The Maid's Version
Ratings3
Average rating3.3
In 1929, an explosion in a Missouri dance hall killed forty-two people. Who was to blame? Mobsters from St Louis? Embittered gypsies? The preacher who cursed the waltzing couples for their sins? Or could it just have been a colossal accident? Alma Dunahew, whose scandalous younger sister was among the dead, believes the answer lies in a dangerous love affair, but no one will listen to a maid from the wrong side of the tracks. It is only decades later that her grandson hears her version of events - and must decide if it is the right one.
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This was not a linear narrative. It was all over the place and we got to hear from a bunch of chatacters. It was really emotional to hear about all the people that died. I had resigned myself to not knowing what really happened because it was so all over the place, but I was pleasantly surprised that we did find out what happened in the last chapter. I had a hard time connecting with the chatacters. I'm not sure if it was the number of them or the non linear nature of the story, but it felt a bit like reading a newspaper instead of hearing someone's story. The plot was good, really good. That will stick with me even if the chatacters won't.
Told in a scattershot way, with multiple characters across generations, the novel is not as compelling as it could be. Still, Woodrell demonstrates his mastery throughout. I would have liked it if it his editor would have inserted a few more commas.
Book was interesting up until about 3/4 way thru. I had to struggle too much to keep track of the jumpy storylines.
