Contemporary American novel about a family's attempt to salvage some value from the spilled milk into which its recent past has curdled. The book, a modern version of Peyton Place, is a story of atonement and redemption through love and commercial achievement.
Tour de Life – A review of the novel ‘Turner's Point’
“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated”- Confucius
In author Gordon Osmond’s latest book, ‘Turner’s Point’ starts off from where his last novel ‘Slipping on Stardust’ ended. It starts off with Eileen Brockway travelling from Johnson, Ohio to Hollywood, California to meet up with her estranged son Kyle. Eileen and her husband Dan’s marriage has dissolved after the explosive revelation that she had an affair with former matinee idol Adrian Conway and the fact that her son Kyle too had a fling with him when the star was in town. Apart from finding out about their son’s sexual orientation and to further muck up reality, Dan and his long time partner in law Raul relocates to San Diego to start their own law firm along with Dan’s new wife, Erin who also used to be Kyle’s formed girlfriend. The rest of the story shows how these tragic – comic sets of characters find redemption and rediscover purpose and direction in their personal and professional lives.
In Turner’s Point we are treated to people and characters that are described so vividly that they come to life and the narrative often rivals a conceivable future visual version of the book. The characters all seem like the people we might know and want to either hang out with or avoid at all costs. This book is filled with sub plot but they all work very well on their own. It’s amazing how the author manages to lure the reader into different directions with each little sub plot, and although it’s easy to lose focus or interest after a while when you are venturing out like this but here, in Turner’s Point, the quality of the writing ensures that your mind stays riveted throughout. In the end all the plot lines are brought together nicely and the reader is left with a more than fair share of glimpse into the ever interesting blue-collar life, which families across the board live out nonchalantly every single day.
Gordon’s prose is ironic and sarcastic and is layered with a biting wit that spews venom in all direction without any bias or discrimination. Case in point are the bits in the studio with Greg, an actor, Tash (Natasha), Kyle’s girl friend and Kirk Underwood, a writer trying to film his maiden movie – Journey. Another one is Eileen’s impromptu omelette making exercise in a diner. Trust me when I say this, you are going to chuckle your way around almost every single page of this book. This book has many references and metaphors to many pop and socio cultural phenomenon which are strewn throughout and you would have a ball with it, identifying and associating with them.
Kyle and Eileen’s twelve step program of rehabilitation, Kyle’s discovery of love and sexuality, Dan’s struggle to establish on his own, Raul’s reunion with his secret daughter, are some of the twists and turns that you will find in Turner’s Point. Amidst all the madness and the laughs, it’s tough to ignore the message about what all can go wrong when you give into your temptations; the secrets and the lies that can ruin your life and break up your family.
The ground Turner’s Point breaks is incredulous and exhilarating at the same time, it has a little bit of everything for everyone. Gordon Osmond’s voice is a very original voice that will shock you, humour you, make you think and in the end will leave you thoroughly entertained. His language and brilliance in dialogue writing has to be experienced first hand to appreciate it fully. I definitely look forward to more of Osmond’s brilliant writing in his future books.
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