Never Walk Back
Ruth Casper has had a very hard life as a countrywoman in rural, mid-19th century Tennessee, and her luck only changes when, one day in 1865, she shoots at a herd of elk, driving them over a rail line, and derailing a locomotive. In her struggle to make something of that accident (and herself), she drives her ne’er-do-well husband, Henry, to a feat of ingenuity that will challenge a major corporation and the ruthless but overmatched heir to its leadership. To test and protect their invention, they set off for Washington, DC, where Henry has stashed a Windom locomotive. At the same time, Never Walk Back introduces Augustus Windom, the spoiled and amoral son of the founder of Windom Locomotive Company, as he receives guests at his father’s funeral. The novel follows the two sides as they work towards their meeting and the brutal conflict over the Caspers’ invention.
There is essentially no character to root for in this novel; not that that is necessary, but it seemed Shafer was making a deliberate effort to have every character be unsympathetic. Never Walk Back is full of vivid descriptions of deeply unpleasant and cynical things. Often, it seemed the reason they were included was to repulse the reader to an excessive extent.
I struggled to make my way through these descriptions and to endure the moral tone of this novel. Others, however, may appreciate the lack of sentimentality. Shafer does handle the backstory very well in a series of flashbacks.
The strongest warning on the content of this novel: even sensitive adults would be put off, and it is not appropriate for kids under 17. For most readers interested in the immediate post-U.S. Civil War period, I recommend looking elsewhere.
