Lost Highway
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Set on the road, in forlorn honky-tonks and eventually in Carnegie Hall and a Nashville recording studio, this novel documents the career of country musician Sapper Reeves and the Still Creek Boys. Sapper's banjo melodies are haunting, and his original lyrics inspired, but for years his achievements are minimal. He loves nothing more than his wife and son, but his constant touring tears the family apart. Only after his career seems shattered and his son is almost destroyed by combat in Vietnam does Sapper finally attain success with his music and a better family life. Narrated mainly in brief vignettes, the story is sparse but engaging. Like many country songs, it displays aching loneliness and bitter failure but also the redemptive power of love and fidelity to one's dreams. Currey's terseness averts sentimentality but still offers homey wisdom and celebrates abiding human values.