(originally posted on September 28, 2008)
Heart, soul, kids who speak in voices far beyond their years, road trips, messed up expats, gas stations, and a bizarre unrequited love for Deborah Solomon of NYT Magazine fame - yeah, I'd say THE FLYING TROUTMANS has it all. The comparisons to LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE are too easy what with the surface similarities in plot, but Toews has a great deal more to say about running away from and returning to face responsibility, looking for redemption in the most far-flung places and how fractious sibling relationships remain an influence years thereafter. And yes, there's so much heart and soul in this book that it wraps you up tight and keeps you there weeks after that final page is turned.
