The Balladeer

by Fred Calvert

‘Bobby Wayner was twelve when he watched his older brother, Eldon, die on the kitchen table from a shotgun wound.’ The opening of Fred Calvert’s lyrical novel “The Balladeer” sets the tone for this striking and poignant tale about the destruction of two families. During World War II in Kentucky, farm boys Bobby and Eldon Wayner are budding balladeers. They become intrigued with a recluse farmer, “Ol’ Weber,” a German immigrant. Rumors allege that he’s a Nazi and that he‘d even murdered his own family. The boys spy on him and discover that at night he plays a mesmerizing piano tune. To write a ballad about Ol’ Weber, Eldon takes a fatal risk. Many years later, after time served in California’s Folsom Prison for a barroom killing, Bobby travels back to Kentucky. On the way, his ballads and memories tell why he’d run away after Eldon died. When he reaches home, he discovers the past has been waiting like Judgment Day.

262 pages, Paperback

Published December 22, 2015

Reviews

[Ivory R · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Balladeer is dramatic and made me what to root for a happy ending for Bobby. The timeline switches between current time, time after death of Eldon and then further back before the death of Eldon very smoothly. In the beginning, I kind of felt like Bobby was having a psychotic break when he felt like his brother was telling him to run away. Bobby enjoyed his time on the ship and then seemed to lose his will to live. He didn't fight an unfair assumption at his trial, he goaded other inmates to fight and didn't fight the extension of his sentence to 27 long years. It was appearing that the best years of Bobby's life were the ones when Eldon was alive.

The story pace is steady even with the frequent time jumps. Bobby comes home and remembers the love of his parents. I think that in grief sometimes people forget that there others who also are suffering. It was so sad that he didn't get a change to see his mother again. I was glad that Bobby got a happy ending and also reconnected with his father. Overall, good read for anyone who likes a stories of personal growth in a historical setting.

[Cassandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

In The Balladeer, the author does a great job of interweaving the past and the present. The end result is a story that is compelling and comes with its own share of twists and turns along the way. I often find narrative structures like this one to be a little hard to follow but I didn’t have any problems with The Balladeer, which is another thing that really made the book enjoyable for me.

The thing that always gets me about stories like this is that they are as much about the theme as they are about the actual events and details. There were so many important themes in this particular story, especially concepts of forgiveness and learning to move forward. Even though the subject matter of the story was complex and dark at times, I still found myself enjoying the read and I would recommend it to others.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the opening pages of this book, you really get a shock. A young boy watches his brother die and it alludes to the fact that he could have prevented it. Of course, after that moment, he is unable to forget what he witnessed and it changes his life dramatically. It is the main reason why he runs away as soon as possible, at which time the book really starts to get amusing. My favorite part is the ballads that are written throughout the book, which can be described as deep, moving, and sad. The ballads explain who he is and what happened to him, and they also tell you how Bobby feels about himself. When he finally decides to confront the past, it ends up surprising you, and you will have no choice but to keep reading. This novel is genuine and is something that is different from the norm.

[Chaplain Stanley Chapin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A different story

It was one of tragedy and heart warming. The story was a bit disjointed for me as it kept going back to events years past. A common practice, but to much in this novel.