Julie Christine RoundReviews

"Never Run Away" by Julie C. Round

When we think of runaway persons we usually see them as teenagers. In "Never Run Away" the missing person is Barbara Sharp, a mature married woman whose recently retired husband, Tony, is slow to realize how little he knew about her.

Barbara becomes "Tania Baker" and takes advantage of every opportunity. She's resourceful and adaptable. Most notable is her relationship with Ellen Boniface.

As he tries to track her Tony, ironically, expands his universe. He keeps in touch with their daughter, Carole, and makes friends at various stopovers. Some of his rough edges are smoothed when he gets a job driving a bus whose passengers thank him as they get off. (I live in a community where this is the custom.)

The book's title,"Never Run Away," implies that running away is not the best choice.....but perhaps there are times when running away leads to new and better lives.

Natural events change landscapes and also the people of the affected community. In this sequel to "Land's End" readers find Katie exploring a new life.

"The Third Lane" by Julie C. Round is a celebration of growth and opportunity. Its focus is on 16-year-old Heather's transition to maturity. Its opening scene of confrontation with her mother signals how very much she wants to leave her childhood behind.

Readers of "Lane's End" and "The Un-Stable Life" will be pleased to discover this continuation. Heather is not alone in finding challenges. As she progresses from high school to college others in the family acquire new interests. All are interesting, all are credible.

This book will principally be of interest to those who have read and enjoyed its predecessor, 'Lane's End'. It picks up just a short time after the previous book left off, following the family and a slightly expanded cast of friends and neighbours on a year or two of marital, financial and environmental strife.

Told in the same concise, unfussy style, and organised into bite-size chunks, the story tends more towards brief vignettes - a runaway horse, louts in the orchard, a blown-up Bingo hall, all arranged around the normal comings and goings of the family. Although a big upcoming trauma is tentatively foreshadowed, the best element of this book for me was the introduction of a character from Bernard's past. The infilling of his story was quite fascinating, and culminated in a twist I didn't see coming.

Whilst it missed the high emotional drama of the first book, it was interesting to follow the ongoing fortunes of these familiar and likeable characters.

'Lane's End' follows the attempts of central character Bernard to make his way in the world despite having learning difficulties. He is illiterate and has been sheltered by his mother; both have a disabling effect.

It is interesting sometimes to see things through Bernard's eyes: he finds a bowl of 'dried leaves' on his window sill and promptly pours them out. Later his landlady wonders what happened to her pot pourri. We witness the sort of prejudice he encounters: he is bullied at a vocational education centre, and his prospective father in law makes free with the word 'moron'. But the story really comes into its own when the obnoxious social worker enters stage left, and the author absolutely nails the establishment's strict adherence to notions of what is 'normal' and 'acceptable'.

The writing is clear and unfussy, and whilst it is obvious where the author's sympthies lie it is never preachy. A brisk pace is maintained by keeping sections short. I did however find in places that conversations - particularly on life changing and highly emotive subjects - felt truncated, and in the final third, where most of the action dwells, major events (like the fatal accident) occurred without us having time to get acquainted with those involved. Rather like chugging along on a train quite happily, then finding that it whooshes straight through a series of stations at which one might have liked to get off and look around.

This book will appeal to those with an interest in modern social issues, and who enjoy a story rooted in the everyday, told without pretention. It has in places a fairytale quality to it - parallels with Snow White in the early stages, with the wandering innocent in the woods finding refuge in the cottage, and a close brush with the reaper reminiscent of Snow White and the woodsman.

There was also a quaint feeling of propriety about the progression of events - despite Katie's father's opposition to her marrying Bernard it is never suggested that they simply 'shack up' together, likewise Rose's dogged determination to stand by her man, even though he is positively asking to be bumped off and buried under the patio. Moreover it is noticeable that although life becoes tough for the central family, nobody ever thinks of setting up in a council house and living off benefits. It is maybe this determination to demonstrate that someone with learning difficulties can make it without leaning on the state that is the chief message of this novel.½

Lane’s End by Julie Round

Rose and Tim Davis are not sure of the status of a young man who appears at their door: although they rent rooms to travelers he is not the typical holiday hiker they cater to. As the novel unfolds they (and we) discover that in spite of grave handicaps and lack of social skills he is a person of value. It is interesting to watch the ever-widening circle of contacts that develop, since we’ve discovered early on that he is learning-hadicapped. His artistic talents, and his gentle nature are foils for the obstacles he meets.

[Note: Two years later Julie Round wrote another novel, “Un-Stable Lane” that follows these characters into another phase of their lives.]