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 enlarge | Author: Rose Tremain
Publisher: Vintage
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy New: £3.10
You Save: £4.89 (61%)
New (28) Used (5) from £3.10
Avg. Customer Rating:  36 reviews
Sales Rank: 64
Media: Paperback
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 4.9 x 1
ISBN: 0099478463
EAN: 9780099478461
ASIN: 0099478463
Publication Date: June 12, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 A 'feel good' book that doesn't quite ring true October 21, 2008
'The Road Home' is the novel equivalent of a 'feel-good' film. It's easy to read and Tremaine has a good turn of phrase, and her characters are mostly believable. The theme is the trials and tribulations of an Eastern European migrant worker in the UK, an interesting and topical subject.
I did enjoy reading this book but somehow it never quite rang true. It's not that anything particularly fantastical happens in it, yet the way things worked out just didn't seem very likely. It all seemed too neat, I suppose, but maybe I am just too cynical.
It's certainly an enjoyable enough read, though not a surprising or heart wrenching one. Whether it merits a major literary prize is another matter, but most people will probably enjoy the book.
 Disappointing October 20, 2008
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
It seems that for most reviewers "if it's by Rose Tremaine it must be good" I was however disappointed with this novel. Tremaine's resolute determination to emphasise only the negative aspects of immigration was so depressing and totally ignored the happy groups who fill our churches and enjoy their own social networks. I am also tired of the current fashion of knocking the British by our authors; like most nationalities we have our nasty people but most of us are great!
 Lev is not a Polish name to start with October 19, 2008
3 out of 14 found this review helpful
and what's with this hideous cover-your usual stereotypical approach to Eastern Europe. Do your homework first and then start thinking about writing a book.
Two stars or one...? October 15, 2008
7 out of 10 found this review helpful
Ah, I see I'm the first to give this book just two stars. I did debate just giving it one star.
I wonder what Tremain was trying to achieve with this book. If it was a simple (simplistic) tale of a man moving to one country and yearning to be in another, it is a poor effort. Quite why Tremain is prepared to name streets in London, but not Lev's homeland, is mystifying. Lev's story is linear, bereft of genuine drama or crisis, and shot through with both inconsistencies and ludicrous stretches of credulity.
If she was trying to tell us something important about immigration, this was a cheap and shoddy effort. Low-paid manual labourers from eastern Europe end up doing low-paid work here. Well, well. Some people are nice to immigrants, some aren't. Mercy me. What, exactly, am I supposed to be surprised, inspired, or fascinated by, in this tale? I was certainly surprised by the number of beautiful women falling at Lev's feet. But that was the surprise borne of lazy writing, rather than a powerful insight into a social issue.
I wanted to read about Britain through another's eyes. I wanted to see from a different perspective. I didn't want to read about yet another twinkly, slightly drunk Irishman. I didn't want a lot of badly-written, unfeasible sexual encounters.
Let's face it, at best this is a harmless diversion. It's hardly the Grapes of Wrath, now is it? In ten years' time, people will wonder why on earth anyone bought this book. Tremain should stick to books about periods we can't remember, so that we can't gainsay her efforts as flimsy, inadequate, implausible and overrated.
 Fiction so convincing that it could be a true story October 14, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The journey begins with Lev's bus journey from his home in Poland to the loneliness of impersonal London. Lev is into his early forties, has recently lost his wife to cancer and believes that the only way that he can support his very young daughter and his mother is to find himself a job in London. His life-long friend, who supposedly knows such things, has told Lev that he should be able to get by in London on 20 a week. The truth becomes apparent within 24 hours of his arrival at Victoria Bus Terminus when he finds out how much it's going to cost for one night's B&B.
During the bus journey, Lev has struck up a friendship with a female teacher who already has good contacts in London. Throughout the book, this lady comes to Lev's rescue in times of trouble. Unsurprisingly, finding work is not as easy has Lev had thought it would be. However, following his adventures, with their ups and downs, is an enjoyable ride, liberally splashed with some good humour and many touching moments and reminiscences.
This book will make you laugh and it will make you cry. It will make you think about the society that we live in. It is a wonderful book.
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