Long Drive Home, written by Will Allison, is a captivating
story looking into real life consequences of our actions, and how our morality
plays into it.
In Will Allison’s novel, we meet Glen Bauer, a married man
with a young daughter. Glen makes one quick decision that changes the course of
his life and everything he knew. He made one quick mistake, jerking his steering
wheel to try and scare a reckless driver, that turned deadly. He quickly
realized that there were no witnesses to the accident, other than his daughter
in the back seat, so he makes up a lie to the police, his wife, and Sara, his
daughter who is only six years old. Glen’s wife becomes panicked and decides
that they need to do something quick in order to keep their family and Sara
safe. While his wife is spiraling, Glen begins to wonder if the accident was
really his fault or if someone else is to blame.
We see Glen struggling with what is right and wrong. His
conscious plays a huge part in trying to decide what is the moral thing to do. You
are left wondering what you would do if you found yourself in a similar situation.
Would you lie to save your wife and kids and try to keep your family together,
or would you tell the truth, even if you weren’t entirely sure you were the
real cause of the accident? Were there other factors involved?
I love Allison’s writing style. He goes between writing from
the viewpoint of Glen, to the letter he writes a few years later to his
daughter Sara, explaining everything. It’s also an interesting viewpoint to
write from. If we were reading this same story from the view of Sara or her
mom, we may look at Glen differently. But seeing it through the eyes of him,
and seeing the way he is feeling and thinking leaves a different tone.
Definitely a good read.
