A review by mat_tobin
The Road to Ever After by Moira Young
4.0
It's been such a long time since I have read a book and come away unsure as to 'why' or even 'if' I really liked it or not. Because the book is many things and tells many stories beneath the surface of the words and carries many themes within the narrative, I left with more questions that I started off with and, ultimately, knew may never get answered. This is not to say that Young fails to leave the story with a satisfying ending: she closes it rather beautifully. Instead, there is much that goes unsaid; actions that go unexplained, leaving it for the reader to deduce much.
Davy David, an orphaned boy cast out of the local children's home because they could accommodate the residents no more, is the main protagonist *possibly* who spends his life within a small town drawing angels in the dust with a bag full of brooms. Unbeknownst to him, he has a calling, a purpose although he does not know what it is and where it will take him. Only when he encounters the elderly, grumpy Miss Flint and embark on a journey with her does he begin to understand.
The blurb of the copy I have compares the book to It's a Wonderful Life and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button but, for me, this is not only missing the point but giving things away. It's more like Irving's [b:A Prayer for Owen Meany|4473|A Prayer for Owen Meany|John Irving|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1260470010s/4473.jpg|1734019] to me with a touch of[b:Oscar And The Lady In Pink|565629|Oscar And The Lady In Pink|Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1175843195s/565629.jpg|1064288]. It took me a long time to place the book, geographically, but I went for a small town in a semi-rural part of America. All its characters are well crafted as is the landscape. Young weaves a very clever story in which a LOT of talk would be welcomed as we decide whether we, as readers, are willing to accept miracles or not.
Davy David, an orphaned boy cast out of the local children's home because they could accommodate the residents no more, is the main protagonist *possibly* who spends his life within a small town drawing angels in the dust with a bag full of brooms. Unbeknownst to him, he has a calling, a purpose although he does not know what it is and where it will take him. Only when he encounters the elderly, grumpy Miss Flint and embark on a journey with her does he begin to understand.
The blurb of the copy I have compares the book to It's a Wonderful Life and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button but, for me, this is not only missing the point but giving things away. It's more like Irving's [b:A Prayer for Owen Meany|4473|A Prayer for Owen Meany|John Irving|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1260470010s/4473.jpg|1734019] to me with a touch of[b:Oscar And The Lady In Pink|565629|Oscar And The Lady In Pink|Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1175843195s/565629.jpg|1064288]. It took me a long time to place the book, geographically, but I went for a small town in a semi-rural part of America. All its characters are well crafted as is the landscape. Young weaves a very clever story in which a LOT of talk would be welcomed as we decide whether we, as readers, are willing to accept miracles or not.