Boondocking Book

Sylvia and Clayton Vaeth, nearing retirement age, abandon life in the working-class Maryland suburbs yet drag all the paraphernalia and complexities of domestic life behind them - in a travel trailer. They take to the road with their grandchild Rita to protect her from a pursuing son-in-law, Melvin, Rita's father, who in a drug-induced accident was responsible for the death of their only daughter, Janice. In scene after scene, Bauer's spare yet evocative language captures the resilience and gutsy determination of these ordinary people as they crisscross the country's back roads and campgrounds. They meet quirky characters, they have adventures, Rita gradually grows up - and the menacing specter of Melvin, searching for his daughter, is never far behind. There finally is a confrontation, from which they escape, and then another.