The Road Home

Immigrant Adjusting to Life in London

This is another book that I just happened upon while looking through the new acquisitions shelves at the library. It just caught my eye, and I checked the reviews before checking it out
This is the story of Lev, who goes to England from his home in an Eastern European country to find work when he loses his job in a lumber yard because all the trees have been cut down. He apparently justs sets off with no planning at all about what he will do or where he will stay when he gets there. This seemed unlikely to me, since he is generally a reasonable person. His life in England starts hard but eventually he gets some help to find a job and a place to live and ends up working hard to raise the money that enables him to return home and try to make a new life for himself, his family and his friends.
I enjoyed the book a lot. The only drawback for me was when Lev became somewhat violent. It seemed unprecedented, but then the author mentions that he has a history of anger control issues, that he was trying to keep under control in England. It would have helped me understand his character and his actions if this had been brought out earlier. (Or, maybe I missed it?)

Disappointing

I was eager to read The Road Home as the description of the book sounded interesting. The book was quite disappointing and did not finish reading the last several chapters. The characters become mundane and do not grow as the story progresses plus the language was repetative. If I read the word F - - - one more time, I thought I would scream. That type of language took away from the book.
This is not a book I would recommend to anyone to read.

Entertaining...

After the death of his wife , whom he dearly loved, and losing his job due to a factory closing, Lev travels to London. He leaves behind his daughter and his mother. Eventually, he finds a job working in the kitchen of an upscale restaurant and a room with an Irish landlord. Lev finds it hard to adjust to his new life. He misses his family. Rose Tremain deftly shares the tale of a present day immigrant. She describes the pain of leaving and missing those you love and your native land. The pain of feeling out of place in a strange new country should bring sympathy to modern day immigrants. She develops her lead character into someone the readers will actually care about. Most of this book is an intriguing read.

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No text was provided for this review.