Ed Tarkington

from LM-NET Digest
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 2016 16:21:48 0000
From: "Thompson, Pamela L - Librarian, Col John O Ensor Ms"
Subject: Review: Adult Pick: Only Love Can Break Your Heart (A MUST read! )

Netters,


This is one AMAZING book! I LOVED it and I hope you will, too!


Only Love Can Break Your Heart

by Ed Tarkington

Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill

2016

307 pages

ISBN: 9781616203825



Available January 5, 2016



Stunning, moody, rare, eccentric, and brimming with Southern gothic-ism and down home charm, Only Love Can Break Your Heart will leave readers stunned, amazed and gasping. Only a few days into January and the best adult read has appeared! You won't want to miss Ed Tarkington's love letter to the 1970's and an "easier" down to earth way of life.



Rocky (Richard) idolizes older brother Paul and reports the beginning of the story through eight year old eyes. It's easy to see why Paul plays a central role in Rocky's life. . Paul is sophisticated, cool, aloof, and sometimes downright dangerous. Rocky explains, " My brother Paul had a reputation around town as a 'bad kid.' This wasn't entirely undeserved..." but he goes on to inform the reader that in larger, more cosmopolitan cities Paul's hijinks wouldn't have raised an eyebrow. Paul's rebellious side was smoking endless packs of cigarettes, throwing back beers, breaking the speed limit, sneaking out at night and running around with other "nefarious" hoodlums. Typical teen boy behavior, but it sends their father, "the Old Man," into a rage at every turn. The "Old Man" doesn't let it fester; he tends to look the other way when Paul misbehaves. Although not spoken aloud (ever!) there is a deep love between older boy and the Old Man. Paul's mother Ann left for Akron, Ohio, never looking back. The Old Man instructs his boys "never marry a Yankee!"



Ann does make a brief appearance when she arrives for Paul's high school graduation. After embarrassing herself, her son and family, she returns to Ohio where it's all downhill from there. Paul's first love is beautiful, ethereal Leigh who as the novel progresses becomes more and more damaged. Most of the characters throughout the novel are damaged if not broken (that's life!). Rocky's mom is much younger than the "Old Man," and she married if not for love--for security and money. In those days in a small town, if a woman isn't married by age twenty five, she is considered an old maid--a fate that no girl can endure. The boys both attend a fancy and pricey private school where they can mingle with other wealthy students from "good" homes. There are class lines in Spencerville, and although Rocky's family lives in a comfortable home and the "Old Man" earns a good living, he came from nothing. His family was dirt poor, therefor the privileged and snooty old wealth shuns him. No matter how successful or rich he becomes, he will never be accepted into their lofty ranks and it eats at him. Seeing a way to make a real "deal," he loses everything.



Twin Peaks (shades of Gone With the Wind meets To Kill a Mockingbird) has been abandoned and haunted for years. When Paul takes Rocky over to explore the old mansion, Paul is shot and the story soars. All the characters are now in place with a bone or two to pick with each other. This one kept me guessing until the ending. Even now, looking back, I have some unanswered questions, and I mean that in the best ways! A great novel really gets to you and bothers you to the bone and that's just what Only Love Can Break Your Heart does.



If you love Southern tradition, Ed Tarkington is your author. I would put him in the ranks of Flannery O'Connor, Tennessee Williams and William Faulkner. Only Love Can Break Your Heart may do just that! Bring your box of Kleenex because you'll need them! I will not likely forget Paul, Rocky or Leigh. The Old Man who is first seen as a grouchy ogre redeems himself and the reader will see the true man when he develops Alzheimer's. In fact, I respected the Old Man after I realized his life story. "Love can make people do terrible things..." is oh, so true!



Poignant yet promising, this is the BEST adult novel I've read in a very long time. It's right up there with my favorite all time novels: To Kill a Mockingbird, The Shadow of the Wind and Life Among Giants.



Highly, highly recommended. Order or grab a copy today. You won't be able to put down this book.

In fact, I finished reading it during the Broncos' game (and I'm a Broncos fanatic), but I couldn't stop reading. I found myself not even listening to the game. I was in Spencerville with Rocky and Paul.



Suitable adult title and recommended for all adult book clubs. Mature content, profanity, murder.… (mehr)

There is something really special about Only Love Can Break Your Heart by Ed Tarkington. The story and the writing drew me in so much that even though this is not my type of book, I wound up loving it.

As stated in an earlier review, I have not only joined Book of the Month Club , but I have been reading all the picks of Liberty Hardy. This was one of those picks!

This is the story of Rocky, looking back at his life, especially a few key points where his life changed. One was when he was 8 years old in 1977. Rocky is infatuated with his brother Paul. Paul is cool, listens to rock, and drives a Nova. Paul also is deeply in love with his High School girlfriend Leigh.

One day, Paul comes for young Rocky at school and takes him for a car ride to see Leigh. Following the car ride, Paul drives young Rocky out into the woods, gives him cigarettes, and beer. When Rocky passes out, Paul leaves him in the woods with the intent of letting Rocky die. Paul returns scared, drops Rocky off, and drives off. Rocky, their father (the Old Man), and Rocky's mother (Alice) as well as the rest of the neighbors are left behind in a wake of problems that Paul caused.

The story continues in Rocky's teenage years, where Rocky is now Richard and Paul's old flame is about to get married. I don't want to add any spoilers at this point, so I will leave it at that. We also move forward in time a few months after the wedding, when out of no where Paul returns after the Old Man has a stroke. Finally, there is a murder of two neighbors where Paul is one of the main suspects.

There is a lot that is going on in this book. It isn't only about the plot, but also about relationships. It isn't only about Paul and Rocky's relationship, but also about relationships between neighbors. The three main neighbors each represent a different aspect of life- one family is poor, one family is rich, and one family is powerful. The wedding is between the rich and powerful, but what happens when the past catches up and embarrassment overshadows one of the wedding party?

The writing is really what drives this book. I completely enjoyed Tarkington's writing and writing style. If it were not for the writing, I am sure this would have been another book and I would have not kept going until the end. His characters are so well defined and their relationships are so complex that there isn't necessarily a good choice or a bad choice for the characters. There isn't an easy answer- much like life.

I will admit I felt the murder/who done it at the end didn't quite fit. It seems to come out of no where all of a sudden and doesn't seem to fit the flow of the book. Eventually, it explains some of the choices the characters make, but the murder itself seems out of place.

I rated this one 4 stars for the wonderful writing and story.

If you are interested in Book of the Month, please use my link- https://www.bookofthemonth.com/referCode/?referCode=6f876dff12912 and "SSK5" to get a free bag, sunglasses, and $5 off a 3 month subscription… (mehr)

he Fortunate Ones
In Ed Tarkington's The Fortunate Ones, take a journey through the formative years and beyond from the perspective of Archer Creigh, from a privileged family, and Charlie Boykin, from an underprivileged one, and discover how their lives become intertwined and depend on each other. In this engaging thoughtful book, the reader explores the dynamics and interconnections between the wealthy and underprivileged families, who they depend upon, and for what and how they handle their differences and similarities.

Throughout the novel many questions are raised for the reader to ponder. One question not answered: yes, the reader the sees the fortunate ones, but what about the unfortunate ones who do not receive the advantages that Charlie and his mother Bonnie received? The author does provide a full array of life decisions made by the two main characters, including Charlie deciding he must escape from this life to head to Mexico and be with other friends and pursue his art career, but devotion to his mother causes him to come home and return to his former life and support Archer and his aspirations to seek political office because of the lifeline he gave to Charlie.

The Fortunate Ones will provide the reader much thought with a wide array of characters and how they interact with one another, and how their thought processes and consequent emotional reactions add to interactions with the other characters, all of whom have contributions and indiscretions but support how the plot evolves.

Despite not looking enough at the unfortunate ones, The Fortunate Ones is a recommended and thoughtful read, because the author's focus in The Fortunate Ones was to look those who were given the opportunity to be fortunate.


… (mehr)