Turn Signal
Wednesday, February 23rd, 2005
Howard Owen
Long-haul trucker Jack Stone picks up an old man who turns out to be his muse. He gives up trucking for a delivery job that will give him more time to work on the novel inspired by the notebook the old man leaves in his truck. He risks everything, and losses much, in the process, and finally has to resort to the threat of violence to get his novel read.
While telling the tale of Jack Stone’s novel, Owen also tells Jack’s story. Jack is a one-time high school football hero who suppressed his desire to write so that he would fit the mold of small town jock. A tragic accident killed his dream of playing college ball and getting a degree. Intertwined with Jack’s story are the stories of his family and classmates, stories of normal disappointments, triumphs, and tragedies.
Owen’s novel succeeds on several levels: as fantasy, as a true-to-life character study, as a story of typical American lives, and, surprisingly, as a crime drama.
