“This book grabbed me from the first page and never let go. I think it will be with me forever. It is an amazing odyssey, a fabulous tale, an incredible story.”
—Lee Harris, author of “Murder in Alphabet City”
and the “Cristine Bennett” series
“If you like road novels, and coming of age novels, and no holds barred depictions of life on the edge in 1950’s America, The Runaway is your meat. Strong and trenchant stuff.”
—Bill Pronzini, author of the “Nameless Detective” series
“Mike Walsh has written an original, funny, fearful, and compelling novel that blurs the line between fiction and memoir. A classic coming-of-age novel in every sense, fringed with shades of noir and a thumb-up to the highway sensibility, The Runaway is a novel that will rivet the reader’s attention.”
—Mitch Cullin, author of “Tideland” and “Whompyjawed”
“The Runaway is a Dickensian roman à clef written by an author who understands firsthand what America is like for kids who didn’t go to Yale or don’t play golf with the Bush family. It’s a messy catch-the-greased-pig contest called Life. If you’ve ever been a teenager and felt alone you’ll love this book. If you’ve ever run away from anything you’ll love this book. A first rate first novel.”
—Kent Harrington, author of “Red Jungle”
“A raw look at life on the road in the 1950’s from the point of view of a young boy who is the antithesis of Beaver Cleaver. This is a powerful tale that will stay with you long after you finish.”
—Chris Acevedo, owner of Clues Unlimited Bookstore, Tucson, Arizona
Tucson-based mystery and rare book dealer Mike Walsh’s first novel tells the story of a 15-year-old boy from Rhode Island. Michael O’Hara is a habitual runaway who flees from a broken home and the threat of being returned to a brutal reform school. A resourceful, self-confident kid, Michael has firsthand knowledge of the streets and the predatory adults who roam them. When he lights out, he has no particular destination; he is running from intolerable situations, not to anything.
Walsh’s picaresque novel deals with the adventures the youth encounters as he travels across country in 1951. As might be expected, every defective human being he meets views him as prey. Every time he hitches a ride, he faces a new threat. Along the way, he becomes involved with gangsters, murderers, thieves, potential rapists both male and female and, finally, cops and social workers who exploit his vulnerability for their own ends. But Michael uses his cunning, often in a witty way, not only to survive but to prevail. When he returns home on his sixteenth birthday after being on the road for a year, he is no longer a child in any sense.
There is a rough integrity to this novel that involves the reader, even though Walsh is no stylist and occasionally makes references that are a few years out of period. Several of the chapters in the book might have been developed into novel-length works on their own. In “Terre Haute,” Michael is picked up by a farmer who offers him a few days’ work. The guy seems very strange, and keeps making allusions to his wife: “You gonna like her, boy.” The farmer has plans to murder her, and tries to set up Michael, the transient, as a perfect fall guy for the police. He picked the wrong kid. This situation has great potential for a period noir.
Overall a worthy effort (though clearly a first one), Runaway gains both polish and power as it moves along. Michael O’Hara is a memorable character and Runaway is a compelling read.
—Robin H. Smiley Publisher
Firsts, The Book Collector’s Magazine
May 2006 Volume 16, Number 5
