Review of the novel Backseat Saints by Joshilyn Jackson - Book Report/Review Example

Review of the novel ‘Backseat Saints’ by Joshilyn Jackson “Backseat Saints” is a fictional novel that focuses on abusive relationships. The title of the book “Backseat Saints” reveals aspects of mysticism. The title also represents religion’s role in marriages and upbringing. Joshilyn Jackson, the author, manages to concentrate the contents of the book into a captivating and precise title which results into suspense among potential readers the novel. The setting of the novel is in different regions such as Amarillo, where she spent 5 years of marriage with a wife batterer, Berkeley, California where Rose traces her mother to and Chicago can be said to involve violent and unstable families. This is witnesses by the beatings Rose receives from both her father and her husband. The Setting of the novel is mainly in Amarillo, where she live with her husband for 5 year of battery and abuse, Berkeley, California, where rose traces her mother to and Chicago where she abruptly end her trip to find Jim Beverly, her high-school boyfriend, after finding and conversing with Arlene, his other former girlfriends. This book begins with an interesting quote: "It was an airport gypsy who told me that I had to kill my husband." (Jackson 1). This quote portrays the major theme of the novel which may be states as domestic violence. Domestic violence is witnesses by wife-battery action of Thom, Rose’s husband. Rose actions in trying to kill his husband were instigated by ‘advise’ from a gypsy woman at the airport. Rose continues to develop this theme through her plan to kill her husband as revenge for 5 years marriage characterized by aggressive domestic violence. In the book Backseat Saints, Rose Mae Lolley is a young girl who has perfected hiding bruises by wearing long sleeves. Her bruises are from her abusive father who she dreams to run away from. Ro Grandee is the wife to Thom who is also abusive. He beats her up to and makes her lie to ER nurses about causes of her broken bones. Ivy Rose searches for her mother who abandoned her as a child. The above three are one and the same person who will hence forth be referred to as Rose. The author of the book chronicles the fictional life of Rose and her life which is full of disappointment and violence. She is in search for happiness. Rose’s only confidant and friend is her old neighbor, Mrs. Fancy, whose old-fashioned sense of propriety restricts her from prying into the abusive marriage of Rose, but fails to keep her from taking Rose away from her house for coffee dates or favors. One such favor the trip to the airport. Here, Rose is offered a tarot card which reads from a gypsy woman who warns her to kill her husband. Otherwise he will kill her first. Rose believes that the woman is her mother who has paid a visit to her daughter to bring the prophecy that may save her life. However, neither woman admits their relationship. Before they part from each other, Rose steals a library book from the woman. She later uses the stolen book to retrace her mother back to Berkeley, California. Though the book is interesting, the book lacks a sense of surprise since almost all events in the novel go as planned. The characters are simple (their character lacks complexity). The husband to Rose is abusive and is easily assuaged with good Southern cooking and sex. Joe Grandee is the father in law to Rose. He withholds financial assistance from Rose and her husband until they agree to bear him a grandchild. Parker is a male character who lost his wife some years back. He is a ‘nice’ character in the story. He fears to initiate a relationship with Rose due to the pain associated with losing a loved one. Rose cuts her hair slightly after she makes up her mind to leave Thom. She transforms her hair from the single braid running down her back (she had the braid for her ended marriage’s duration) into a conspicuous bob. Rose changes her dressing style as a way to indicate change of her life. She replaces her flowery sweaters and skirt with Mrs. Fancy’s clothing from her old closet - blouses, skirts and mini dresses from the 1960’s and 1970’s. Whilst Jackson does try out with plot, she frequently leaves out Rose’s motivation for certain altering-changing decisions. Rose obsessively searches for down her high-school boyfriend, Jim Beverly, because a decade before he said he would kill anyone who battered her. After making a 34 hours trip to Chicago to locate one of his other previous girlfriends, Arlene, Rose suddenly ends her hunt for him. The book only provides a summary of her chat with Arlene, and the expected news that Jim was different from who she thought he had turn out to become. Some contradictory aspects in the book remain unexplained. Rose heavily relies on her Catholic faith. She hopes for the intervention of various saints in order for her to survive her journey. Rose also tries to murder her husband since a gypsy told her to do it. The Author of this book manages to cause a rooting for Thom’s murder and the happy reunion of rose with her mother. The author’s rich voice succeeds to present an intriguing and touching fictional novel. Works Cited Jackson, Joshilyn. Backseat Saints. New York, NY: Grand Central Publishing, 2012. Read More