Boom Road: a novel

Laugh-out-loud moments and true-to-life introspection

BOOK LAUNCH

Date: Postponed -  date to be determined 
Location: Mill Cove Coffee, 144 NEWCASTLE BLVD, Miramichi

ABOUT "BOOM ROAD"

Born in Miramichi, raised near Red Bank, Shawn Lawlor’s first novel, Boom Road, is unabashedly a Miramichi novel, and is both a clear-eyed look at the challenges many people in the region have faced, and a love song to the river and those who populate its shore.

It’s also a whole lot of fun.

Set in the early 80s, when Richard Hatfield is premier and a surprise earthquake stuns the region, Lawlor’s novel follows a few months in the life of Jackie O’Connor, a 40-something who doesn’t own a car and in winter skates to work, or canoes there in summer. Jackie is a big man, a simple man, the kind we all know and like, a man wanting a simple life. And though he has a solid job at Mr. Sutherland’s mill, he also bootlegs booze for a childhood friend, wheelchair-bound “Mean” Mike Emery.

He gets paid in beer.

Jackie is finding his way in life again, five years after losing his wife Genevieve in a car accident (the story of which is captured in a heart-rending chapter). Jackie isn’t alone, however – often at Jackie’s side is his Irish Setter Ruby, and he regularly heads to the pub with his co-workers, Boyd Meeks and Donny McGivney. These exchanges between the friends are often hilarious, and Lawlor has a perfect ear for the slang, the speech rhythms and in-jokes of the region.

Life is settling for Jackie, but it doesn’t take long for things to turn sour again. His friend Donny becomes ill after a fall from Jackie’s front step (which has no stairs) and the repercussions of this illness, and what happens after Donny’s passing, alter the arc of the story and Jackie’s peaceful life.

Well, all that sounds very dire, doesn’t it? Yet Boom Road is an engaging book, one with countless laugh-out-loud moments and true-to-life introspections. Yes, there are moments of drama, and a turn or two toward violence, and enough ‘f-bombs’ to fill a Sopranos episode, but throughout shines Lawlor’s pitch-perfect ear for dialogue, and his wicked sense of humour. Whether they are arguing over how to pronounce a particular word, blathering on about politics, or having heartfelt talks about their personal lives, Lawlor’s characters are believable and never predictable. Even the most flawed of them, such as Mike Emery and his heavy, Kenny Somers, are presented with subtlety and nuance. (Well, maybe not Kenney, but we’ve all known such a brute.) And then there’s Lawlor’s handling of time and place, and his terrific feel for the things of the early 80s that give the book deeper resonance (were you there at the time), such as Expos broadcasts on CBC, diet fads, 222 tablets, Fanta, and this newfangled thing called Lotto 649.

Which brings us back to the plot, and word getting around that Jackie, via the recently passed Donny, may now be a rich man. Rich is relative in this case, but the darker persons in Jackie’s life scheme to take advantage of his trusting nature, and Jackie is soon caught up in a plot that can have only one of two tragic endings – his death, or theirs.

It would be easy to compare Lawlor’s novel to the works of David Adams Richards, but his voice is very much his own, and Boom Road signals a new literary star rising over the river.

Boom Road is published by Galleon Books of Moncton, and is available online everywhere or through the Galleon Books website.

www.galleonbooks.ca

ABOUT SHAWN LAWLOR

Shawn Lawlor is not an award-winning author (yet) but has been writing his entire life. He's previously written screenplays, none of which were produced or filmed but wow, they were funny and certainly enjoyable to write. This is his first novel, which probably shows, but he's still quite proud of it. He's originally from Miramichi, New Brunswick. Closer to Sunny Corner really. Actually, more like Red Bank. Cassilis, if we're being honest.

Shawn lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia with his wonderful, incredible family.