Title: The Long Desert Road
Author: Alex Sirotkin
Genre: Literary Fiction, Romantic Fiction
Book Blurb:
Henry is a middle-aged science writer whose infatuation with the cosmos gets in the way of his love life. He’s researching the most compelling mystery of the universe when he meets Isabel, a bright attorney with captivating eyes. For Henry, who’s been romantically struggling for years, it’s love at first sight.
Isabel is not so quickly convinced, well aware of her own baggage. Her daughter, Lauren, is a stunning, smart, and intuitive twenty-one-year-old with issues—most notably, her addiction to opiates and alcohol. Lauren’s been to hell and back, taking her mom with her most of the way. She’s got one last chance before Isabel cuts her off for good.
These three personalities become strangely entwined in a poignant, uplifting, funny, and fascinating, yet unexpected journey. The Long Desert Road takes Henry, Isabel, and Lauren to unfamiliar places: lifeless valleys, alien plateaus, and the tops of lofty peaks, from which their lives appear altogether different. It’s a gripping story about addictions and the universe, faith and suffering, courage and fear, truth and deception, death and love.
My Review:
A book that is difficult to exactly define what it means. It is a book about three people and is presented in three POVs. It is a book about mothers and daughters. It is a book about dealing with addiction. It is a book about dealing with mental health issues. It is a book about science. It is a book about seasoned dating. It is a book about family. It is a book about blended families.
I have a theory that people will get a Big Bang out of the character of Enrico (Henry). He is the science nerd extraordinaire who is always true to himself. Iz is a parent who deals with the challenge of a daughter who has many issues. Lauren is a daughter who lives those issues. The relationship that grows between Henry and Iz makes one think they have walked over bridges in a county named Madison.
Very well written, The Long Desert Road takes a reader through a multitude of emotions. There is even a strong component here that reminds people of the interruption of a girl. Each character shows the complexity of the human spirit. The slow growth of the romance between Henry and Iz is refreshing. Once more highlighting that not every couple leaps into bed in the first 24 hours of meeting. The Long Desert Road gives the reader many rewards for finishing it. You will feel better about yourself having read this book. Recommended to fans of adult fiction.
My Rating: 5 stars
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Author Biography:
Alex Sirotkin lives with his beautiful and loving wife, Jeanette, and their dog, Scout, in Raleigh, North Carolina. A caring father and grandfather, and attorney and businessman for nearly four decades, Alex is now the author of his debut novel.
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Reviewed by: Mr. N