Lori Lansens’ Novel “Rush Home Road”
Number of pages:
6
ABSTRACT:
This is a 6 page paper reviewing and discussing elements of Lori Lansens’ Canadian novel “Rush Home Road”. Lori Lansens’ first novel, “Rush Home Road” is about the story of Adelaide (Addy) Shadd, a seventy-year old black women living in a trailer park, Lakeview, about twenty miles south of Chatham, Ontario near Lake Erie. Addy however did not live there all of her life but was born and raised in nearby Rusholme (“Rush Home”) which was a predominantly black community settled by former slaves smuggled into Ontario through the Underground Railroad. The novel is split into two stories which eventually come together in the end. The primary story is about Addy’s life growing up through hard circumstances in Rusholme, Detroit and Chatham while the secondary, or present day story, tells of Addy’s life in the trailer park while she takes care of a five-year old girl, Sharla Cody, who was abandoned by her “white trash” mother. Sharla is of mixed parentage which is how the two storylines come together in the end with Addy ending up again in Rusholme and inadvertently finding Sharla’s father. The novel fulfills several purposes. Firstly, from a Canadian perspective, Lansens has including many historical elements which add to the experiences of Addy while at the same time educating readers. Second, readers from Southwestern Ontario and especially those who grew up along the St. Clair River will enjoy many of the same childhood stories as did the author and Addy. Finally, from an international perspective, the story of Addy is appealing to all as it involves the story of a “hero” who has to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds to finally return home.
Bibliography lists 3 sources.
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