Come Round Right
Violence undoes a young couple’s love in Alan Govenar’s wrenching autobiographical novel Come Round Right.
When they meet during their freshman year at Ohio State, Adriana is a revelation to Boston-born Aaron. The daughter of a maybe-mobster, Adriana is hippie-adjacent and sexy, and she pulls Aaron into her alluring orbit. He ticks off monumental firsts with her, delighting in the impulsive side that she brings out in him. A hitchhiking trip to Niagara Falls just as the winter chill sets in is one more articulation of the wonders of their connection.
However, their ninth ride brings their bliss to a halt. The driver’s cordiality shifts to menace; he traps them in a motel room and abuses them for hours. They keep their lives but assume abiding scars. A trip to New York City for an abortion weeks later bookends the experience, and Aaron is pulled from the girl whom he once thought of as his forever. Drugs and schoolwork see him through the first beats of his broken heart, after which he sticks his thumb out again, hoping to conquer the memories that haunt him.
The threat of the draft hangs in the story’s background, mentioned by drivers and by Aaron’s concerned parents. Otherwise, the novel moves with speed through the damaging events of the teenagers’ freshman year, rushing through grand experiences to arrive at their life-changing night. Aaron recalls what happens to Adriana with brutal clarity; his own assault is somewhat more concealed. When he forms a connection with a kindhearted waitress in the spring, it’s a chance to explore love—albeit in less innocent forms—once more.
Come Round Right is a raw and affecting coming-of-age novel set amid the social rifts of the Vietnam War era.
Reviewed by
Michelle Anne Schingler
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