Rose Tremain’s lackadaisical writing style is perfect for laid-back leisure reading. At first I had a hard time getting into her detailed voice, but a 5-hour flight across country last week gave me all the time I needed to devour all 411 pages.

The Road Home is a winding story about a middle-aged Russian who loses his job and his wife and must leave his daughter to travel to England in search of work. Mixed up in a society he doesn’t understand, Lev struggles to find his place in his new country, overcoming homelessness, loneliness, heart break and naïveté without becoming cynical.

Tremain gives insight in immigration and puts a face on a foreigner while treating readers to simple, vivid descriptions.

“The cola seemed to pinch at his teeth.”

“with moles like splashes of mud on her face”

“daylight pale as milk”

“It was a street of choky little houses.”

While some overly descriptive books come across contrived, Tremain succeeds in opening up a world foreign to most readers. Bring this book on a long car drive or vacation. You’ll feel just a little empty when you come to page 411, and you’ll have a new appreciation of immigrants.

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