Rock Island Line

by David Rhodes

Book Overview

"An authentically great American novel" that follows a young man's descent into darkness after a tragic loss, and his struggle to find renewal (Booklist, starred review).

Raised in an idyllic Iowa town, young July Montgomery is rocked by the tragic death of his parents. Fleeing to Philadelphia, he fashions a ghostly existence in an underground train station. When a young woman appears to free him from his malaise, they return...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1571310606
• ISBN13: 9781571310606
• Release Date: September 2008
• Publisher: Milkweed Editions
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

his life on the streets of Philadelphia and how he gets back

This is a funny sort of story. Mr. Rhodes starts out introducing a man and his wife and how they came to be in the middle of Iowa, what they did for a living, etc. Then he introduces their son, what he did and how he lived. Then he introduces their grandson, what he did and how he lived. It just seems like he would have done more to describe or involve the man and his wife or their son, but the book ends up being about July, the grandson. Mr Rhodes has a way with words, almost poetic, and he uses them well, but before we get to know July, he waxes a lot on the man and his wife, and the son. I am confused as to why he treated them so throughly, I guess, but it was interesting. I guess in order to get from one place or time you have to travel over the terrain between where you are to where you are going. Wilson and Della run a store in Sharon Center, Iowa for many years. The tale of the store and their children is told. One son, John, stays home and takes care of the folks. He works on cars, gets married late in life and has a son, July. As time goes on, things happen and folks die. July runs away to Philadelphia, when he is eleven (11) years old. The rest of the story is of his life on the streets of Philadelphia and how he gets back to Sharon Center. I never understood the title. The only reference is once, on the train trip home, it is mentioned as the train they are taking. Maybe I missed something, but it was a wonderful story.

What a Treasure!

David Rhodes should be as well-known as any American author. Due to a an unfortunate motorcyle accident in the 1970s, he hasn't been as prolific as he uncertainly would have been, but thanks to Milkweed and the publication of "Driftless", he appeared on my radar. I have read two of David Rhodes' books, "Driftless" and "Rock Island Line", but not chronologically. After reading "Driftless", I had to find "Rock Island Line" and was grateful when Milkweek chose to reprint it. The story of July Montgomery's life, including his parents and grandparents, is both absorbing and profound. The story delves into some of life's most important questions, although I believe with utter certainty July's life is not one any reader has experienced. While his life is quite unique, it is painted so clearly and realistically by Mr. Rhodes, one can't help but believe it could be a biography instead of Mr. Rhodes' genius storytelling. July's life is hard and sad, yet he appreciates so much of what he has one has to reflect on their own priorities and values. The ending is not foreseen but ties to July's past and his response prophetically echoes his response to a similar experience when he was ten years old. What a great story that stays with the reader long after the final page is turned. If you haven't had the pleasure and privilege of reading a David Rhodes' novel yet, order it now or run - don't walk - to your nearest bookstore or library.

Amazing

I don't read a lot of novels but I'd read them much more if they were this good. He is an amazingly gifted writer. I wish he would start writing again.

Why is this out of print?

Early in his magisterial On Becoming a Novelist, John Gardner cites this book's virtuoso opening as proof that David Rhodes had a good "eye." But the book itself has fallen, not just out of print, but out of memory--I've met nobody who has read it and almost nobody who's heard of it, and Rhodes himself has successfully eluded multiple Googlings. Few readers will ever know that this book only gets better after the first two paragraphs.His eye for detail, his sentence rhythms, his invention, his brilliant characterization--short vignettes and descriptions that tell you so much about the characters that you pass beyond feeling you know all about them, to the stage where they all seem bottomless and mysterious--all mark Rhodes as a rare craftsman. It's the story of a boy driven from a paradisal life in Iowa to Philedalphia by the deaths of his parents ... but the heck with plot summary, it's all in the execution. Demand this book from your local library, deluge used bookstores with requests, until Rhodes pops up on some reprint publisher's backlist.