Beautiful writing, but not much there there. The entire story could be summed up in a short paragraph. ( )

Beautiful writing, but not much there there. The entire story could be summed up in a short paragraph. ( )

I found this beautifully written novel an excellent read. Rachel Seiffert always manages to convey a lot in few words. The story starts with a young Glaswegian working with a group of Polish builders; Stevie ran away from his home in the city three years before and this is his first return. The novel moves backwards and forwards in time, taking the reader back to when Stevie's parents, Graham and Lindsey, met in Ireland. Lindsey moves to Drumchapel with Graham's family and live starts out idyllically. Rachel Seiffert writes about the poverty and the hardship in Drumchapel but doesn't preach or over-state. She writes about the July orange march and the tension between the communities but again doesn't over-work this. The narrative flits back and forth and we learn why Stevie's family life became difficult. A moving novel that celebrates family, despite the breakup of this family and provides some hope, despite the sadness of the novel. ( )

The Walk Home by Rachel Seiffert is a highly recommended novel set in Glasgow about conflict, loss, and the nature of what is a home.

Opening in the present day Glasgow with Polish construction foreman Jozef hoping to earn enough money to allow him to go back to Gdansk, Poland, and reunite with his estranged wife, we also meet Glasgow native Stevie, an enigmatic young man, who is now working on the Polish construction crew. The story then goes back in time and we meet Stevie's parents, Graham and Lindsey as well as his grandmother (Graham's mother) Brenda, and learn about the troubles with the family black sheep, her brother Eric.

The Walk Home follows three main narrative threads: Graham and Lindsey, his uncle Eric, and Polish Jozef. This is a novel of exiles, but also one of family tensions and troubles over the generations. Much of the tension is associated with the historic Irish Troubles as well as a familiar strain of brutality that runs through the family. There are topics that are off limits and never discussed. While all these family members need each other, their personal pain keeps them apart and there is no chance for healing.

The prose in this well written novel is simultaneously graceful, but also sparse and controlled, almost reflecting the dysfunctional inner life of her characters. Seiffert's use of the Glasgow dialect is both authentic and a monumental struggle (at times) for this American reader. While I'm highly recommending The Walk Home, the time it took for me to fully comprehend the written dialect should be noted.

Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Knopf Doubleday for review purposes. ( )

Rachel Seiffert is not a prolific writer, but everything she has written is worth reading. This is a spare, austere and moving story of Glasgow, sectarianism, family conflict and the difficulties in attempting to heal old wounds. ( )