Driving to Vernonia

By George Byron Wright

Edmund Joyce Kirby-Smith s life is in ruins. He thinks the way back from his rage and despair is to find Dick Vic a man who used to have answers. Driving to Vernonia is a penetrating story of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0963265555
• ISBN13: 9780963265555
• Release Date: October 2009
• Publisher: C3 Publications
• Length: 204 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Age Range: 15 years and up

Customer Reviews

The Best Read Yet

I have read all 4 of George Wright's novels. This one is, I think, his best yet. I have numerous bookshelves full of novels by many writers, some well known, some not so much. It is always a great pleasure to come across a new writer who knows how to put a story together. That happened with Mr. Wright. His books are easy to read, interesting and easy for me to identify with the characters. "Driving to Vernonia" is no exception. I grew up in the Portland area and spent my teen years working at an independent grocery with some very interesting people. I am now a grizzled 70 year old AF vet but this book really brought back memories. George tells a great story and this one is a page turner till the end. Do yourself a favor. Pick up one of George's novels and have yourself a rollicking good time with a great story.

Wright does it again

I have read all four of Wright's books and have been rewarded each time by his warm and conversational style of writing. But Driving to Vernonia rises to the top. Edmund's search for a mentor who shaped his early life mirrors the author's own search for a long lost mentor. It is a gripping tale of persistence, frustration and reward. The search restores Edmund's sense of self-worth and gives him a new chance to rebuild his shattered life. Will he seize the opportunity? Read the book. You won't be sorry. I wasn't. Wright is truly a wordsmith.

Page-turning mystery in rural Oregon

I have to confess: I love George Wright's novels! The dimensional characters, the well-rendered settings, the sense of humor, and the compelling plots, all keep me turning the pages. In DRIVING TO VERNONIA, disaster erupts in the life of one man, Edmund Kirby-Smith. His company fires him; his wife visits her sister in Seattle and doesn't come home. He's reduced to a shoddy rented apartment where his only friend is the derelict Felix, with whom he shares long periods of mutually supportive silence. What might be a grim set-up is transformed, though, by Edmund's sense of irony, and the quirkiness of the folks he encounters. More important, Wright plants the seed of a mystery which begins to grow. Where is the man who mentored Edmund as a boy? Can he be found? Will he have redemptive wisdom to offer Edmund now? As Edmund closes in on this missing person, it seems the quest itself is enough to rehabilitate his self-confidence and zest for life. This is not to say the final scenes don't pay off enormously, but I don't want to give them away.

A Satisfying Drive

George Wright has a talent for dredging up old memories. Driving to Vernonia is a well-crafted story, and a poignant reminder that you should show appreciation to those who have helped you along the way.

This novel roars down the road of life, full of twists and turns

I settled in for a Northwest novel full of local color, and ended up discovering the lead character,Edmund taking me careening down the road of life full of plot twists and turns and even pot-holes I never expected. Vivid characters and a fast paced unfolding of events keep me reading right to the last page. I wish the publisher had put the "Motivation For A Nowel" with pictures the author's real life mentor in the back of the book as an appendix. But it was a great read, and worth every penny I paid for the book.