The Road Home: From the Sunday Times bestselling author

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My book of the year 2008. You cannot argue with literature that makes you laugh, cry and change the way that you think of the world. And this book does all three. In this instance, the central character is Lev, an unemployed father from eastern Europe, who travels to London to seek work. Through Lev's eyes, we get a chillingly accurate view of London through the eyes of a newly arrived, modern-day economic migrant, and it's not pretty. She is staying with friends, who agree to shelter Lev. They help Lev find a room in an apartment. His new landlord, Christy Slane, is another immigrant—this time from Ireland—and a plumber. Christy has lost his wife and can rarely see his daughter. He is sliding into alcoholism. Christy and Lev soon become firm friends.

The Road Home - Rose Tremain

P.406 "In Lev's kitchen - his adored domain - the gas flames burned an obedient blue, leaped to yellow on sudden, triumphant command; the salamanders glowed and shimmered to violent vulcan red. And the sight of all this rainbow heat could often wake in Lev a feeling of joy as absolute as anything he'd ever felt. Because he'd mastered it. At long last in his life, these roaring, unquantifiable wonders had become obedient to his will." a b Rustin, Susanna (10 May 2003). "Profile: Rose Tremain". The Guardian . Retrieved 24 November 2018. Singh, Anita (4 June 2008). "Author Rose Tremain wins the Orange Prize for Fiction". Archived from the original on 15 January 2020 . Retrieved 7 November 2008.

Significant Cigarettes | Themes

As is the experience of the majority of the immigrant population, Lev is sceptical of his destination and is emotionally attached to his own country, which he thinks will continue to be the place where his heart is. The constant need for a cigarette, while obviously a result of his addiction, is also reflective of his underlying anxiety as people who are dependent on a substance usually feel the need to consume them during stressful situations. The momentary comfort of the cigarette is not only the sole source of comfort that he can hope for in this daunting journey, but it also provides him with a sense of familiarity, being one of the few remaining physical connections to his life in Auror.

The Road Home Summary | SuperSummary

I think I really loved this novel. And I say "I think" because it wasn't after having finished the book and after having fallen asleep with the last chapter on my mind that I realised how affected I was by Lev's story. Within the exam, you will be asked to compare one text to another of your choice. Here are 3 example essays that you could practice. You must consider the use of language and structure in your answer: British author Rose Tremain’s novel The Road Home (2007) follows Eastern European migrant Lev as he tries to make a life for himself in London. Tremain is one of Britain’s most prominent living novelists, best known for 1989’s Restoration. The Road Home was awarded the 2008 Orange Prize for Fiction. Dame Rose Tremain DBE FRSL (born 2 August 1943) is an English novelist, short story writer, and former Chancellor of the University of East Anglia. [1] Life [ edit ]

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In terms of writing - the characterisation is second to none and the pathos is interrupted with some truely hilarious set pieces that dont seem too convulted. The mobile ringing in a concert performance was one such moment. For a writer more accustomed to the distant past of the historical novel, the story of a modern-day economic migrant is a bold move, but Rose Tremain does not disappoint. The Road Home is thematically rich, dealing with loss and separation, mourning and melancholia, and what might underlie the ostensibly altruistic act of moving to another country to earn money for one's family. As always, her writing has a delicious, crunchy precision: plants sold in a market are 'fledgling food'; winter is described as having a 'deep, purple cold'; new buds on larch trees are 'a pale dust, barely visible to the eye'. He finds life in London confusing and frightening, and the tiny amount of money he’s brought with him certainly isn’t going to sustain him, but he’s determined, and slowly but surely, and with the help and kindness of those he meets along the way, he makes a kind of life for himself. a b c d e f g "Tremain, Dame Rose, (born 2 Aug. 1943), novelist and playwright". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. doi: 10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U38001. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4 . Retrieved 2 August 2021.