Review: A fantastical road trip with a memorable group of characters – this book will not disappoint
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 28, 2013
Yesterday Road is a highly readable and engaging novel. From the cover art, to the title and everything in between, Brennan takes the reader on a fantastical road trip as he masterfully drops crumbs of information along the way. By the final pages, the reader will want to know more but at the same time feel satisfied with the things the author chose to leave out.Jack, the main character, is an elderly man who can’t remember much of anything from one day to the next. He is on a mission to find his way to a person named Linda and then later to Vermont. Come hell or high water – and these come in the form of missing identification, shady criminal dealings and a car jacker – nothing will stop him. Along the way Jack hooks up with Joe, a man in his 30’s who has Down’s Syndrome. Together they are befriended by Ida, a waitress with her own sins to expunge.At times the reader will wonder who is actually doing the helping and who is getting helped. As Ida throws her own life into disarray to assist Jack and Joe, I’m sure I won’t be the only reader to get more than a bit frustrated with her methods. But in the end, the reader, like Ida has a lesson to learn in letting things unfold as they are meant to unfold.Yesterday Road is a finely crafted novel with just the right mixture of humour, gritty realism, and fantastical coincidence. Brennan has done a great job of making this odd combination of elements work.