After some time working on oil rigs in Alaska, Henry “Hank” Hollingworth returns home to California. There, he reconnects with his father, who has become a workaholic and shut himself off from everything else in life. The elder Hollingworth needs help with restoring a classic 1931 roadster he’s been rebuilding for most of his youth. Hank reluctantly takes up the mantle and starts working alongside his dad to restore this piece of history — all while learning more about himself than ever before.
Henry “Hank” Hollingworth is a young man from rural Alaska. His life is filled with blizzards and codfishing until he meets the college-bound Daisy and begins to falter at his work on huge transnational oil rigs. To him, Alaska is bleak and wild, but when he visits his father in California, he finds that the world is much bigger than he knows.
Hank is a young man from rural Alaska. His life is filled with blizzards and codfishing until he meets the college-bound Daisy and begins to falter at his work on huge transnational oil rigs. To him, Alaska is bleak and wild, but when he visits his father in California, he finds that the world is much bigger than he knows.
Hank has been raised by his father like many boys are: as an adult who needs guidance; as someone who can’t be trusted; or even as someone who needs to be punished for doing things wrong. He’s always been told how different they are from each other—and now Hank realizes just how similar they really are: they’re both products of their parents’ stories about themselves as well as their children’s stories about them (in this case).
Hank shows up on his father’s doorstep just as the elder Hollingworth tries to complete an ambitious project — which leaves the father without any responsibility. Unsurprisingly, this has a negative impact on both of them.
Hank shows up on his father’s doorstep just as the elder Hollingworth tries to complete an ambitious project — which leaves the father without any responsibility. Unsurprisingly, this has a negative impact on both of them.
Hank’s father is a workaholic who loves his wife and son but hasn’t changed much since Hank was born 30 years ago: he still doesn’t speak much (or at all), lives in an old house with no electricity or running water, and spends most of his time working on projects that have nothing to do with making money or being an involved parent. Hank feels like there’s something wrong inside him — perhaps because he knows how much his dad wants to be part of their family life but can’t seem to make it happen? Or maybe he just thinks it would be nice if someone cared enough about him directly instead of indirectly through other people around them?
In California, Hank takes comfort in working with his father on restoring a classic 1931 roadster — which could’ve easily been a sweet romantic gesture by a warm-hearted son.
In California, Hank takes comfort in working with his father on restoring a classic 1931 roadster — which could’ve easily been a sweet romantic gesture by a warm-hearted son. Hank’s father is a car enthusiast who loves old cars and appreciates their history. He also has an affinity for younger women: one of his exes is twice as old as him (50 versus 20), while another broke up with him because she thought he was too old to be interested in her (35 versus 30). But all these details are merely distractions from what really matters: the fact that this man loves driving around in his own vintage car and giving advice to others about restoring theirs.
In other words: You’re not going to find yourself rooting for this character simply because he’s obsessed with cars; instead, it will be because you recognize yourself in him—and understand how much value there can be when someone does something purely out of love instead of desire or neediness.
After a long journey across America to be with his father, Hank must take over managing the restoration project while also facing the truth about his father’s behavior.
- After a long journey across America to be with his father, Hank must take over managing the restoration project while also facing the truth about his father’s behavior.
- His father is a famous car restorer, but he’s not very good at being a father or managing his business. Instead, he spends all of his time working on old cars and drinking beer from a bottle in an abandoned barn where he lives with his wife who has been dead for many years now.
Conclusion
Hank has a lot to learn about how to handle himself and the world around him. As he steps out into the world, he will discover that there are many people just like him who aren’t ready for what it has in store for them. But most importantly, we hope that our review of this book will help you decide whether or not this is a story worth reading!
