Whiskey Road: A Love Story

This book was worth ever penny I paid for it. I just could not put it down. From the minute Caleb and Jimi met, I felt the connection. She is not your typical heroine, she fights, she gets beat up and can kick some butt but her and Caleb are a pair. I loved them together. Caleb was sort of broken, the way he was living his life was not the best but being with Jimi changed him for the better. The secondary characters were quite interesting especially Caleb's brother Morgan. I wished it was a little longer, I would have loved some more interaction between Jimi's brother, sister-in-law, and Caleb. Get yourself a copy, you will not be disappointed. Love the cover, by the way.

A woman shows up in town in black leather, motorcycle helmet and slick hair with a pink wisp in her bangs. Meet NY city slicker Jimi. Jimi gets treated to the normal small town stonewall reserved for outsiders and people who don't quite fit in, if you know what I mean. Among the bunch at the diner is a good ole' boy once removed, with aspirations of bailing his hayseed past, for more to life that he's dreamed of, but never rose to claim. A man who shelved his dreams and bike riding days for the security of starting a construction contracting company with his lifelong friends, another small town natural progression. Like poor relations with your brother, small town inter-relations amongst those who stay, and holding on to the hopes that those who bailed will one day return. The one thing missing in the peaceful setting out in the woods is the love of a woman who'll stay. I was reading about Caleb leaving all the porch lights on. Thought of the song "Every Light in the House is On" by Trace Adkins, and years past a former love telling me he'd left the porch lights on for a long time, too. But that was me, and this is Caleb out on Whiskey Road. Caleb, who looked up one day, and felt the need to pipe up from up under his ball cap--maybe the NY Yankees, the O's, you know, like the 'progressive' bubbas like to do (not John Deere). In "Whiskey Road" Jimi threw the first pitch. And before he fouled, Caleb stepped up. Maybe in the background sometime you might hear Rascal Flatts singing, "God Bless the Broken Road." Authentic dialogue, portraits of small town, what goes on with verbal and body language. Emotional discourse spoken and unspoken. Initially I thought maybe I'd met someone like Morgan, but as the story unfolded, I thought, no I hadn't. Thank God. And amen that Morgan wasn't somebody's brother in my life. While I skimmed the way-off Publisher's Weekly review, some weeks ago, whoever did the review was completely over in left field. Because of that review, I almost wasn't sure I'd like let alone buy the book. But as anyone knows mainstream and the disregard for things not mainstream, you have to dig for jewels yourself. There was mention of some predictability. As with any writing, a reader's going to be able to predict somethings. But the predictability isn't really all that's something's about. Like life. For instance, you can go to h.s., take college prep classes, and get to college, and graduate. That part's predictable. The journey is the story, not the end or milestones along the way. It's the who, the what, why, when, how much, to what degree. I did wonder, where in the world was Caleb's good ole' doggy? I can't think of any guy I've ever met who lives solo out in the suburbs or country not having a dog. Especially one who's used to having someone else around in their space making some kind of noise to break up the silence between thoughts of missing a loved one. Where's the blues without a hound dog? I also wondered why none o

One of the aspects of Ms. Siplin's book I've always enjoyed is her realistic portrayal of characters. Regardless of their age or ethnicity, the characters always come to life and elicit feelings from the reader. This holds true in "Whiskey Road". Jimi and Caleb captured me from the very beginning and I didn't want to stop reading until I knew what would become of them. I've been a fan of Karen Siplin's books since reading "Such a Girl", and she continues to shine as a writer. The writing is spot-on, the dialogue is realistic without being preachy or stilted, and the story develops in a manner that feels natural and satisfying. Siplin looks at both sides of racism and handles the issue with a deft hand. This is definitely a book I'd recommend to my friends (already have, in fact), and it doesn't disappoint.

Pros: I love Karen Siplin's novels. She always makes me reevaluate my own perceptions of people, be it from race, culture, or background. She has a reputation for writing about interracial relationships, and I like it because I don't come across too many African American fiction authors who delve into this topic. Nowadays it's also hard to find an African American fiction author who presents a love scene without it turning into pornography without the pictures, and I respect her SO much for doing that. Readers get a flirting session of the sex scenes but not all the graphic details. The dialogue is always realistic, and her descriptions are so dead on that I feel like I might bump into one of her characters while I'm reading. I looked at every single white guy I saw on a motorcyle to see if he could be Caleb if this was a movie. Nobody looked cool enough to be this dude though. That's what I love about her male characters. They are the epitome of cool. Even the metrosexual characters seem like a woman should fall to her feet. Karen knows how to make a reader love the men in her books, and I love to love 'em! This novel is about a Black woman who gets into a fight on a trip riding her motorcyle from L.A. to the East Coast, but along the way, she meets a black eye, a wounded ankle, and a man who makes her ponder where her real traveling expedition should be. Caleb, the man she meets, has been content in his small town with the country lifestyle he leads up until she comes around. Both start taking a hard look at their lifestyle, hometowns, and future while trying to stay out of trouble from family and friends who make their lives even more colorful. This was a fast-paced read, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Off the top of my head, Siplin is the ONLY author that I enjoy enough to reread her books, which I usually do to see if there was something I missed. Cons: When I think of Brooklyn, I think more Jay-Z than I do the Huxtables (Cosby Show), but it seemed like Jimi was not really a city girl. Caleb kept saying she was, but she kept doing strange things like believing she can go around the country on a motorcyle without dealing with "backwoods" attitudes or having to worry about her safety. I wouldn't ride a motorcyle all over Chicago, never mind going to another state. But judging from her family owning property in different places and her It-was-mine attitude, I got the impression that she was a well-to-do city instead of an around-the-way girl the way I thought she was at the beginning. Siplin summed it up best when she said, "[Jimi] can acknowledge and regret her mistakes, but her mistakes are a product of bad choices, not from being a victim of circumstance." That is actually a good summary to understand elitism. I highlighted it in the book when I read it. As for the Publishers Weekly review, I don't understand how the characters were deeply stereotypical. The Black woman was the one with no street smarts, riding a motorcycle, fighting

Karen Siplin's realistic chronicle of an interracial romance manages to be entertaining, witty, sexy and provocative all at once. Another great read by the talented New York novelist!