The Way Home

The Way Home

by George Pelecanos (Author)

Synopsis

When Thomas Flynn leaves his son, seventeen year old Chris, at Pine Ridge, a juvenile prison near Washington, D.C., his heart is broken but his mind is made up: Chris will have to pay for the mistakes he's made. Inside, Chris is exposed to kids from a different D.C. than the comfortable one he knew - one less remote from the street fights, car chases, and marijuana deals that got him here in the first place. A decade later, Chris and the friends he made at Pine Ridge seem reformed. Chris has a job, thanks to his father, a girlfriend, and his own apartment. But when he and the others are inadvertently caught up in a burglary, old habits and worse instincts rise to the surface, threatening this new-found stability with sudden treachery and violence. With the drama, compassion, and urgency for which Pelecanos is celebrated, The Way Home travels the streets of Washington, D.C. and tells the story of its people, and the tensions that always linger just out of sight, circling back again and again to that clapboard house on Livingston Street where Thomas and Chris Flynn's rocky relationship moves from distrust and scorn toward a flawed, but real, redemption. How far will a father go to save his son? That question is the beating pulse beneath George Pelecanos's spectacular new novel, a page-turning story of rebellion, greed, and the high price of a second chance.

$3.25

Save:$13.06 (80%)

Quantity

3 in stock

More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 336
Publisher: Orion
Published: 25 Jun 2009

ISBN 10: 0752875434
ISBN 13: 9780752875439
Prizes: Shortlisted for CWA Gold Dagger for Fiction 2010.

Media Reviews
'his pitiless concentration on how minor decisions end up making huge differences, and how two generations of a family try, and fail, to understand each other, makes this a riveting read.' THE GUARDIAN 'a compelling social and domestic drama that's enhanced by Pelecanos' dynamic crime genre narrative style.' THE LIST (Glasgow & Edinburgh) 'a powerful tale of a wayward son and his disappointed father, with the hard-won redemption at the end staying with you long after putting it down.' SHORTLIST 'Eighteen years after his first novel, the diverting A Firing Offense, he has written a masterpiece ... The Way Home should confirm his status as one of America's great writers. ... he refines and underlines [his] themes to the point of perfection, until a final page that will have you gulping for air. Not just good. Great.' -- Paul Connolly LONDON LITE 'The Way Home, like The Turnaround before it, is a masterly study of fathers and sons. Pelecanos, who worked on the TV show The Wire, has a gift for characterisation and location - in this case Washington DC. The result is that rare thing: a gripping thriller that is also intensely moving.' -- Mark Sanderson EVENING STANDARD 'A typically assured performance ... notable for Pelecanos' mastery of teen talk -- John Dugdale SUNDAY TIMES 'The most intelligent crime novel of the year. *****' -- Boyd Hilton HEAT 'as good a piece of modern crime fiction as there is ... a gripping study of the father-son relationship that just happens to stray into the justice system. Pelecanos has a gift for characterisation and conveying a sense of place. The result is that rare thing: a believable thriller that is also intensely moving.' -- David Robinson THE SCOTSMAN 'The Wire scriptwriter is known for his dextrous tales of corruption.' OBSERVER
Author Bio
George Pelecanos is the author of fifteen previous crime novels set in and around the Washington area. He is also an award-winning journalist, screenwriter and producer - most recently being nominated for an Emmy award for his work as a producer, writer, and story editor on The Wire. Pelecanos lives in Maryland with his family.