When a mysterious stranger and his dog walk into town, they have the fortune of meeting probably the kindest, most unassuming, three people to ever walk the dusty roads of Colorado. Georgiana and John Walker, and their son, Gordon, feed, clothe and give money to the man so that he can make it through another day or two. Unfortunately, the man takes the money and charity (not the same thing) and goes to the local watering hole where he meets other citizens of the town less likely to be friendly to a stranger. Small towns, small minds kind of thing. A fight ensues and the man ends up in the local jail for the night and his dog... well, a dog on its own in a strange town and dark roads...
And after the encounter, the town, which was already teetering on the brink of extinction, gets tipped over the edge into a downward spiral. And just as Gordon Walker's life is about to change and he's about to go off to college with his girlfriend Leigh, his father dies and Gordon enters a spiral of his own.
It's a jarring time in someone's life to lose a parent (I know only from watching others go through it - I'm blessed to still have both of mine). And Gordon seems to suffer more than most. On top of the normal grief is a way of life and a town that John Walker was not prepared to leave. And his son is tied to that way of life in a way that others may be free. John would take days at a time away from his welding work to travel north to where the Colorado roads become gravel and unpaved. What he did up there was a town mystery and source of gossip. And, it's a question that's never really answered in the book which adds to the entire feeling the book evokes.
It's so rare that a place serves as an extra character in a book, but Lions is certainly a main character here. It's really well done. I was uncomfortable with Gordon and his quietness as I think I was meant to be.
4/5 Stars.
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