David Schwinghammer's Blog - Posts Tagged "the-depression"
Prayers the Devil Answers
PRAYERS THE DEVIL ANSWERS is not a continuation of the Ballad series. This one is set in 1936 and is based on a real life story when a woman in Owensboro, Kentucky, served out the term of her late husband and officiated during a hanging.
McCrum can not resist oldtime superstitions, and she starts the book with one called the Dumb Supper, where young girls prepare a meal for their future husbands. Only two boys show up. During the ceremony the girls must not look at the table, they bring the silverware, plates and food to the table backwards. But one of them, Celia, drops a knife; when she picks it up, she looks at the table. Bad, bad luck.
We jump ahead to 1936 when Ellie, one of the girls at the Dumb Supper, is nursing her husband, who has pneumonia. She finally calls a doctor, whom they can't afford, but by then it's too late. He just happens to be sheriff of the country, having been elected three months early, thanks to some political gamesmanship. But he was a good sheriff. She gets the crazy idea to ask the chief commissioner for the job, so she can feed her two young boys. What seals the deal is when she shows him her scar from a dog bite. The dog had rabies and she branded the bite with a red hot poker, which possibly saved her life.
Next we meet Lonnie Varden, an artist who has been hired by the government to paint a mural in the post office. McCrum shows the preparations involved. You don't just paint the wall. He's going to paint an Indian attack on a local fort. But he has no idea what the fort looks like, so he goes to the schoolhouse to ask the teacher, Celia of course, if she has any historical pictures he can look at. She does. They start courting and eventually get married. Three years later they go for a walk, his wife looking for something beyond flowers and trees she can take pictures of with her new camera she got for Christmas. They go to “The Hawk's Wing” a cliff way up on the mountain where you can see forever. She walks out onto the cliff to get a better picture. He is wrestling with himself about how to tell her something he did. But instead of telling her, he pushes her off the cliff, and there are witnesses, other lovers out for a walk.
So then, the suspense involves when we're find out why he did it. He seemed like such a likable person. I'll admit I didn't think he did it. We're also wondering whether a nice little woman like Ellie will be able to hang him.
There's some questionable behavior at the end that just doesn't fit Ellie's character. I guess McCrumb is trying to tell us we're all capable of a mean streak.
McCrum can not resist oldtime superstitions, and she starts the book with one called the Dumb Supper, where young girls prepare a meal for their future husbands. Only two boys show up. During the ceremony the girls must not look at the table, they bring the silverware, plates and food to the table backwards. But one of them, Celia, drops a knife; when she picks it up, she looks at the table. Bad, bad luck.
We jump ahead to 1936 when Ellie, one of the girls at the Dumb Supper, is nursing her husband, who has pneumonia. She finally calls a doctor, whom they can't afford, but by then it's too late. He just happens to be sheriff of the country, having been elected three months early, thanks to some political gamesmanship. But he was a good sheriff. She gets the crazy idea to ask the chief commissioner for the job, so she can feed her two young boys. What seals the deal is when she shows him her scar from a dog bite. The dog had rabies and she branded the bite with a red hot poker, which possibly saved her life.
Next we meet Lonnie Varden, an artist who has been hired by the government to paint a mural in the post office. McCrum shows the preparations involved. You don't just paint the wall. He's going to paint an Indian attack on a local fort. But he has no idea what the fort looks like, so he goes to the schoolhouse to ask the teacher, Celia of course, if she has any historical pictures he can look at. She does. They start courting and eventually get married. Three years later they go for a walk, his wife looking for something beyond flowers and trees she can take pictures of with her new camera she got for Christmas. They go to “The Hawk's Wing” a cliff way up on the mountain where you can see forever. She walks out onto the cliff to get a better picture. He is wrestling with himself about how to tell her something he did. But instead of telling her, he pushes her off the cliff, and there are witnesses, other lovers out for a walk.
So then, the suspense involves when we're find out why he did it. He seemed like such a likable person. I'll admit I didn't think he did it. We're also wondering whether a nice little woman like Ellie will be able to hang him.
There's some questionable behavior at the end that just doesn't fit Ellie's character. I guess McCrumb is trying to tell us we're all capable of a mean streak.
Some Luck
SOME LUCK starts in 1920 and ends in 1953 when one of the major characters dies.
We go through the Depression, WWII, the Korean War and the beginning of the Cold War, which freaks one of the wives out. She thinks Stalin is definitely capable of dropping the bomb at any time.
At first the book reads like a phone book. Rosanna and Walter Langdon start farming in Iowa. Walter had had about enough being treated like a servant on his father's farm. He has a tough time, especially with the weather. In the thirties the crops dried up, and Rosanna had to slaughter half her chickens. She had had a steady income selling eggs and butter at the local grocery store. Walter is down to two cows at one time, but it finally starts to rain and they make it. Meanwhile they have a bunch of kids, one whom Roseanna delivers herself when he shows up early.
The book finally comes alive when Frankie is born, their oldest son. He is a live wire and could care less what anybody else expects of him. He's also good looking and smart. Rosanna and Walter invest in Frankie by sending him to high school in Chicago, with Eloise, Roseanna's Communist sister. Eventually he attends Iowa State where he meets a spoiled rich kid Lawrence. They're ying to the other's yang. Without Lawrence Frankie would not have met Hildy, who would eventually become his wife. But Frankie joins the army two quarters shy of earning his degree. Turns out Frankie is a dead shot and passes all the tests required of a sniper. He fights in Africa against Rommel, Sicily, at Anzio, and Monte Cassino, before being transferred to Southern France. He's especially nonplussed when Eisenhower stops the American advance at the Rhine, allowing Stalin to take Berlin. Frankie also meets Rubin, who will be an important acquaintance later in life. Rubin is the Milo Minderbender (Catch-22) of SOME LUCK. He's constantly collecting valuables to sell when the war is over.
Frankie never finishes college, for some reason, but he is hired by OSS operative Arthur, his little sister's husband to go over Nazi papers, especially those about advanced German weaponry. Arthur can also read people, and Frankie is the kind of person who can sell ice cream to an Eskimo. Arthur uses him as an unpaid spy, ferreting out Communists. Arthur now works for the FBI and the despised Herbert Hoover. Frankie bumps into Hildie again, only now she calls herself Andie, which sounds more like the fashion designer she's now become. They get married. Andie's uncle dies, leaving her some money. And along comes Rubin, real name Rubino, who is now a real estate investor. Frankie makes a killing.
Walter and Rosanna pop in and out of the story as do Joey, Frankie's farmer brother who has a special knack for the job, especially hybrid corn. There are also children of children, and they grow up in a hurry, with stories of their own. Then the story comes to a screeching halt, mainly because this is the first in a series. The book is no A THOUSAND ACRES. If you'll remember that was about a modern version of KING LEAR set in Iowa farm country. It won the Pulitzer. If you care about Frankie and the gang, you might want to get synopses of the other books in the series.
We go through the Depression, WWII, the Korean War and the beginning of the Cold War, which freaks one of the wives out. She thinks Stalin is definitely capable of dropping the bomb at any time.
At first the book reads like a phone book. Rosanna and Walter Langdon start farming in Iowa. Walter had had about enough being treated like a servant on his father's farm. He has a tough time, especially with the weather. In the thirties the crops dried up, and Rosanna had to slaughter half her chickens. She had had a steady income selling eggs and butter at the local grocery store. Walter is down to two cows at one time, but it finally starts to rain and they make it. Meanwhile they have a bunch of kids, one whom Roseanna delivers herself when he shows up early.
The book finally comes alive when Frankie is born, their oldest son. He is a live wire and could care less what anybody else expects of him. He's also good looking and smart. Rosanna and Walter invest in Frankie by sending him to high school in Chicago, with Eloise, Roseanna's Communist sister. Eventually he attends Iowa State where he meets a spoiled rich kid Lawrence. They're ying to the other's yang. Without Lawrence Frankie would not have met Hildy, who would eventually become his wife. But Frankie joins the army two quarters shy of earning his degree. Turns out Frankie is a dead shot and passes all the tests required of a sniper. He fights in Africa against Rommel, Sicily, at Anzio, and Monte Cassino, before being transferred to Southern France. He's especially nonplussed when Eisenhower stops the American advance at the Rhine, allowing Stalin to take Berlin. Frankie also meets Rubin, who will be an important acquaintance later in life. Rubin is the Milo Minderbender (Catch-22) of SOME LUCK. He's constantly collecting valuables to sell when the war is over.
Frankie never finishes college, for some reason, but he is hired by OSS operative Arthur, his little sister's husband to go over Nazi papers, especially those about advanced German weaponry. Arthur can also read people, and Frankie is the kind of person who can sell ice cream to an Eskimo. Arthur uses him as an unpaid spy, ferreting out Communists. Arthur now works for the FBI and the despised Herbert Hoover. Frankie bumps into Hildie again, only now she calls herself Andie, which sounds more like the fashion designer she's now become. They get married. Andie's uncle dies, leaving her some money. And along comes Rubin, real name Rubino, who is now a real estate investor. Frankie makes a killing.
Walter and Rosanna pop in and out of the story as do Joey, Frankie's farmer brother who has a special knack for the job, especially hybrid corn. There are also children of children, and they grow up in a hurry, with stories of their own. Then the story comes to a screeching halt, mainly because this is the first in a series. The book is no A THOUSAND ACRES. If you'll remember that was about a modern version of KING LEAR set in Iowa farm country. It won the Pulitzer. If you care about Frankie and the gang, you might want to get synopses of the other books in the series.
Manhattan Beach
Eddie Kerrigan was having a tough time making it during the Depression, working as a bag man for his old friend Dunny, who was a lieutenant in the mob. But he only paid Eddie $20, despite the fact the Eddie had saved him from drowning as a boy.
Eddie has two daughters, Anna and Lydia, who is disabled. Eddie loves Anna but he's distant from his other daughter. He takes Anna to see Dexter Styles who's higher on the food chain than Dunny to ask for a job. He needs a wheel chair for Lydia and Dunny won't loan it to him. But Eddie is essentially a good man and what the mob is doing disgusts him; he rats them out to a state's attorney, coincidentally the other boy Eddie saved when a rip tide took them out to sea. That's when Eddie disappears, presumably dead.
Anna's mother Agnes, a former vaudeville performer, as was Eddie, raises her daughters alone. One of the delights of the book, is what Agnes and the girls do when Eddie's not around. They dance, and they spoil Lydia, giving her baths in delicious smelling oils. Anna doesn't see a disability; she just sees the sister she loves.
Then we skip ahead to WWII, where Anna is working in the Navy yard, measuring parts for battleships. She has a friend, Nell, who uses her feminine wiles to get the use of a fellow worker's bicycle. She lets Anna use it; that's when she notices the Navy divers; she wants to be one. She asks her boss, who has a soft spot for her, to arrange an interview with Lt. Axel, a male chauvinist pig if you've ever seen one. He wants nothing to do with Anna, but someone puts in a good word for her (most likely her boss) and Anna gets to prove her metal. She's the best recruit Axel has.
We have lots of people with a point of view here. Eddie, for one. I never thought he was really dead. This is where we see author Jennifer Egan's ability. Egan plants the fact that Eddie was a vaudeville performer, doing Houdini-like tricks. So what do you think would happen if Eddie wound up wearing cement shoes?
Eddie's got to get out of this place, right? He joins the merchant marine. This leads to some harrowing ship wreck scenes and another scene where Eddies's essential goodness shines through. The bosun always treated Eddie like dirt, but when the roles are reversed Eddie treats him like a human being.
There's one plot thread I had trouble with. Anna ends up preggo; you can guess where that leads. It's a bit melodramatic. Again Egan seems to be aware this segment is a cliché, so she adds a character, Brianne, her mother's sister, another vaudeville performer who has a 21st century attitude towards sex. Anyway, she's a rock for Anna, and she adds some humor to the drama.
Egan's last best seller, A VISIT FROM THE GOOD SQUAD, was recently picked as one of the best books of the new century. This one doesn't quite live up to that one, although it did make the NY Times best seller list for a long stretch.
Eddie has two daughters, Anna and Lydia, who is disabled. Eddie loves Anna but he's distant from his other daughter. He takes Anna to see Dexter Styles who's higher on the food chain than Dunny to ask for a job. He needs a wheel chair for Lydia and Dunny won't loan it to him. But Eddie is essentially a good man and what the mob is doing disgusts him; he rats them out to a state's attorney, coincidentally the other boy Eddie saved when a rip tide took them out to sea. That's when Eddie disappears, presumably dead.
Anna's mother Agnes, a former vaudeville performer, as was Eddie, raises her daughters alone. One of the delights of the book, is what Agnes and the girls do when Eddie's not around. They dance, and they spoil Lydia, giving her baths in delicious smelling oils. Anna doesn't see a disability; she just sees the sister she loves.
Then we skip ahead to WWII, where Anna is working in the Navy yard, measuring parts for battleships. She has a friend, Nell, who uses her feminine wiles to get the use of a fellow worker's bicycle. She lets Anna use it; that's when she notices the Navy divers; she wants to be one. She asks her boss, who has a soft spot for her, to arrange an interview with Lt. Axel, a male chauvinist pig if you've ever seen one. He wants nothing to do with Anna, but someone puts in a good word for her (most likely her boss) and Anna gets to prove her metal. She's the best recruit Axel has.
We have lots of people with a point of view here. Eddie, for one. I never thought he was really dead. This is where we see author Jennifer Egan's ability. Egan plants the fact that Eddie was a vaudeville performer, doing Houdini-like tricks. So what do you think would happen if Eddie wound up wearing cement shoes?
Eddie's got to get out of this place, right? He joins the merchant marine. This leads to some harrowing ship wreck scenes and another scene where Eddies's essential goodness shines through. The bosun always treated Eddie like dirt, but when the roles are reversed Eddie treats him like a human being.
There's one plot thread I had trouble with. Anna ends up preggo; you can guess where that leads. It's a bit melodramatic. Again Egan seems to be aware this segment is a cliché, so she adds a character, Brianne, her mother's sister, another vaudeville performer who has a 21st century attitude towards sex. Anyway, she's a rock for Anna, and she adds some humor to the drama.
Egan's last best seller, A VISIT FROM THE GOOD SQUAD, was recently picked as one of the best books of the new century. This one doesn't quite live up to that one, although it did make the NY Times best seller list for a long stretch.
