Zane's Trace

Now in paperback! A coming-of-age road story with a supernatural twist — and a compulsively readable poetic novel about identity and belonging.

Zane Guesswind has just killed his grandfather, or so he believes. So he steals the 1969 Plymouth Barracuda his father left behind and takes off on a manic trip to his mother’s grave to kill himself. Armed with a six-pack of Mountain Dew, a jumbo pack of Sharpies, and a loaded gun in the trunk, he’s headed to Zanesville, Ohio, with no rearview mirror and no more worries. On the way, he meets Libba, a young hitchhiker who shares his destination, and other mystic and mysterious characters. With each encounter and every mile marker, Zane gets farther from the life he knows —but closer to figuring out who he really is.

A coming-of-age road story with a supernatural twist — and a compulsively readable poetic novel about identity and belonging.

Zane Guesswind has just killed his grandfather, or so he believes. So he steals the 1969 Plymouth Barracuda his long-gone father left behind and takes off on a manic trip to his mother’s grave to kill himself. Armed with a six-pack of Mountain Dew, a jumbo pack of Sharpies (for scribbling all over the dashboard), and a loaded gun in the trunk, he’s headed to Zanesville, Ohio, with no rearview mirror and no more worries. On the way, he meets Libba, a young hitchhiker who shares his destination, and other mystic and mysterious characters. With each encounter, and every mile marker he passes, Zane gets farther from the life he knows — but closer to figuring out who he really is.

VOYA

Zane Guesswind's father left when he was very young. His schizophrenic mother committed suicide several years later, leaving Zane with his older brother Zach and their emotionally distant grandfather. Zane's life is not easy. In addition to being prone to seizures, he feels somehow responsible for the death of his mother. The only thing that seems to help is his compulsion to cover any available surface with writing. The last straw falls when Zane finds his grandfather dead in a chair. He steals Zach's cherished 1969 Plymouth Barracuda, and along with an heirloom Revolutionary War pistol and a set of Sharpies, sets off from Baltimore for Zanesville, Ohio, to kill himself at his mother's grave. Along the way he is visited by the spirits of his parents and ancestors, each of whom fills him in on a piece of his family history. At the end of his journey, Zane is finally able to forgive himself and accept his dysfunctional yet wonderful family. Wolf packs an intense punch with this remarkable novel. He explores such issues as suicide, race relations, and mental illness with compassion and humor. Wolf's poetic, lyrical style places the reader in the "Cuda" with Zane as he passes each mile marker toward self-realization. This novel manages to be suspenseful, funny, and deeply moving at the same time. It could even be considered a ghost story, depending on whether the reader thinks Zane's otherworldly visitors are real or imagined, although in the end it does not matter.

Allan Wolf, an expert poet and storyteller, is the author of the award-winning NEW FOUND LAND: LEWIS AND CLARK'S VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY. He lives in Asheville, North Carolina.