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55th out of 71 books
—
7 voters
Long Drive Home
by
Will Allison (Goodreads Author)
In this New York Times bestseller, “a gripping morality tale that raises questions about race, conscience, and the responsibilities of parenthood” (People), a happily married man makes a split-second decision that sends his life into a devastating tailspin—now in paperback.Life can change in an instant because of one small mistake. For Glen Bauer, all it takes is a quick j...more
Paperback, 240 pages
Published
February 7th 2012
by Free Press
(first published May 17th 2011)
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The premise is pretty good. A guy is driving his daughter home from school, and as they head into the neighborhood they come across a maniacal driver, a guy who cuts them off, nearly bashes right into their car, and then speeds around the block. As he's coming back around at about 80 MPH, the father driving his daughter decides to jerk the wheel towards the other driver and then back the other way, an aggressive driving move to try and slow the guy down.
Well, it works, slowing him down from 80 t...more
Well, it works, slowing him down from 80 t...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Great short book...read it just a few hours. And it didn't disappoint. Couldn't stop reading until I was finished.
Glen drives his daughter home from school, as he does every day, but this time, a chain of events get him increasingly worked up, until a split-second decision behind the wheel causes another person to be killed.
Will guilt cause him to confess???
Favorite Quote:
"Here's a little secret about confessions. Ever wonder why a guy owns up to something when it's only going to get him into t...more
Glen drives his daughter home from school, as he does every day, but this time, a chain of events get him increasingly worked up, until a split-second decision behind the wheel causes another person to be killed.
Will guilt cause him to confess???
Favorite Quote:
"Here's a little secret about confessions. Ever wonder why a guy owns up to something when it's only going to get him into t...more
What would cause a seemingly normal father and husband to kill a young teen and assault a man? Glen Bauer, the narrator of this novel, wonders just that as he composes a letter to his daughter, Sara.
Glen is a CPA who runs an accounting home business. He, his wife, and their six-year-old daughter Sara live in New Jersey, in a suburb of New York City, where his wife works. Since he works out of their home, Glen is the primary parent to shuttle around Sara, putter around the household chores, and p...more
Glen is a CPA who runs an accounting home business. He, his wife, and their six-year-old daughter Sara live in New Jersey, in a suburb of New York City, where his wife works. Since he works out of their home, Glen is the primary parent to shuttle around Sara, putter around the household chores, and p...more
I had read so many conflicting reviews about this book that I really didn't know what to expect.For the most part, I really enjoyed this book, liked the style of the author.
Imagine yourself making a split second decision that results in the death of someone, a child yet. I didn't care much for either of the parental characters. Glen seemed to spend most of the time justifying his actions. It was the fault of Derek, the driver of the SVU he encountered first and then Juwan who he had interaction...more
Imagine yourself making a split second decision that results in the death of someone, a child yet. I didn't care much for either of the parental characters. Glen seemed to spend most of the time justifying his actions. It was the fault of Derek, the driver of the SVU he encountered first and then Juwan who he had interaction...more
This is the story of Glen, a married father, who is driving his daughter, Sara, home after school. On the way he encounters some aggressive drivers and in one incident, the guy actually threatens Glen and demands an apology. This infuriates Glen and he ends up making a move against a fast-driving teenager in his neighbourhood which causes the driver to have a fatal accident. Is Glen responsible? The driver was impaired and speeding. It's a question that Glen faces every day, along with the lies...more
Story Description:
In Will Allison's critically acclaimed New York Times bestseller, a happily married man makes a split-second decision that sends his life into a devastating tailspin.
Life can change in an instant because of one small mistake. For Glen Bauer, all it takes is a quick jerk of the steering wheel, an impulsive move intended to scare a reckless driver-not kill him. But when Glen realizes no one saw the deadly accident, he lies to the police, to his wife, even to his six-year-old dau...more
In Will Allison's critically acclaimed New York Times bestseller, a happily married man makes a split-second decision that sends his life into a devastating tailspin.
Life can change in an instant because of one small mistake. For Glen Bauer, all it takes is a quick jerk of the steering wheel, an impulsive move intended to scare a reckless driver-not kill him. But when Glen realizes no one saw the deadly accident, he lies to the police, to his wife, even to his six-year-old dau...more
I downloaded this book early in the morning and was done with it before noon. So it was a quickie, but I could see where it could have been developed into much, much more. The premise was believable -- that a series of events would lead to a catastrophe and then the choices one makes after that catastrophe can snowball into one huge mess. That all worked, but Glen's wife gets a little manic about being sued and "losing it all," and without a second thought has him move out on the premise that if...more
I don't need exact genre's but a generality does help. Is this book YA or not? I couldn't tell. The main character was an adult, but the subject could be interpreted for YA and the format of the book screamed YA. Plus, the story was very simple with a small cast of characters, which is how YA books are usually laid out.
Guy is driving his young daughter home and a few incidents happen to raise his stress level until he sort of cracks and in a fit of rage, causes a car accident and unfortunately,...more
Guy is driving his young daughter home and a few incidents happen to raise his stress level until he sort of cracks and in a fit of rage, causes a car accident and unfortunately,...more
(3.5)
It sure was a long drive home for Glen Bauer! Too bad he wasn't carrying a four leaf clover or a rabbit's foot, poor man! What seemed to be any ol' day became a nightmare ... all because he gave into road rage.
After being accosted and emasculated by a stranger in front of his six year old daughter, Glen was understandably left hot under the collar and it spilled over to the rest of his drive home. Which eventually lead him to decide to teach another driver a lesson that consequently ended...more
It sure was a long drive home for Glen Bauer! Too bad he wasn't carrying a four leaf clover or a rabbit's foot, poor man! What seemed to be any ol' day became a nightmare ... all because he gave into road rage.
After being accosted and emasculated by a stranger in front of his six year old daughter, Glen was understandably left hot under the collar and it spilled over to the rest of his drive home. Which eventually lead him to decide to teach another driver a lesson that consequently ended...more
The good: I read this book in about three sittings. If an author can keep me turning pages they have done something right, and that was the case here. I was interested in how things resolved, whether or not he would get sued or charged or divorced. I also thought there were very good moments of tension around whether or not the daughter would say anything (though I thought there could have been more).
The bad: The characters and their marriage are held at such an arms length that I couldn't under...more
The bad: The characters and their marriage are held at such an arms length that I couldn't under...more
This is a YA book without a YA character, unless you count the victim. Told from the point of view of the father, the story begins innocently enough with a drive home with Glen's 6 year old daughter Sara in the back seat. Confronted by a reckless driver, Glen jerks his car in the direction of the seemingly irresponsible kid to scare him. The other car goes off the road, hits a tree, and the young driver is killed instantly. Glen's first impulse is to lie about his actions - even though Sara saw...more
First, I do not know how anyone could rate this book with one star?
Allison's characters were all very believable to me and I thought the plot was very well thought out.
If you are honest with yourself, you will admit you could easily be Glen.
I felt angry and sorry for Glen. His wife Liz's line was drawn in the sand indicating just where she stood in the situation and relationship. At first I thought her reaction was a bit over the top, but then after finding out she grew up with an attorney for...more
Allison's characters were all very believable to me and I thought the plot was very well thought out.
If you are honest with yourself, you will admit you could easily be Glen.
I felt angry and sorry for Glen. His wife Liz's line was drawn in the sand indicating just where she stood in the situation and relationship. At first I thought her reaction was a bit over the top, but then after finding out she grew up with an attorney for...more
Now, being an author I LOVE to read other books because I enjoy seeing how other authors work. Long Drive Home was no exception. This book started off with a **BANG ** and I am not actually using that figuratively here - it really grabbed the reader's attention from the very first sentence. Will Allison had his character writing a letter to his daughter explaining what his motivations were - or something --- honestly I'm not quite sure, because as the book unfolded the letter became less clear a...more
All you need to know about Glen Bauer you learn in the first few pages of Long Drive Home, but it takes the rest of the book to believe it. Will Allison distills Glen's life to a single day and also tracks how the choices Glen made that day reverberate through to the present. Glen is as honest with the reader as he is with himself, which is to say: not. He may fool himself, but the honest reader will see Glen's ultimate deceit.
Glen causes a fatal accident, then lies about it. His daughter was w...more
Glen causes a fatal accident, then lies about it. His daughter was w...more
This well thought out tale by Will Allison was spellbinding, nearly impossible to put down. It's a story about how the actions of two people behind the wheel, can alter the destiny of both of their families. We know at the outset that Glen is the cause of a fatal car accident ... but is he really? We all know that the driver who was killed was guilty of reckless driving ... but was he really? You ponder these questions as you read Will Allison's tale and the fact that you are pondering this, and...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This book is about the consequences of a series of road-rage incidents on the life of a young husband and father. Glen Bauer is driving his six year-old daughter home from school, when an impatient policeman zips around him and runs a red light. That single act ignites a sense of entitlement and impulsive behavior over the next half hour which, in turn, causes two more road-rage incidents, one involving criminal acts and the second involving a fatal accident. But, it is Glen's escalating panic a...more
This review originally published on Utah Mom's Life Blog : http://utahmomslife.blogspot.com/2011...
Will Allison's second novel Long Drive Home is the story of one bad decision. One second. One reaction. And the many consequences that follow.
It could happen to any one of us and perhaps that is what makes this novel so powerful. Get behind the wheel of a car and suddenly many of us seem to forget that there are other real people driving the other cars on the road. The dangerous driver speeding and...more
Will Allison's second novel Long Drive Home is the story of one bad decision. One second. One reaction. And the many consequences that follow.
It could happen to any one of us and perhaps that is what makes this novel so powerful. Get behind the wheel of a car and suddenly many of us seem to forget that there are other real people driving the other cars on the road. The dangerous driver speeding and...more
Sins of the father and the innocence of a child; oh, what a tangle web we weave, when at first we do deceive. I read this book in one sitting. It was a book that I could not make myself put down. It held me spellbound. It brought back thoughts of things I have done that could have taken a very wrong turn. I guess that makes this confession time.
I live along a bayou going that runs to the gulf; one road in, and one road out. Due to a bridge closure, the traffic has been very heavy. I was on my...more
I live along a bayou going that runs to the gulf; one road in, and one road out. Due to a bridge closure, the traffic has been very heavy. I was on my...more
Glen Bauer would consider himself a pretty good driver. He always stopped at red lights and used his turn signal. Though that all changed all day. A young man talking on the phone and driving a Jag cut in front of Glen, nearly missing hitting him and just kept driving. Glen decided to let the incident pass and take his six year old daughter, Sara home. Glen is approaching their driveway, when he spots the young driver again. This time Glen decides to teach the man a lesson. Glen steers the car t...more
This is one of those stories that reminds us that we are all interconnected, and every decision we make can have far-reaching, and sometimes tragic, consequences.
Glen, an ordinary man, drives his daughter home, flips off a cop, succumbs to a moment of road rage, and changes his life and the lives of his family and of strangers, forever. He never intended to hurt anyone, just to vent a little frustration. But after one thoughtless deed his life moves forward on a course he cannot correct. The la...more
Glen, an ordinary man, drives his daughter home, flips off a cop, succumbs to a moment of road rage, and changes his life and the lives of his family and of strangers, forever. He never intended to hurt anyone, just to vent a little frustration. But after one thoughtless deed his life moves forward on a course he cannot correct. The la...more
In Long Drive Home, Glen Bauer makes one bad decision. One second. One reaction. And the many consequences that follow. On the way home from picking his daughter up from school, an incident of road rage turns into a fatal accident for the other driver. In a split second, Glen decides to lie about what happens and that one omission of truth erupts into his whole world changing.
I didnt like the characters all that much. The wife, Liz seemed cold hearted and unreasonable to me. Her reasoning for se...more
I didnt like the characters all that much. The wife, Liz seemed cold hearted and unreasonable to me. Her reasoning for se...more
This will sound odd but I was reminded of Scott Smith's "A Simple Plan" while reading this slim volume. In that book stolen money is found but there is no safe way to take it without being caught.
In "Long Drive Home" there was the same sense of dread from "a small unworthy" act that turned into a web that was ultimately inescapable.
The conceit in this story is that the narrator is writing to his daughter to explain his actions and finally tell the truth after a young man is killed in a car acci...more
In "Long Drive Home" there was the same sense of dread from "a small unworthy" act that turned into a web that was ultimately inescapable.
The conceit in this story is that the narrator is writing to his daughter to explain his actions and finally tell the truth after a young man is killed in a car acci...more
This novel is about a regular guy named Glen who encounters a series of events while driving his daughter home from school, all centered around road rage, that result in him causing the crash of a reckless driver. The majority of the book tells of how he handles his part in the death of the driver, and what this one split-second, bad decision does to his relationships and his life. The author has a straight-forward style of writing which I found fit perfectly with the story. This story has reall...more
This book reminds me of Ian McEwan's shorter novels. It features a devastating incident that creates a ripple of unfortunate scenarios. Glen is driving home with his daughter Sara when a poor decision leads to an unnecessary tragedy. Allison has the guts to put his characters into agonizing situations; not anywhere tidy and predictable and I appreciated that because it makes it more haunting.. I didn't give it 5 stars because the ending seems too abrupt. Two whole years pass and the reader doesn...more
May 22, 2011
Mary (BookHounds)
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2011,
from-publisher-author
Glen writes his daughter, Sara, a letter explaining what went wrong in his marriage to Liz and the events that lead up to their divorce. The letter is interspersed with the story of that time period. In a way, Glen is asking his daughter for forgiveness and trying to make thing right when he lies and tries to make her believe that the accident she witnessed as a six year old didn't happen the way it really did. Glen and his wife try to cover up his involvement in the accident by lying to the pol...more
WOW!
I can't really share in great detail about this book without revealing too much of the plot.
Allison's characters were all very believable to me and I thought the plot was very well thought out.
To me this is a psychological thriller that definately delivered. Glen Bauer, an ordinary loving father and husband has a tiny case of road rage that turns into a game of chicken that leaves a young driver dead.
The police rule the whole thing an accident, but Glen's conscience and maybe his 6-year-old...more
I can't really share in great detail about this book without revealing too much of the plot.
Allison's characters were all very believable to me and I thought the plot was very well thought out.
To me this is a psychological thriller that definately delivered. Glen Bauer, an ordinary loving father and husband has a tiny case of road rage that turns into a game of chicken that leaves a young driver dead.
The police rule the whole thing an accident, but Glen's conscience and maybe his 6-year-old...more
Life can change in an instant because of one small mistake. For Glen Bauer, all it takes is a quick jerk of the steering wheel, an impulsive move intended to scare a reckless driver-not kill him. But when Glen realizes no one saw the deadly accident, he lies to the police, to his wife, even to his six-year-old daughter, Sara, who was in the backseat at the time of the crash. As his wife's panicked plan to save their family instead threatens to tear it apart, Glen can't help wondering: What if th...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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I was born in Columbia, South Carolina, and now live with my wife and daughter in South Orange, New Jersey. In between, I've lived in Charlotte, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and elsewhere; taught creative writing at The Ohio State University, Butler University, and Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis; and worked as executive editor of Story, editor at large of Zo...more
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Jun 05, 2012 05:36pm