The Road to Dalton by Shannon Bowring

Set in 1990, The Road to Dalton takes place in a small, economically depressed town north of Bangor, focusing on a few interconnected families.  The most prominent are two married couples, of which the women, Bev and Trudy, have realized they are in love with each other, not their husbands.  Bev’s son Nate is a newlywed with an infant daughter; his wife, Bridget, is the daughter of the most (only) affluent family in town, owners of the lumber company.  And there is Rose, who works as the receptionist at the police station, got pregnant in high school and has two sons and a resentful, abusive boyfriend.  I heard about this trilogy from Susan at Cue Card and was curious enough to request the first book from the library last week.  

While it started slowly, I found the book very readable and began to care about the characters, particularly Nathan, an idealistic young policeman, besotted with his wife and child, and Rose, who still feels pride that she snagged a boy other girls wanted, although he hits her. There are multiple points of view and various people to keep straight.  Soon, I began to think about all the books I have read that are set in small towns, and wondered what makes a book like this literary fiction and books by Kristan Higgins, Robyn Carr, and Laurie Gilmore (I haven’t actually read any of Gilmore's books which look too cutesy for me but they are all over my Barnes & Noble) women’s fiction or contemporary romance.  Both types use the small town as a way to frame personal relationships and character development but in most instances, women’s fiction has a HEA goal with the community as a quaint or heartwarming background.  

Literary fiction could end happily but is more likely to focus on the shaping of the characters’ lives and the changes in perspective that brings – which might end hopefully but is rarely a neat, cookie-cutter resolution.  In both genres, the town itself can generate conflict or shape lives.   Here, Bev and Trudy wonder if people are aware of their preferences but don’t want to risk condemnation by coming out (they don’t seem very concerned about their husbands’ feelings: one is depressed about the situation and the other is possibly unaware).  Rural Maine is not the most tolerant place!

But sometimes, walking the dim, sterile halls of Maine Med late at night, Richard felt a strange sensation, one he experienced again years later with Trudy, when he would begin to suspect their marriage would never become the strong union he'd hoped for.  A feeling of something not quite right, like a shoe that fits just a little too small.  Mildly irritating and distracting - but not enough to make Richard change the entire trajectory of his life.

Bowring herself is from the northernmost part of Maine and Dalton is based on her hometown. In an interview with the Aspiring Author blog, she says the town is its own character, “I believe people, fictional or real, are shaped by the places they were born, the unique environment that raised them.”  She points out that these characters help one another but to a point.  Their culture does not encourage touchy-feely discussions, which results in disaster in this book.  Fortunately, it ended on a hopeful note, as you know I am not a fan of unadulterated fictional misery (except in certain thrillers, ha ha) so I have already requested the second volume from the library.  Even if you, like me, are not a big fan of literary fiction, this would be worth trying.

This is my second book for the Intrepid Reader’s 2026 Historical Fiction Challenge.

I also chose this for Kaggsy’s Read Indies project; Europa Editions is an independent trade publisher established in 2005 and based in New York, dedicated to bridging cultural divides by introducing fresh international voices into the North American and British marketplaces.

Title: The Road to Dalton
Author: Shannon Bowring
Publication: Europa Editions, paperback, 2023
Genre: Historical Fiction
Source: Library