The Maid's Version

Author: Daniel Woodrell
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Little, Brown, and Company, 2014
Pages: 192
Rating: Do Not Recommend

Synopsis: 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.

Review: I found this book browsing the library's shelves, and it sounded interesting. It was definitely interesting, but told from different points-of-view it felt disjointed.

Thin books continue to be a nemesis. I almost always find they take longer to read than longer ones.