After I finished Backman’s novella, I still had several hours left of travel. Enter Lee Smith’s Silver Alert (Algonquin 2023), which I downloaded on Libby. A North Carolina resident, Smith’s writing vibrates and roars with the Southern gothic and grotesque – the voices her writing bring to life echo Flannery O’Connor and William Faulkner, loud and unforgettable on the page (or in this case, in my ear). It’s been a few years since I’ve read any Smith, but this was a no-brainer.
I’ve read some less than favorable reviews of the novel, which were written by folks who either aren’t familiar with or don’t enjoy the genre, and who clearly didn’t actually read the novel. I’d advise that you ignore them (and me) and decide for yourself.
The novel is one of dark humor. Herb Atlas, a wealthy man on wife number three, is struggling with overbearing adult children who want him to put his beautiful wife into a facility. Susan, his younger wife, is suffering from early onset Alzheimer’s, and Herb is trying to take care of her the best he can, but she keeps running off the home health nurses. Enter Dee Dee (or Renee as she introduces herself to Herb), a young woman running from a childhood of abuse, human trafficking, assault, and addiction. She’s a manicurist, and a rather hot one at that, and Herb hires her for Susan. (Despite having not seen his penis in years, he is still a bit of the womanizer.) Susan gravitates to the young woman, a peace settling on her that Herb hasn’t seen in a long time.
Dee Dee is dedicated to making a different life for herself, a new life. She’s taking on new clients, making money, and has fallen in love with a rich but strange young man. But the past rears its head when her dear friend begs for help, a type of help that isn’t exactly legal. It’s a past that becomes a present that is going to catch up with her. Before it can, Herb’s family swoops in. He’s been diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer and can no longer provide for himself, let alone Susan. Despite his protests, the children are moving both of them to a facility. When Dee Dee comes to tell him goodbye, he decides to take her for a spin in his yellow Porsche – a car he’d bought for his beloved Susan, and a car whose keys had been hidden from him. He’s not supposed to be driving, and Renee/Dee Dee is not supposed to be with him. But the pair take on the Keys together, the silver alert flashing as they drive.
It’s a quick read of found family, dark humor, and second and third and even seventh chances. Read this book.
A Girl Named Tommi 