"Well, if there's one bit of advice I can offer," George continued, "it's make the most of your talent. If you don't, no one else will. The world is too full of missed opportunities."
George, 79-year-old protagonist of Homeward Bound by Richard Smith, knows about the missed opportunities only too well. In his younger years, he played in bands and supported some of the biggest acts from the sixties until he retired. He had a great potential but never made it as a rock star.
Recently bereaved, he's been living for the last several months with his daughter Bridget and her family, including a rather nasty, bullying husband Toby and teen granddaughter Tara.
We first meet him as a reluctant visitor to the Lastdays Rest Home. The problem is, it was not his idea in the first place. He doesn't feel ready to move to a retirement home, and on top of that, what would he do with his much played and well loved piano and his vast collection of records, neither of which would be welcome at the Lastdays. Mrs Williams, the proprietor at the rest home, is talking to George as if she's addressing a class of under fives.
In a defiant mood, George offends Mrs Williams, who promptly withdraws an offer of a place.
George meets one of the "birthday boys" in the nursing home, called Bernard, who warns him, "Don't listen to them. they take everything away from you. Your possessions. Your freedom. Your life..."
Toby is fuming. He doesn't want George to stay with them any longer, "Neither your mother nor I can nursemaid him", he tells Tara.
On the spur of the moment, George offers Tara to come and share his house in London, when she starts Uni. The arrangement would be - she will look after her Grandfather, and live for free in his house.
She is going to study Modern History and Politics, the last fifty years, or as George says, "The last fifty years? That's not history. That's my life."
He comes up with an idea of doing a musical induction for Tara, a history of the last fifty years through his records. "He was excited by the idea of playing his favourite music to her, about how much music spanned the generations. The thought of it made his stomach churn. It was unmistakably a yearning, a longing to create, to be heard, to perform. He knew he wasn't so much a has-been as a never-was".
Tara is an aspiring musician as well, though her idea of music is different from her grandfather's. Their musical tastes clash.
Her boyfriend Mark is another musical prodigy, who thinks he's going to find fame with his original scores. "Mark's music was - how did Tara describe it to her parents? Individual. His uni course encouraged experimentation, and Mark had embraced the concept wholeheartedly".
Tara is unsure about her relationship with Mark, in fact, she is not sure about anything. She seems going with the flow, rather than having any particular ideas of what she wants to do.
Slowly, Tara and George begin bonding over the music, and discovering each others' dreams and aspirations.
George is living in the past. He missed his chance of becoming a famous musician, but when an opportunity is presented to him to make a proper recording in a studio, he grabs it, even if it sounds super dodgy. "His longing to be heard, to be noticed and acknowledged may have dimmed and suffocated over the years, but at least... he still had it".
George is a very likable character. He has never revealed the reason why his musical career hasn't taken off. You can't but admire his spark of defiance, loyalty to his family and love of music.
The title of the book is inspired by the title of Simon and Garfunkel's 1966 hit. There is a lovely anecdote which George tells about the inscription on the cover of the record he owns.
As George gets more frail, and his health suffers, it is obvious that Tara cannot cope with looking after her Grandfather and studying at the Uni. There are inevitable decisions to be made, and George decides to start looking for a new place for himself.
Homeward Bound is a beautiful and life-affirming story, touching and warm, interweaving loss and regrets with second chances, heart-breaking and hopeful at the same time.
The beginning of the book made me think about my late friend A, who wouldn't consider the idea of moving into a retirement home. I can see why she defiantly stayed at home until the very end. There she was surrounded by her vast collection of books, and pictures and all the mementoes, and not put into a sterile, cold environment, where carers treat you with indifference (and I've seen places like that too).
It's not surprising that I found this book emotional and endearing. It is a heart-warming story of the power of music and family bonds.
P.S. I like the book cover, with its deceptively simple design of the piano keyboard, with George leading the way, and Tara following in his footsteps.
Purchase Links
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/homeward-bound-richard-smith/1136313433?ean=2940163088645https://www.amazon.co.uk/Homeward-Bound-Richard-Smith/dp/1838591591/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
https://www.waterstones.com/book/homeward-bound/richard-smith/9781838591595
https://www.ink84bookshop.co.uk/product-page/homeward-bound-by-richard-smith
Author Bio
Richard Smith is a writer and storyteller for
sponsored films and commercials, with subjects as varied as caring for the
elderly, teenage pregnancies, communities in the Niger delta, anti- drug
campaigns and fighting organised crime. Their aim has been to make a positive
difference, but, worryingly, two commercials he worked on featured in a British
Library exhibition, ‘Propaganda’.
Twitter: @RichardWrites2
This review is part of the blog tour for Homeward Bound.
Many thanks to Richard Smith, Matador and Rachel's Random Resources for my copy of the book!
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