Review: November Road by Lou Berney
By Phoebe Breed
November Road by Lou Berney was my September Book of the Month Club pick, and I make a commitment to complete my BOTM Club book in that month (add-on books are another story – stay tuned for a future post about that!). In September, I failed. I did not finish November Road in September. In fact, it wasn’t until half way through October that I decided to push through and I got into the last third of the story. I can honestly say that I like this book, but it was not what I expected and it took quite a while for me to get past that.
Set against the assassination of JFK, a poignant and evocative crime novel that centers on a desperate cat-and-mouse chase across 1960s America – a story of unexpected connections, daring possibilities, and the hope of second chances from the Edgar Award-winning author of The Long and Faraway Gone
What I Liked
I loved the epilogue of this story. The way that it looks back on the impact of the events of 1963 on the lives of the characters in 2003 tied up the loose ends for me. Seeing where the characters that I became attached to ended up gave me closure.
Also, I loved the strong female characters of all ages: Charlotte, Rosemary, Joan, and even Seraphine. These ladies all had resilient personalities, intriguing stories, and me rooting for them.
What Wasn’t My Favorite
The description of the book, as well as the book’s cover, places the JFK assassination as the context for the book. However, the book really does not focus on the JFK assassination itself. Instead, it is more of a background happening. That is completely fine, but it had me a little disappointed that this book was more fiction that takes place in the past than historical fiction centering on the JFK assassination.
I just couldn’t get behind the male characters that this book follows, Guidry and Barone. These gentlemen were tangled up in the mob, and I had a hard time cheering for either of them when I felt like they got themselves into this mess with their own poor life decisions. I’m not exactly sure why I felt that way about the choices these men made, but not the choices Charlotte made, but either way, I can’t change how I felt about them.
Rating ⭐⭐⭐/5