Monday, May 30, 2016

The Vacation by Polly Horvath

       I really enjoyed "Everything on a Waffle" by Polly Horvath.  I had read it and posted about it a few years back (here).  Last week I started reading "The Vacation" by same author.  It is hilarious.

       Henry lives with his free-spirited mom and his dad who works for Fuller's Brushes and is away from home a lot as he is making sales.

       His mother gets the notion that she wants to go to Africa and serve as a missionary - which her dad finds odd as they are not even religious.  She looks into Mormonism to see if she can be sent to Africa that way, but when it doesn't work out, she ends up going to Africa anyway to help build a school house and just tells everybody that she is a Mormon missionary. 

       Henry's dad reluctantly heads to Africa with her, but they leave Henry at home with his two middle-aged aunts who don't seem to have a clue about raising children and seem to ignore Henry overall.

       His aunts names are Magnolia and Pigg.  After redecorating the house (where Henry lives - not because they were asked to redecorate, but because they are bored) one of them gets the wild notion that they should go on a road trip and go to the beach. (I think it was Mag who instigated the trip, as she had been sick for so long)

       Henry tells the story about the adventures, places they pass, motels where they stay and mostly what happens in the car or each restaurant where they order food.  No agenda to follow.  I wonder where all these characters came up with so much money to go to Africa and drive aimlessly so far to seven different states - starting in Virginia and going to Kentucky, Arkansas, back track to Florida.  Texas, Oklahoma.  They actually just left Oklahoma and are making their way to the Verde Mountains in Colorado. 




       Mag and Pigg sound like an old married couple disagreeing about practically everything.  And poor Henry just wants to get away and not be a part of them.


       So funny.  Haven't finished.  I think I have two more chapters left. 

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