Mother Road

Garlock writes incredibly engaging books and has the ability to bring to life multiple characters (10-20), which is usually not as well done by most authors. Her villains are always evil and an amazingly accurate portrayal of how you would imagine people like that would behave. It also always amazes me that I read with interest just plain old daily chores and happenings. I do have to say that this story is not one of my favorites by her only because of the relationship development between the two main characters. It reads like an adolescent attraction. "He called me honey, does he mean it? Oh of coarse not, stop dreaming..." yada, yada, yada till the last chapter where they finally get together. I prefer it when the leading character's relationship develops more quickly, maybe get together toward the middle and allow us to see how well they get on together. Then work together to "defeat the villains." With this story everything progresses so slowly, it's still very interesting, but it's mostly daily chores, small exchanges between the characters, interesting moments with the route 66 travelers here and there, and of coarse the confrontations with her "Holy roller" brother. If you've got the extra time this is a very well written, engaging novel, but not something that I'm glad that I spent my time on with so many other treasure's that await on my book shelf.

I was too young to understand the Depression and its cause, but this book was a very good reenactment of how it might have been and how the poor put up with life. It was an innocent time too because most of the people helped each other even tho they had nothing themselves. The year is 1932. The story simple and interesting. The romance was sweet. Nothing hot, just a nice book with a real bad guy thrown in for everyone to hate. This was my first Dorothy Garlock read and I just might look for others.

"I still don't know why you're doing this, Yates.""It's payback time, Andy."These quotes from MOTHER ROAD, which appear near the end of the first chapter, sum up the motivation behind future action taken by its protagonist, known simply as Yates. Much of Dorothy Garlock's book deals with question marks about his past. But Yates admits his reason for staying in Sayre, Oklahoma during the depression era: to help Andy Connors's family. Andy has been bitten by a rabid skunk and must undergo treatment in Oklahoma City for four to six weeks.Leona Dawson, Andy's sister-in-law, cares for his two young daughters after the death of their mother, her sister. She refuses to marry Andy to stop tongues wagging in the rural community. There is mutual "like" between the two but not the type of love found in a marriage. Leona comes with baggage from her past in the form of an extreme fundamentalist Christian brother, Virgil. He is the epitome of an evil antagonist and depends on Sheriff's Deputy Wayne Ham to back him up in his quest to remove the two little girls from Leona's care at Andy's.Andy's garage and gas station is the center of action in MOTHER ROAD. Its location is on the famous Route 66 central highway across the southwest to California. Garlock gives an accurate picture of life in the dustbowl days of Oklahoma. She imparts a sense of danger when evildoers work to shatter peace and quiet in a small town, changing when the new highway segment opens. Bootleggers and highwaymen threaten serenity, but MOTHER ROAD's most serious trouble comes from town and family bigotry.Leona and Yates begin their acquaintance with misconceptions. To him, she is a plain girl, brimming with spit and vinegar. She's tough when confronted and gentle with Andy's girls. For her, Yates is a mysterious stranger who has invaded their lives and is her object of contention. Much of her fear is rooted in her distrust. Garlock uses a volume of words to illustrate Leona's feelings. At times, the fear factor and insecurity overshadow the romance.Virgil's self-righteous personality looms as a constant threat to the family. His own wife and children are objects of his brutality. When diphtheria strikes his son, Virgil sees it as God's will. A subplot unfolds when his anger affects the entire community. Yates comes to terms with denials stemming from his background before the story's end. Major characters confront their demons and accept changes in their lives.MOTHER ROAD is a colorful personalization of a highway and the people who work and play along its byways. Garlock captures the work ethic and spirit of Americans during the Depression years with understanding. MOTHER ROAD is a novel of tribute to the common men and women of that era. --- Reviewed by Judy Gigstad

I love all of Dorothy Garlock's books and I enjoyed this one also but I felt something was left out especially at the end. I will be waiting for the next book.

In 1932 at Andy's garage near Sayre, Oklahoma on Route 66, a rabid skunk bites station owner Andy Connors. Yates, a person visiting the area, kills the animal, burns it, and buries the ashes. Next he takes Andy to the nearest hospital in Oklahoma City where the injured person will reside for six weeks receiving shots. Andy pleads with Yates to watch over his beloved Leona and his two preadolescent children. Yates explains to Andy that he owes him for saving his life when he was a youngster and will gladly do so.Leona and the children worry about Andy and are uncomfortable with Yates staying with them. He feels he can handle anything except his attraction to Leona, who he believes, is Andy's wife. When he finds out she is not, but looked upon as a woman living in scandal, he defends her to the townsfolk who ostracized her. As Andy heals, Yates and Leona fall in love and he knows she is too good a person to be anyone's kept woman.This tale is an exciting historical novel that fans of the Depression era stories like The Grapes of Wrath will want to read. The characters including passersby bring to life living or traveling in the 1930s on the MOTHER ROAD as Route 66 was called. The romance adds depth to the period enabling the audience to gain insight into the morality of the townsfolk. Though a murder mystery adds suspense and is used as an impetus to the romance, the story line is at its strongest when Dorothy Garlock opens a panoramic view of a bygone America.Harriet Klausner