Somewhere East of Me by Sean Vincent O'Keefe; Quirky and Contemplative Road Trip Across the U.S. and Into One's Memories and Soul

 

Somewhere East of Me by Sean Vincent O'Keefe; Quirky and Contemplative Road Trip Across the U.S. and Into One's Memories and Soul 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: Sean Vincent O'Keefe’s Somewhere East of Me is a road trip novel that brings plenty of weirdness, plenty of heart, and plenty of wisdom. It's the type of trip where the characters that you meet early on are not the same ones that you encounter later.

Jake coasts through his life with his ex wife,Angel. He then receives a call from his sister who informs him that their late mother's body is being exhumed from her South Carolina cemetery and they need a family member to witness it. Jake is unwillingly chosen so he drives from Colorado to South Carolina and along the way encounters some bizarre stops, kooky locals, and unwanted memories of his troubled past.

Somewhere East of Me is a book that is part quirky humor and part contemplative character study. We learn a great deal about Jake’s life before he takes his trip. He barely ekes out a living by writing content for various websites, buying and selling stuff on Craigslist, and living off the residuals of his one published novel which was well known enough to have been made into a horrible movie. He shows some signs of talent as his previous novel shows. On his trip, he meets people who have actually read and liked it. He also produces an interesting article about the inner child that receives a lot of buzz. These are flashes of talent which are buried under dry cynicism and a world weariness caused by a lifetime of scraping by. 

Jake’s relationship with Angel alternates between charming and frustrating. It’s sweet that the two former spouses are still in each other’s lives enough to live and work together and to speak well of each other even when the other is not present. But they also recognize each other as a crutch and a relationship that should have ended in a clean closing rather than just hanging on out of habit. The flashbacks to their meeting and how their relationship evolved from romance, to marriage, to divorce, to this awkward semi-”divorced but not really” phase reveals who they are and why they stay together. They hang onto one another as though they still need that Band-Aid against the outside world. The relationship may not be wise or healthy but it’s all that they have.

The highlight of the book by far is the road trip. Anyone who has driven cross country will recall the small towns with weird names, the seemingly endless roads, the off road restaurants and diners, and the strange tourist traps. It’s definitely a fun vicarious experience and a great mental vacation for those who are curious about the so-called flyover states. From Colorado, to Kansas. Missouri, Tennessee, and South Carolina, the Reader is treated to the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of the various states. It’s enough to make one want to pack their bags, rev the car, and drive cross country with the top down. 

One  of the quirkiest chapters is when Jake visits Prairie Dog Town, a tourist spot which is what it says on the tin: a home for prairie dogs designed to look like a small town. It is a fun scene that explores the eccentricity of people who can make a tourist site out of anything. It’s tacky, silly, funny, creative, original, and upholds that kind of unique spirit that these towns and their residents are known for. 

Jake also encounters many of the locals, mostly in dining spots. They vary from helpful and kind to taciturn and morose. Jake and the locals share interests, thoughts, goals, motives, memories, and advice.

 

The trip becomes a counter to Jake's relationship with his family. Flashbacks explore Jake’s complex and troubled relationship with his family, particularly his late mother. We experience why Jake turned out to become the hollow husk that he is and why he feels compelled to return to a home in which he was unhappy. His love hate relationship with his mother is tantamount to the person that he later became and in some ways wants to move beyond. This trip is a means of coming to terms with his upbringing, how it hindered his current life, and how he can let go and start over with new fresh insights. 

 It’s interesting that in the final analysis, Jake develops close bonds with strangers on his trip more so than he does with members of his own family, perhaps because there is a distinct lack of baggage and dashed expectations. The locals give Jake some insights into his own character and peer into his relationship with his mother in a mature and nuanced way.

By the time Jake reaches South Carolina, he has reconciled his past of unease, sadness, and disappointment with his recent present of someone who has actually seen life instead of just floating along within it. This experience permits him to take charge of his life, let go of his past, and finally plan for a real future.