Liberty Lanes - Review

I borrowed this book from my Public Library.

Paperback, 192 pages
2011 by University of Nevada Press
ISBN 0874178576 (ISBN13: 9780874178579)

As an oldster, reading about oldsters, I believe that Robin Troy has given poignancy and truthfulness to the subject of old age..

Her short novel Liberty Lanes is about relationships among a group of long-time friends in a small Montana town. All are more than 70 years old; they bowl together, have parties, and generally enjoy having fun. Then stalwart member Nelson Moore prevents one of the women, Fran, from choking to death on a chicken bone. Nelson is a hero; he is interviewed by the local papers. And that's where their interactions get a bit wobbly. It's also when they notice that Nelson is losing his cognitive abilities.

Each chapter is written from a different point of view, beginning and ending with Nelson, as the group is suddenly very conscious of previously ignored circumstances. Fran becomes frightened by her own impermanence; Bethany, always courageous, harbors worry that she could have done something to offset Nelson’s condition; Alistair (blind since in his 20s) seems to have insight about each of them that they don’t realize themselves. The young journalist Hailey James eventually notices Nelson’s condition, too, but not before the interactions of the group have given her reason to contemplate her own relationships—or lack thereof.

I’m fortunate that no one in my family has suffered from Alzheimer’s or even mild senility. But I have several friends from whom I’ve learned about this sometimes sudden disease and caring for those who have it. Robin Troy’s depiction of Nelson, slowly losing bits of himself, is well written, and seems to mirror what I’ve heard from my friends. It would have been easy for this book to be a real downer—especially since I’m in this age group, but Liberty Lanes gives a dignity to it all that for me was unexpected.