Traveler

A heartwarming and thoughtful novel in which real characters confront real-life problems: All of us are familiar with the time-worn adage "Don't quit your day job." After reading Ron McLarty's second novel, TRAVELER, one is tempted to turn that advice on its head and suggest in the strongest possible terms that McLarty consider quitting his day job and devote himself completely to writing novels. He is that good.

While the name may not ring many bells, a glance at McLarty's photo on the dust jacket of his novel is all that readers will require to recognize an actor they have seen in numerous dramatic endeavors. In addition to "Sex and the City," "Spenser for Hire" and "The Practice," McLarty has appeared frequently on "Law and Order," show more portraying the belligerent Judge William Wright, the bete noire to prosecutor Sam Waterston. The arrogance of this character stands in stark contrast to the novelist of TRAVELER, who has written a heartwarming and thoughtful story that is equal parts coming-of-age and mystery. While TRAVELER is in many respects a much different work from McLarty's first novel, THE MEMORY OF RUNNING, it is equally beguiling and enjoyable.

TRAVELER is the story of Jono Riley, part-time actor and full-time bartender living in Manhattan and currently dividing his time between working behind the bar at Lambs and performing in a wildly unsuccessful one-character play far off Broadway. The novel opens with Riley receiving a letter from a boyhood friend in Rhode Island informing him that his childhood girlfriend, Marie D'Agostino, has passed away. The news of Marie's death stirs various memories for Riley. Foremost of those recollections is the evening when Marie was wounded by a seemingly wild gunshot discharged in the old neighborhood by an unknown shooter.

Marie's passing is the catalyst for a return visit to the old neighborhood and the friends of Riley's youth. TRAVELER commences an intriguing journey that mixes remembrances of his younger days with the unsolved mystery surrounding what was believed to be a random act of violence, but now appears to be a serial shooting. Through a series of flashbacks expertly woven into the narrative, Riley's youth is recreated for the reader. The journey between youth and middle age introduces readers to many deep and intricate characters. In addition, they probably will experience the delight that a great novel can often produce --- the reawakening of a memory from their own personal earlier life, be it one of sadness or glee.

There is obviously a little of Ron McLarty in Jono Riley. Rhode Island is McLarty's home, and acting is his profession. TRAVELER offers a view of acting and actors that is hopeful and uplifting, and is shared by its author. THE MEMORY OF RUNNING gathered dust in a desk drawer until it was discovered by none other than Stephen King. While TRAVELER may be his second published novel, McLarty has several previously rejected, unpublished works that are now being considered by publishers. In addition, he is working on the screenplay for THE MEMORY OF RUNNING.

TRAVELER is reminiscent of the works of the late author George Higgins. Real characters confront real-life problems in a straightforward and honest style that readers will identify with. Jono Riley is the kind of fellow you would like to join for a beer and burger; McLarty also seems to be that type of man. Perhaps one day this opportunity will arise. If it does, we will have two great novels and countless incredible characters to discuss over our brews.

--- Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman. show less

Jono Riley is a struggling actor/bartender in NYC but instead of being a fresh young face, Jono is 51 years old, divorced, and definitely only off off Broadway caliber. He recieves a letter from a childhood friend, Cubby D'Agostino, informing Jono that Cubby's sister Marie had recently passed away. The letter sends Jono down memory lane and eventually back to East Providence, RI, where he grew up with his 3 best friends, Cubby, Bobby Fontes and Billy Fontarelli. Marie, just two years older than the 4 boys, was the first girl that Jono ever had feelings for. He recalled the day when he was 12 and Marie 14 as they walked home from the skating pond. The fields were covered with fresh snow and the two impulsively made side-by-side snow show more angels. As Marie rose to her feet a bullet slammed into her left shoulder. In the emergency room at the local hospital the D'Agosino's are told that the bullet is too close to a major artery and it would be much safer to leave the bullet in place. Forty years later the bullet had become what the doctor's called a 'traveler' and Marie has now officially been murdered by an unknow assailant. As Jono revisits his childhood town, as well as Cubby and Bobby, he begins to feel that there is something about the day that Marie was shot that he needs to remember in order to let his first love have the closure she deserves and bring the culprit to justice.

I really enjoyed this story especially Jono's memories of his teenaged years with his three friends. The time period is the 1960's and, since I grew up during that time period myself, so much of Jono's story rang true. I didn't care for his forays into acting quite so much because he seemed a bit too old to be still pursuing something that is not going to happen. He has a lovely woman who is ready to move forward with their relationship but he is mysteriously dragging his feet. By the end of the book his reluctance to commit is understandable. It is a satisfying story with great characters, a good mystery, and an ending that makes sense. show less

I enjoyed this book but found myself wishing for more depth. The mystery of a shooting that happened 35 years before wasn't particularly compelling to me, I was more interested in the relationships, past and present, and I thought it fell short here. I never quite bought the relationship between Jono and Renee, the woman in his present life. He tells us dozens of times how wonderful she is, but when the two of them are together something is missing. Similarly, I wanted to love the closeknit group of friends who half the chapters, in flashback, are about, but there really wasn't much to hold onto. All the people getting beat up kind of blended together after a while, as did the characters. Their actions seemed like a random series of show more events rather than an unfolding that helps the reader feel involved with the characters. When the present finally collided with the past so we could see how it all fit together, I found myself caring much less than I wanted to. And, really, how important could those relationships have been to the guy who didn't bother coming back to his hometown except for funerals? Even when he does come back there's very little effort to spend time with these guys and not much dwelling on why not. He spends more time with the cop than either of his friends.

This isn't the only way in which the thread between the flashback chapters and the present-day chapters is weak. I didn't see any signs of the current Jono in the past version--the book might as well have been about two completely separate people. Like Jono's sense of disconnect when he sees his highschool sweetheart Sandy at the bar and she's gotten old and fat, the past-tense Jono didn't strike me as anyone remotely like a guy who would eventually move to NYC and become an actor. I would have liked to read a book in which, as the past story unfolds, we begin to see the patterns that will become the present-day character we've been following. Unfortunately, that's not the book McLarty chose to write. show less

Traveler by Ron McLarty is not to be missed, especially not by Rhode Islanders. Jono Riley is a modest kind of guy. He’s a New Yorker now, a bartender on the night shift, so he can support a modest acting career. But when the death of a childhood friend calls him back to East Providence, he has no trouble finding the bar that is “right across the street from where Asquinos restaurant used to be.” So, you can almost taste the macaroni and meatballs Big Tony used to make, but that’s not all. Jono’s friends are real people, and the death of Marie D’Agostino is a real mystery, and Ron McLarty makes the reader really care.

"Traveler introduces Jono Riley, a fifty-something part-time actor and bartender living in Manhattan and specializing in one-hander (one-character) plays, usually performed in run-down theatres where the attendance averages only a handful of people at night. Traveler begins with a letter from Cubby D'Agastino, one of Jono's buddy's from back home informing him that his sister Marie, a girl to whom, as Jono asserts, "I have compared all women since," has died. The news propels Jono to travel back in time and revisit the old working-class East Providence neighborhood where he grew up. McLarty brilliantly weaves scenes between past and present, and takes his readers on a rich and heartrending journey through the story of Jono's show more coming-of-age in the early 1960s with his three best friends Cubby, Billy, and Bobby, to the shocking narrative that unfolds as he returns forty years later to uncover the cause of his first love Marie's death."
This is just the book I needed to read to distract my tired mind. Ron McLarty has created a wonderful credible cast of characters. The chapters alternate and move fluidly between past and present providing a gripping read. show less

Not as wonderful as his first, but still has that wonderful dry humor. The characters are not deep, but you can remember one of them in your childhood. Jono Riley with the volkswagen on this shoulders (big head); Billy Fontanelli who's family wanted him to have more; Cubby and Marie D'Agostino and Bobby the sad, quiet giant. The dialogue is simple "If one of you assholes give me a quarter, I won't kick your ass", but also very touching "...my nana was an extraordinary and wonderful addition to the planet. She was hopeful and positive and joyous...Even when stomach cancer started its endgame, she would sip her Irish breakfast tea and happily talk about tomorrow" A story of family, friends and growth, with a little mystery thrown in. A show more very nice read. show less

As the main character was born in the same year as I, events in his life seemed more connected to my own experiences even when they were very different. Strange phenomenon. Other than the excessive self-analysis this was a quick and easy read and worth a couple nights to midnight or later. Not sure why the priest was in the story, but I'll not give that away.