I finished the book on Fr 4/29/19, but failed to enter it on the blog. I re-read the book and finished it on Mo 7/22/19 because this was my pick for the July, 2019 selection for the contemporary book club.
I loved the book. I am a big fan of the 'unreliable narrator' and Ella Robina certainly qualifies. The whole novel could be seen as one long suicide note, but her logic is irrefutable.
From the novel's page at wikipedia:
"John and Ella Robina have shared a wonderful life for more than fifty years. Now in their eighties, Ella suffers from cancer and has chosen to stop treatment. John has Alzheimer's. Yearning for one last adventure, the self-proclaimed "down-on-their-luck geezers" kidnap themselves from the adult children and doctors who seem to run their lives to steal away from their home in suburban Detroit on a forbidden vacation of rediscovery."
With Ella as his vigilant copilot, John steers their '78 Leisure Seeker RV along the forgotten roads of Route 66 toward Disneyland in search of a past they're having a damned hard time remembering. Yet Ella is determined to prove that, when it comes to life, a person can go back for seconds—sneak a little extra time, grab a small portion more—even when everyone says you can't.
Kevin and Cindy are The Robina's two adult children. Cindy is several years older than Kevin. He was thirteen when she was married and out of the home. They both have two children.
The plot in the movie is slightly different-
"Traveling in their family Leisure Seeker vintage recreational vehicle, John and Ella Spencer take one last road trip from Boston to the Hemingway House in the Florida Keys before his Alzheimer's and her cancer can catch up with them."
Comments about the book:
"The author somehow managed to find the perfect balance of sad and touching moments mixed with the right amount of humor so the book isn't completely depressing."
" The End isn't on the horizon anymore, it's on the to-do list".
A NURSING HOME WORKER'S COMPLAINT ABOUT THE BOOK:
"Yes this was her life to live but the selfishness of what she did and the pain she caused her children cannot be overlooked in my eyes. The horrible danger she also put her husband in was unforgivable to me.
I just finished reading this novel 10 minutes ago and wanted to write this review fresh. Without giving any spoilers I have to say it left me angry. Not the way I want to feel at the end of a novel."
Quotes from the book:
“I realize that this is the problem with photographs. After a while, you can’t remember if you’re recalling the actual memory or the memory of the photograph. Or perhaps the photograph is the only reason you remember that moment.”
“What is truly amazing is that before you know it, sixty years go by and you can remember maybe eight or nine important events, along with a thousand meaningless ones. How can that be?”
“You spend your life so worried about what others think, when in reality, people mostly don’t think. On the few occasions when they do, true, it is often something bad, but one has to at least admire the fact that they’re thinking at all.”
“After a while, just staying alive becomes a full-time job. No wonder we need a vacation.”
“It doesn’t upset me to think about dying. What upsets me is the idea of John being alone after his spell passes. The idea of one of us without the other."
“Why does the world have to destroy anything that doesn’t fit in? We still can’t figure out that this is the most important reason to love something”
“what you wanted more than anything right then, was simply to sleep in your own bed, eat in your own kitchen, sit on your own toilet. You wanted to stop seeing the world. You wanted to see your world. So we would drive.”
“We pass a church with a massive blue neon cross, and I am spiritually lifted by feelings of great religiosity. No, I’m not, for crying out loud. Don’t be ridiculous. But what I do love about this road is how the gaudy becomes grand, how tastelessness is a way of everyday life. You have to admire how these people shamelessly try to get your attention as you drive by, whether they’re trying to feed you a hamburger or a savior."
“Know this: even if you’re like us and still doddering around above ground, someone out there from your past is probably pretty sure that you’re dead by now."
Link to Discussion Questions:
https://www.readinggroupguides.com/reviews/the-leisure-seeker/guide
Ella on Will Rogers-
“Anyone who never met a man he didn't like just isn't trying hard enough.”
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