Narrow the Road

by

James Wade

An historical fiction novel with a desperate quest, loyal companions, and coming-of-age.

Narrow the Road by Texas author James Wade is a wonderful work of historical fiction, and with its engaging main characters and gripping plot, it reminded me of a true-to-life, epic fantasy quest set in 1930s Depression-besieged East Texas. The storytelling is mesmerizing, the language immersive, and the atmospheric setting had me glued to the tale from start to finish. 

With the bank on the brink of foreclosing on their farm, his cotton crop doomed and rotting in the fields, and his mother slowly dying in her bed as she refuses to travel to Houston for treatment, fifteen-year-old only child William Carter sets out on a journey through East Texas, a last-ditch effort to find his absentee father. Thomas Carter had joined hundreds of fellow WWI veterans to march on Washington, D.C., and appeal to lawmakers to provide benefits to those who’d fought and were left hanging when they returned home. While their protests were disregarded, Thomas had failed to return home to his wife and son; his last communication to them was a cryptic letter sent from another East Texas town, some distance from their farm outside Manning. With his mother on her deathbed, refusing to budge until her husband returns home, William sets out for his father’s last known location, accompanied by his best friend, Ollie Leek. 

William is a young man with much too much on his shoulders and long out of options. During their journey, he and Ollie, and later Lena, meet an abundance of characters, both good and bad, including men who had served with or met Thomas Carter. Through the men’s commentary and diary entries, William discovers another side to the man he knows as his father. Ollie is William’s boon companion, and a truer “ride or die” friend would be hard to find. While William is the serious, goal-focused, straight man, Ollie is the much-needed comic relief, the wild hair, the accidental genius, and steadfast, loyal friend who knows William like a brother.

Early on, the action tends to pause at times as the author sidesteps to fortify the overall historical foundation of the story or expand the main characters’ exposure to life at that particular time, resulting in a more immersive experience for the reader. This development proves timely as the action really ramps up later in the story. 

The East Texas setting provides a diverse terrain for the main character's quest, with farmland long overdue for rain, deep, dark forests, swampland, and small, barely there towns. Wherever the location, though, the author delivers vivid word pictures that place the reader in the moment alongside his characters. While this is not the first novel of this author that I’ve read, it is my favorite. 

I recommend NARROW THE ROAD to readers of historical fiction, especially those who enjoy coming-of-age stories, Depression era, or East Texas settings. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from the author through Lone Star Literary Life Book Campaigns.