Customer Reviews

Rush Home Road

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In 1978 in the Chatham, Canada Lakeview Trailer Park white woman Collette asks black Canadian senior citizen Adelaide Shadd to take in her five-year-old daughter Sharla Cody for the summer so she can live with a man. Addy agrees if she is paid. However when the little girl arrives, Addy knows from Sharla's appearance that Collette has abandoned her mixed race child.

Still Addy showers love and sustenance onto the pathetic child turning her into a caring healthy girl. While doing so, Addy looks back on her life growing up in Rusholme, an Ontario community founded by fugitive American slave passengers of the Underground Railroad. Addy loved her hometown until her father's bootlegging partner raped her and subsequently the pregnant teen was thrown out of her home. She lost the child and then marryies Mose. They had a child but the girl and Mose died in a railway accident. With Addy's health now ebbing, she and Sharla "rush home" seeking closure.

When RUSH HOME ROAD focuses on the history of blacks in Canada it is quite a fabulous historical tale. However, when the subplot concentrates on the plight of Addy and Sharla it feels like an overdone soap opera. Simply, the historical elements are so superbly done and intriguing, the other aspects of the tale pale in comparison even though they are well written and smoothly intertwined into the story line. Lori Lansens provides an engaging historical fiction novel that genre fans will relish though many will skip the present dilemmas facing the marvelous two women.

Harriet Klausner

This was far and above one of the best books I have ever read! A friend lent it to me and I devoured it! I then passed it on to another friend and she too couldn't put it down. I had no idea of the black history of Chatham, which is an hour drive from where I live. I immediately bought 2 more of her books and enjoyed them too but definitely "Rush Home Road" was her best so far.

This was my first purchase on Amazon; actually online EVER!
I'm so happy I did it, I saved money & didn't have to leave my house.
Rush Home Road was an amazing story, very well written; I purchased The Girls (written by the same author) prior to completing Rush Home because I enjoyed this author so much! <3

This is definitely a good read. From time-to-time thou, I found the dialogue between characters a bit contrived (maybe I'm being overly picky here), but overall I really enjoyed Lansens' writing style. I was immediately able to relate with the characters and looked forward to picking up the book again every evening. I have just purchased The Girls and hope it will be just as enjoyable.

It's rare for me to find a book I really love and this is one of them. There's some very sad parts but overall this book is about great courage and I love the characters.

I adore all of Lori Lansens books. This one is harrowing at times but the underlying "feel good" is always there. The story keeps you interested and all the while you get to know and visualise where they are and what they are themselves seeing and feeling.

This book really is great, a must read for anyone.

I will spare the synopsis as there are already many here and will keep it simple. Engaging characters, wonderful story, full of emotion and life. An easy read but also makes you think.

Would recommend this book to anyone looking for a well written fiction read.

What a great introductory novel! Lori Lansens has now joined that select group of writers who have added to the body of black literature. Read in conjunction with Paula Fox's The Slave Dancer and Christopher Paul Curtis' award winning works, you will have taken a giant step in your awareness and experience of the hardships of the effects of the slave trade.
Rush Home Road is a gripping story told by means of time switching-following the ups and downs of a free black woman whose rape as a teenager serves to keep her a slave to misfortune, struggles and pain. The story characters are real and Addie, the main figure, is as strong as any woman in literature. This is a worthwhile read.

This is a must read book! As I turned the pages I couldn't help but visualize each and every scene. I grew up in Chatham, Ontario (where this book is set) and not only did I enjoy the references to local landmarks but can now better understand an important part of our history.

THIS IS A MUST MUST READ !!!!! I HAVE BEEN TELLING EVERYONE ABOUT IT. I CAN NOT WAIT FOR MY FRIENDS TO READ IT AND RETURN IT SO I CAN READ IT AGAIN !