The Shortest Way to Family: A Book Review
I come from a very traditional nuclear family: stay at home Mom, go to work Dad, two siblings from (gasp) the same biological parents. But I also belong to less traditional family units, like my family of Snipe. Sailors who come together with a specific purpose, year after year, celebrate a bond that is (mostly) unrelated to blood or geography, proof that family can grow anywhere there is a common need or focus.
Which is part of why I found Juliette Fay’s latest book, The Shortest Way Home, so fascinating. I’d really enjoyed Fay’s previous two books, partly because they take place in a fictional version of the town where I earned my high school diploma. But this latest book is the best so far, because it stretches the bounds and definitions of family.
The main character, Sean Dorgan, is in equal parts lovable and completely frustrating. After years of running away from his own family to take care of strangers, he returns home to discover a dysfunctional group greatly in need of nursing—his chosen specialty. Fay does a great job of stringing us all along; readers know what Sean really wants, so every time he turns away from it we throw up our hands at his choices. Tempering the frustration is the realization that Sean has become very real to us, like a guy we went to high school with who recently appeared again around town.
I enjoyed the first few chapters of the book for its own sake; Fay’s language and storytelling are both straightforward and clear without being at all dull. So the re-introduction of a main character from her previous book, Shelter Me, was an unexpected bonus. Again, it was like catching a glimpse of a person I used to know well but had lost track of. And seeing Janey from a bit of distance, instead of through the intense proximity of her narrator eyes, proved that “happily ever after” is in the eyes of the beholder.
As Sean begins to discover the meaning of family, he draws us into his world. We relate to the oddities in people and occurrences around him and appreciate his good intentions, even if the results aren’t always perfect. And though at times things seemed a little too easy for him (a job and a trip both drop into his lap that fit his short-term needs perfectly), he has plenty of struggles to show us his true personality.
My favorite scene involves a clashing of two realities: the local school nurse’s office meets real world problem-solving. I won’t tell you anymore than that, but I will tell you to read this book or give it to your favorite reader. Warm yet real, engaging yet at times annoying, Fay’s characters are yet another form of family that I’ve added to my collection. I can’t wait for their next adventure.
For more information, visit Juliette Fay‘s website.
