The Road to Dalton

By Shannon Bowring

Europa Editions: June 6, 2023

250 pages, $17.99

The Road to Dalton is an auspicious debut. Shannon Bowring is operating in Richard Russo and Anne Tyler territory in this hybrid of a novel and interconnected stories. Set in the isolated town of Dalton in northern Maine in 1990, it depicts the multilayered and interdependent lives of several residents.

There’s library director Trudy and her husband Richard, who took over his father’s thriving medical practice. Bev is Trudy’s best friend, who has recently left her managerial position at an assisted living facility. Bev’s son Nate is a police officer who is discovering he may not be well suited to the job. His marriage to Bridget appears to be on solid ground until their baby girl arrives. Rose, the waitress at the diner, is in an abusive relationship with town troublemaker Tommy. Teenager Greg has a weight problem that is exacerbated by his confusion over being attracted to his childhood friend Angela and her boyfriend Henry.

Bowring examines four marriages, a secret relationship, the trials of advancing age, guilt over things seen and unseen, and the nature of life in a town of 1,000 where people are closely connected for better or worse. She covers a lot of ground in 250 pages through crisp and revealing dialogue and telling details. And, as with Russo’s work, there is a distinct sense of time and place. Dalton is a town easily missed as you pass by momentarily and instantly forgotten by those who happen to notice it. But it’s home to people with complex inner lives and a tangled net of relationships.

The third person omniscient narration presents each character as they see themselves and as others see them, creating dramatic irony that should keep most readers absorbed. You will care about these fully realized characters as they deal with their desires and disappointments. I was pleased to read that Bowring is already at work on a sequel.