The Maid's Version
By Daniel Woodrell
- Release Date: 2013-09-03
- Genre: Historical Fiction
Description
The American master's first novel since Winter's Bone tells of a deadly dance hall fire and its impact over several generations.
Alma DeGeer Dunahew, the mother of three young boys, works as the maid for a prominent citizen and his family in West Table, Missouri. Her husband is mostly absent, and, in 1929, her scandalous, beloved younger sister is one of the 42 killed in an explosion at the local dance hall. Who is to blame? Mobsters from St. Louis? The embittered local gypsies? The preacher who railed against the loose morals of the waltzing couples? Or could it have been a colossal accident?
Alma thinks she knows the answer-and that its roots lie in a dangerous love affair. Her dogged pursuit of justice makes her an outcast and causes a long-standing rift with her own son. By telling her story to her grandson, she finally gains some solace-and peace for her sister. He is advised to "Tell it. Go on and tell it"-tell the story of his family's struggles, suspicions, secrets, and triumphs.
Reviews
Great Writer
5By FpianoNot disappointed in the least. Terrific "local" and period feel.Disappointing after a 7-year wait
3By One SuitcaseA disappointment after waiting seven years from the publication of 'Winter’s Bone' for this, Woodrell's next novel. The story covers 100 years or more and was not told chronologically, but jumped from one time and one character to another time and character and the storytelling suffered from a fragmented feel. Some of the brief chapters felt like vignettes, and I wondered how many other chapters or characters ended up on the cutting room floor. It felt a bit like reading interconnected short stories at times, but for me it just never came together as a unified piece of story writing.
