops this month.

Renee, it is a quick read. Interested in seeing your thoughts.