Stashes is one of those outlier books that can't be easily categorized and do not follow the usual formulaic structure of most novels. It's humorous, occasionally tragic, mostly endearing and very difficult to put down. The characters each have their positive attributes and flaws; you can never be certain where they are going or how they will get there, and where they'll end up. The author allows each of the main characters to narrate and express their viewpoint as the story progresses, and while you might think that would get things mixed up, you always know where you are and who's telling the story.
There's a strong Midwestern flavor to this story of Jackie and Steve Breeden, a couple nearing retirement age in a farming community in Michigan. Steve's middle management position has led to him being laid off by General Motors downsizing, and he has taken up a home-grown micro-dairy business that keeps him busy caring for their tiny herd and delivering milk products around the neighborhood, while Jackie works part time at a library to help with the bills. Their big dream is to buy a big RV and travel the country. That dream becomes real when their son Brandon, and his sketchy wife, Amy, who have dug themselves a deep financial pit, run into a crisis. Brandon, like his father before him, is let go from his high-paying job at GM. With their home in foreclosure, they will be forced to move in with Jackie and Steve. Turning lemons into lemonade, the elder couple quickly envision the moment has arrived to let the kids live in their house while they get on their feet, while they take that trip they dreamed of. With money even tighter than expected, the unlikely mother-in-law and daughter-in-law find themselves in cahoots to sell marijuana-laced bakery cookies along with the dairy products. How strait-laced, deeply religious Jackie finds herself going along with this unlikely plan I'll leave for you to read about.
It's a road trip! Only it's an older couple in an RV instead of youngsters, as the Breeden's follow their favorite sports team, the Michigan States Spartans to the Alamo Bowl before heading to the West Coast. Back home we find that Brandon and Amy are falling apart as Amy's true personality arises and she plans to recoup all their loses by becoming a major marijuana grower right there on the farm next to the micro-dairy. As Brandon tries to help out and she recruits helpers it all gets out of hand. By the time the elder Breedens hit the California State line, bank account has been emptied and they find themselves doing things they could never imagined to continue their journey and work their way home to Michigan.
Don't expect perfectly planned out character arcs or a story that you can foresee, instead expect a lot of funny improbable incidents wrapped in the modern themes of legalized medical marijuana, the disintegration of the automobile manufacturing business, and its impact on family relationships in the rust belt. I had a lot of fun reading about them.
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