Round Rock

By Michelle Huneven

Book Overview

In a small town among the citrus groves in the Santa Bernita Valley, so the locals claim, nothing ever goes according to plan. "It's a great place to live, they say, if you like surprises: it's just like life, only different."

Certainly a number of Rito's inhabitants--fewer than a hundred in all--are surprised to be living here. Red Ray, for instance, a wildly alcoholic lawyer who bought a dilapidated Victorian mansion in an attempt to rehabilitate his marriage and regain the affections of his wife and young son. After destroying those hopes with a spectacular final binge, Red established a drunk farm, Round Rock, on the ruins. There, one day at a time, he follows his new, unexpected calling.

Many months after her husband decamped (almost immediately) for Los Angeles, Libby Daw still lives alone in their trailer, and finds herself even more rooted to the valley she dreams of escaping.

And there's Lewis Fletcher, a sometime graduate student whose keen intelligence is sorely tested by his erratic behavior and current predicament. Without exactly knowing why, and entirely against his wishes--or by default and sheer good luck--he finds himself placed in Ray's care at Round Rock.

As these people seek out or maintain their various niches in the valley, the peculiar history of the place asserts itself. An heiress descended from the original settlers, Billie Fitzgerald still acts as though she owns it all; devoted to her father and son, she obscures her mercurial emotions from even her closest friends. The past also returns with David Iba ez, whose family had harvested the groves for generations--and whose talents and secrets (and thus, he discovers, his future) are inextricably bound to the complex, close-knit town he thought he had left behind.

With insight matched with artistry, Michelle Huneven traces the emerging destinies of these characters as each of them struggles for peace and equilibrium, even happiness and love, against hapless, all-too-human frailty and circumstance.

A vivid evocation of landscape and community, Round Rock derives great power from psychological subtlety, and from affection for and profound understanding of lives strained or broken but on the mend. Fresh, remarkably mature, and constantly surprising, this astonishing debut wins both your trust and your heart.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679776168
• ISBN13: 9780679776161
• Release Date: September 1998
• Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.59 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Oh so good!

When a compelling book forces me set aside an entire Saturday evening to read it, it's a good sign. I enjoyed Huneven's sophomore effort, Jamesland, so much that I searched out this earlier novel; I advise all those who also enjoyed Jamesland to do the same. Huneven's writing style is as fresh and clean as the California air above the Santa Bernita Valley, where the novel is set. This book has a cast of characters who are very real. Huneven has the gift to write about The Rest of Us: women who cannot afford the $1000 Manolo Blahnik shoes and have more pressing issues to attend to, and men who don't have washboard abs and SUVs. The people in Huneven's world live in OUR world. Perhaps at times, all the coincidences and linked destinies can be a bit Dickensian, but with such a smooth, engrossing narrative it works. And it works supremely well.I am surprised that Huneven has been, up to this point, rather overlooked. I'd never heard of her before and now I only want to see more. It's a shame when so many lesser works and authors are getting attention and being chosen for one of the myriad book clubs on television. This is the Huneven challenge: go to the library and read one of her books. Or buy it at the bookstore; I'm pretty sure you'll be glad you did.

A novel of hope and redemption.

Red Ray, the central character in this tremendous first novel by Michelle Huneven, was a thriving West Coast lawyer with a glamorous and ambitious wife--until she dumped him for being a drunk, and until he himself ended up nearly dead, thrown from a car wreck during a booze-driven tour of the southwest. ``Red Ray,'' says Huneven, ``rose from that curb a sober man.''Round Rock is a story about a group of memorable people who, like Red Ray, have hit bottom and are trying to rise back up. It sounds like it ought to be a depressing story-it's anything but. Hunevan has an ability to dispassionately create characters with major league flaws you cannot just relate to, but embrace. The ability to empathize with these people is key because, being on the down and out and, often, in denial about it, there are problems galore. There are also compassionate, realistic people around to help them get through them and back into the light.This is a book about the power of love and hope told in a matter of fact manner that actually accentuates the warmth and love that make personal redemption possible.I stumbled on to this book, have given it to several folks as gifts, and every single one of them has loved it. I think the vast majority of people will.The only disappointment I have is that Huenven has never written another book. After reading Round rock, you'll wish she had a full catalog of choices to read through. Alas, such is not the case, so enjoy this one to the hilt.

Engrossing!

When I started reading "Round Rock", I didn't expect that I would soon be looking forward to going to bed and spending some more time with this book. I found myself staying up later and later, only to be sorry when I finally finished it. I missed the characters when they were no longer in my life. I especially enjoyed the relationship between Ray and Lewis. Huneven clearly and meaningfully illustrates Ray's effects on Lewis. I hope to read another of her books soon.

Surprised!

As I started reading this book my first thought was, "oh, no, another preachy, churchy book about alcoholics". Then I became so involved with the characters that I forgot I wasn't going to like the book. Huneven does a great job presenting "real" people with real emotions and feelings. I love the way she leaves some strings dangling at the end, it's not all tied up in a nice pink bow. When an author leaves openings like that, I know she is writing about "real" life, the way we all live it. Great book! Anxious for the next one.

Sparkling, healing, wonderful!!

With apologies to Bill W., my only concern is now that Michelle Huneven has written such an attractive book, how can I help promote it? This book astounded me on every page. This story has been lived. It rings so very true. Round Rock is a study in healing of all types. Thank you, Michelle. I initially checked the book out of the library but I just have to own it!!