Two Roads – Kirby Roy III

Once again it is with great thanks to the author for asking if I would like to review his book.  Anybody else who would like to get in touch about reviews or anything else can seek me out on the Contact Ste! page

Two Roads is the story of Bryon and Kaya, two lovers coping with the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. And because Noah and Naamah had to be faithful beyond forty days and forty nights, then the waters that follow the storm aren’t the only troubles brewing between them.

But as the waters as well as the story ebb, they find themselves embarking upon the road less traveled. In the wake of true love, Kaya and Bryon find that through belief, destiny can be an outcome they share. And with that, the story ends with Kaya’s tears leading the road laid by their love.

There is always a choice in life, whether it be mundane or life changing and this gently paced book puts such decisions in context when faced with the stark backdrop of a natural disaster.

This overtly religious story chronicles a couple’s struggles through adversity and the challenges that can come unexpectedly turning life into something completely different but always challenging.  Of course it is how we react to such challenges that gives any story a universal appeal.

Two Roads is a family drama, one of indecision, relationship power plays and above all the journey towards coming to an understanding about what the right thing to do is.  Examining the views of others, rather than just from just one’s own perspective is what this story is all about, encompassing long distance relationships and what it means to have the power to affect someone’s life in the profoundest of ways.

This is the first book I have had the good fortune to come across, dealing with the after effects of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita…it’s fascinating to see a close up perspective of the aftermath and also feel the sense of dislocation and shock at the impact of the consequences.  Offsetting this though is the sense of community and southern spirit, the banding together of the people even when the government shockingly lack the capability to support its own people.

Now they can get a news crew in to film all that, but they can’t get in a truck with some water

The main protagonists Bryon and Kaya work well and the story is very focused perhaps a little to focused on the issues of the characters.  I felt the narrative lacked a sense of other things they did in their lives, which would have made them more well-rounded perhaps.  We all get a bit consumed by issues but we exist outside them but that is a minor point though as the characters are strong enough within the material they have to sustain interest.  The concentration on the main issues at hand does help to get across the point though rather than being to diffuse a narrative.

The book is structured so that each chapter is a snap shot of the road travelled, a coherent linear story that leads us through the lives of two people trying to understand life, themselves and what is expected of them in both moral and religious terms, which are the same thing on reflection, depending on your outlook on life.

The poignant and heartrending effects of natural disasters and how they are reconciled by the deeply affected are part of the dual focus of this book.  The amalgam of faith (both in each other and God) coupled with perseverance means that whatever your beliefs there is something to be taken from the words contained.