In many respects the author captures the tumultuous events of this nation in 1969 when the story is set, but the need to stay in boarding houses part of the way mystified me in some ways and sometimes their travels seemed to take longer than one could expect.
I enjoyed the road trip even though I was pretty sure how it was going to end, and I loved watching how Julia and her aunt were changed by the places they were passing through and the experiences they were collecting.
Along the way, they meet various interesting individuals who become a part of their family. Carting along with them various family treasures, the two follow leads about her mother that take them to Greenwich Village and then to New Orleans and finally, San Francisco where disappointment awaits them. The family's once majestic estate has dwindled over the years, and for various financial obligations, which aren't named, their home must be sold. Blume’s new novel is a meditation on the thin line between being an insider and being an outsider, and the deep-rooted need we all have to find a place where we can feel at home.Įleven-year-old Julia Lancaster and her Aunt Constance take off on a cross-country road trip in search of her mother after her grandmother dies. But will they find Julia’s mother and a place to call home?
On the road, Julia and her aunt meet a cast of peculiar characters, including guitar-strumming hippies in Greenwich Village, a legendary voodoo queen in New Orleans, the honorable proprietor of the World’s End Cattle Ranch in Texas, and the colorful sheriff of Gold Point, Nevada (population: 1), who also happens to be the town’s mayor, fire chief, and reverend. They bring with them only the most practical travel things-silver candlestick holders, a few Oriental carpets, some steamer trunks, and Julia’s beloved Brownie camera, which she will use to document their journey across 1960s America. When her grandmother dies and the once-majestic family estate is sold, eleven-year-old Julia Lancaster and her aunt Constance must take to the road to find Julia’s long-lost mother.
0 kommentar(er)
