Everything is described in the publishers note above. DNF

Loved this book
Didn't want it to end
Highly recommended

There is to be a lynching in Marvel, Ohio and Ottie, her lecherous boss and her husband set out on a road trip to see "the show". Along the way they stop for a catfish dinner, visit a hairdresser, have car trouble, steal a wagon from some black people, have sex and other adventures. They never actually get to Marvel.

The second half of the book is about a 16 year old black girl named Calla, who lives in Marvel and wants to go on a picnic rather than fleeing from the lynchers and lynching tourists along with the rest of her family. I confess that I don't know what happened in this half of the book, because this is where I left it. I had kept reading up to then in the hope that some point would eventually be revealed. It wasn't.

This book was not enjoyable. Not because it dealt with the painful topic of lynching, but because it took the offensive route of giving the sweetness and light version of lynching. The author chose to have white people referred to as "corn silks" and black people referred to as "cornflowers". I don't know about the name for white people in the 1920s, but I'm certain that the lynch mobs of the day were after niggers, not cornflowers and I can't even guess why the author would choose not to reflect this accurately. The whole book was just an insult to a serious topic.

I received a free copy of the e-book from the publisher however I wound up listening to the audiobook borrowed from the library. The author should have listened to this book read out loud before it was published. Maybe then he would have removed some of the "he said", "I said", "she shouted" that made this book an annoying listening experience.

A powerful and challenging book inspired by what came to be called the last public lynching in America. Narrated by two women, one white, one black it makes for painful reading. At times it feels allegorical and this made it hard to connect with the characters. The racism described is, unfortunately, not consigned to history so this unsettling book with no neat endings is one to discuss.

Did not finish. This book was not my cup of tea. The writing and story fell short on every level.

An invitation to a lynching told from the perspectives of two young women. One, a white woman going toward the lynching with her boss, her husband and a cast of characters they pick up along the evening road. She's led to believe that she may discover some truth about herself that has so far eluded her. The other is a younger woman, light in complexion, but colored. Initially curious about the events, she turns along the road toward the center of town, but quickly realizes that her actions can have disastrous consequences and turns tail. Traveling down the evening road, both women consider the choices that have led them to this point in their lives. While it's anyone's guess where the evening road ultimately leaves these two and who will be waiting for them at its end, it's undeniable that Hunt can tell a tale that is at once historical and currently relevant and leave you pondering it for some time.

Could not get interested in this book, will try again in the future

The Evening Road by Laird Hunt is a recommended novel set in Indiana in the 1920's on the day a lynching is to take place.

The news is all over that a lynching is going to take place in Marvel and all the citizens nearby are planning to travel to see it. This is the story of two different women on that day and what happens as they travel to or away from the Marvel. The novel is in two parts, one for Ottie Lee and one for Calla. There is a final chapter from a woman who is called "The Angel Runner."

Ottie Lee Henshaw is traveling with Bud Lancer, her lecherous boss, and Dale, her husband. Along their journey they get a flat tire, stop at a church supper, a dance hall, and a Quaker prayer meeting, pick up lots of alcohol, and commandeer a mule-drawn wagon. Calla Destry, a young black woman who was supposed to meet someone who never showed up is desperate to leave Marvel and find the man who was supposed to meet her, as well as find her .

While the lynching is the main topic/event all the characters are talking about, it is not the subject matter and plays a dark, but peripheral, role in the novel. This is a character driven novel. The main subjects are the two female characters and their self-discovery on this day and during this time in history. They both have secrets they are keeping. Ottie Lee's journey feels disjointed and awkward as the group is constantly pulled off course or interrupted during their trip. Calla's journey is smoother and easier to follow, but almost as meandering. The paths of the two cross several times, in startling ways.

While the quality of the writing is excellent, Laird calls whites "cornsilks" and blacks "cornflowers" which I found very confusing and it made it a struggle to follow dialogue. Having the lynching in Marvel the main event and focus of all the characters, but never really the intended main focus left me feeling disjointed. The circuitous path both characters take on this day is frustrating.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of the Hachette Book Group.

http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2017/02/the-evening-road.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1899518958

I'm not sure exactly how to review this book. I read it all and I'm still a little perplexed. I'm not sure where the author was going with all this. I found the first part of the book with Ottie Lee and her troop on their way to the lynching kind of unsettling and quite embarrassing to be a cornsilk.
They pretty much seemed like ignorant rednecks to me. What with Ottie letting her boss grope her on the way to pick up her husband, Dale. Then later her husband and her having their stare down contests (juvenile). Ottie's boss reminded me of the sheriff in Dukes of Hazzard or Smokey and the Bandit. I thought it crude how they stole the cornflowers wagon. Of course, we are talking the deep south here.

I don't know, I just finished the book and thought to myself "what was that all about?". If there was some deep meaning that I was supposed to get, I didn't get it.

Thanks to Little, Brown and Company for approving my request and to Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

I couldn't get into this novel. The writing is stiff. If the writer were my student, we'd have many conferences about re-writes. Sorry.

I didn't feel like this was a "bad" book but it just didn't click with me. I didn't find any of the characters very likable and the plot was quite slow. If the book is going to be character based rather than plot, I've got to connect with and/or like the characters. This one just never clicked with me.