Big Diehl: The Road Home
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Uncategorized Leave a comment. Army two decades prior to the implementation of DADT. Hopefully it will end with the dissolution of this onerous, absurd policy. Unfortunately, with the political route of progressives from the U. House of Representatives, and the seeming lack of courage from the White House to aggressively pursue an end to DADT, the wait for the cessation of this despicable policy may not be forthcoming for quite some time.
Probably an unnecessary caveat here: I cannot presume to know if the lesbian experience in the American military mirrors that of gay men.
Big Diehl Series by George Seaton
The passion to write is, for writers, overpowering; an obsession sated only by putting one word after another in such a way that there emerges a kind of inevitability to the flow that, when finished, incites the birds to sing, the sun to shine, the kittens to purr, the dogs… You get the point. I suppose, though, it is in perfecting that inevitability where the rub occurs.
I, as all writers, have written a perfect sentence ten-thousand times. In some cases that perfect sentence is found to stink. We make our little adjustments. We wonder how we could have been so self-satisfied with our creation yesterday, only to find that today what we thought was the essence of creative genius at work on a Tuesday, becomes slush on a Wednesday.
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Most of us do eventually finish something. That short story finally comes together—all five-thousand words just where they ought to be. The kinks in the novella are finally smoothed over, ironed out. The book yes, something to hold in our hands , and the electronic edition that those with a bent for luminous words from plastic wizardry find preferable to the death of trees.
Big Diehl Series
Oh, and it becomes a satisfying moment. Unless we are stabled with a publisher who coddles their writers as attendants to kings, our most onerous tasks are ahead of us. Firstly, we must announce the birth, the ascension of our perfect creation from the publisher. We blog about it. Oh, we tire of Hamburger Helper! And on and on it goes. No rest for the weary. Eventually the reviews appear.
Not so good ones. Ones that bring your fingertips to your head, scratching, as you wonder, Where the hell did that come from? Did they read the book? I am an introvert. I did well for myself within my adamantine shell where, at times, I out muthered the endless supply of obtuse SOBs who happened to darken my door. Yes, I was a bureaucrat. The SOBs were, yes, politicians. I admit I was playing the role required of me all those years ago. Inside, though, I was a writer yearning to get out of the particular hell that—I understood, and understood quite well—paid the mortgage, put food on the table.
I wanted to drop the facade. I wanted to be…me. I detest the persistent, nagging, oppressive necessity to sell myself, my writing.
I watch in awe—Yes! How do they do it? Gathering 2, friends on FB, and then ignoring most of them. Some of them have answered that question with an offhand explanation that they manage their time well. Reality begs the question: If you want to be a successful writer—read Sales! The inevitability I seek in my writing does, sadly, metamorphose into another quite strident inevitability: You know how to do it. On Writing , Scribbles Leave a comment. Apart from the dreadful cover on this book, it is one of the very best books in this genre that I've ever read.
There are few authors that can reel me in like this and keep my interest like George Seaton does. In this book, Big Diehl is out of the Army and looking for his dad, who he wants to pay back for the molestation he suffered at his dad's hands. I love the family that is 'made' here. Big doesn't have the traditional family; just one that he's made for himself.
The people he meets along the way is what makes this book stand out. He gets caught up in murder and terrorism before he makes it back to where he belongs.
I'd recommend this book to anyone, not just people who love gay themed books. The Road Home" by George Seaton. The Road Home" by George Seaton is about many things. It is the story of a man's reckoning with a childhood and adolescence of neglect, abuse and overwhelming pain. It is the story of a soldier's return from war and the challenges he experiences in attempting to re-integrate into civilian life.
It is the story of a man's search for a sense of belonging and for love. It is also a story about the intersection of people and lives and how life's chance encounters can alter the direction of a man's life sometimes putting him in danger, and at other times how the kindness of strangers can help save his life. Through his exceptional prose and characterisation author George Seaton interweaves all these themes in this novel offering the reader an incredibly soulful story that chronicles Diehl's journey and his unvarying search for life's possibilities.
A journey that, upon high school graduation, has Diehl escaping the misery and pain of a Laramie, Wyoming trailer park and his abusive father, leaving behind his lover and first love Joe Tye. The army beckons with possibilities and Diehl enlists. While he waits to report for duty at Fort Polk, Louisiana, he meets Maddie and Chris in Casper, Wyoming, who take Diehl in and along with their ranch hand Tony offer Diehl not only acceptance and friendship but also love and family.
During his six years of military service, Diehl is part of the first contingent of soldiers to land in Iraq. His actions in the army see him emerging as a highly respected mentor and leader but his experiences also heavily burden him with the dark aftermath of the horrors and trauma of war. Diehl's return to civilian life and the road home are not easy. Before he can get on with his life, Diehl wants justice for the wrongs inflicted upon him as a child.
Had it not been for a Border Collie sitting in the middle of the highway that he names Jack, Diehl's plans would have likely ended in another tragedy. As Diehl continues his journey with his constant companion Jack, a brief encounter with a young woman has him on the run for a crime he did not commit. His adopted family, Maddie, Chris and Tony arrive to help, and in the ensuing upheaval past and present converge as the man that Diehl has always loved above all others, Joe Tye, re-enters his life.
And throughout this difficult and often dark journey, Diehl continues to seek out life's possibilities and a home of his own. Seaton's writing of Diehl's story what immediately comes to mind is one of sublime fluidity whereby the prose rolls, undulates and curves onto the page effortlessly drawing the reader into the twists and turns of Diehl's journey, seamlessly alternating between past and present, and gradually revealing plot and sub plots, the character of Big Diehl and the multitude of both occasional and recurring secondary characters.
The narrative is written in the third person and Mr. Seaton ascribes an abundant and intimate voice to Diehl. The character is written with such emotional depth, intelligence and authenticity that he becomes most tactile to the reader.
A deeply introspective and honest man that overcomes adversity, despite his past, the horrors of war and the tragedies and injustices that befall upon him, never losing the core of himself, his humanity or his innate ability for compassion and love. By the author's description, Big Diehl is not a large man in physical stature, nor is he an extraordinary man, and while he is a character that is tangible to the reader, Diehl also emerges as the quintessential fictional hero that is at times larger that life.
Seaton also gives an expansive voice to many of the secondary characters in this story - from Diehl's father Roy, to Joe, to Joe's mother Ophelia. Everything, from their rich perspective, the realistic dialogue, to their manner of the vernacular language and idiomatic expression offer the reader an intimate glimpse and understanding of the poverty, oppressiveness, hopelessness and "dead end" life of the Laramie trailer park that propelled Diehl to escape.
The author's textured descriptions of the land and its people, provide rich imagery and a genuine portrayal of rural and small town life and culture where the High Plains meet the Rockies and where much of Diehl's story unfolds. As a reader I'm constantly in search of that one book in whose story I can lose myself. A story in which I willingly let go of the reins of my reality and allow the author to take me on a journey into a world and lives crafted onto the page from the author's imagination, sensitivities and experiences.
The Road Home" by George Seaton is such a book and it is the quality of the writing that makes it so. Prepare to sink into this wonderfully written story, to fall in love with this unforgettable character and to not want to come-up for air until you've read all pages. And then prepare to want to read this book all over again.
Simply put - I loved this story, I loved this character, but most of all I love how this man writes. One person found this helpful 2 people found this helpful. A sizeable hint that there's some lousy parenting afoot is if the father gives his child a name that's a pun.
But Roy Diehl's bestowing the moniker "Big" on his son is the least of his sins. After Big's mother died when Big was about ten years old, his father noticed the boy's "softness" and started "loving him too much. Escaping his father and a Wyoming trailer park, Big joined the army, doing his best to hide his homosexuality despite an occasional mutual attraction with other young soldiers.
Big Diehl is a very good book and I enjoyed reading it. Queer Magzine Online gave Diehl a very nice review. We blog about it. They put him up at their ranch whe Big Diehl pronounced Big Deal escapes his going-nowhere ranch life in Laramie, Wyoming the day after he graduated high school. Amazon Drive Cloud storage from Amazon. While waiting for the army to process his paperwork, he is temporarily adopted by a pair of hospitable lesbians who own a local bar. But before he can once again embrace that family, including Tony, a ranch hand with a military history of his own, Diehl's single-minded purpose of revenge against his father precipitates events that turn his life in a direction never envisioned.
His journey back home from war comprises most of this compelling story. Seaton's novel is hard to classify. It could be regarded as a Western considering the amount of time spent on ranches, the attention paid to Stetson and Resistol hats, and particularly, the rich twang Seaton gives the voices of the majority of the characters. It could also be considered a bit of a suspense novel.
Big gets himself mixed up in a string of crimes, and the long arm of the law, in the form of Laramie County Sherriff Grout, is closing in on him fast.
It also could be construed as a romance and a nicely erotic one although Big seems to fall in love with regularity. Possibly, the label that fits this book best is literary fiction. Seaton explores the nature of instinct in this work, be it the instinct of a soldier to know when a civilian is dangerous or for a lawman to know when a suspect is innocent or for a dog to know when a human is worth befriending.
Through the motif of instinct, Seaton shows a basic faith in mankind's good nature while conceding that when it comes to romance, Big's genial instinct to love one and all may not be workable in every situation. The best part of this book is the characters, particularly Big Diehl himself. He is honest, sharp-minded, kind-hearted and has an unaffected masculinity and confidence that make him deeply charismatic, even desirable. Diehl's new dog, Jack, is also remarkably adorable even if it seems all he does is eat cheeseburgers. His undying affection for Diehl is refreshing and symbolic of the adoration many who cross Diehl's path feel for him.