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The Maid's Version by Daniel Woodrell (view source)
Revision as of 17:06, 4 November 2013
, 17:06, 4 November 2013no edit summary
Life may be tough in the Missouri town where Alma lives and grew up but at least she has a job. She learns and experiences a lot as maid to the wealthy Glencross family, but many of the experiences aren't the sort she'd like to relive. To top it all off, in 1929 the Arbor, a local dance club, explodes into flames killing 42 people including Alma's younger sister Ruby. The cause remains a mystery as factions are blamed or viewed suspiciously. However Alma knows the truth, a truth that remains untold until decades later during a visit from her grandson.
When someone as talented as [[:Category:Roddy Doyle|Roddy Doyle]] cites an author as one of the world's best novelists we'd be daft to overlook them. [[:Category:Daniel Woodrell|Daniel Woodrell]] has earned such a soubriquet and, although this is the only one of his nine novels I've read, I'm definitely not going to argue. In fact there must be something in the water in Missouri as Daniel's a member of the same Iowa writing group that encourages other writing talent like [[:Category:Philip Roth|Philip Roth]] and [[:Category:Alexander Maksik|Alexander Maksik]].
Daniel's native Missouri is a recurring setting in his novels, two of which (''Winter's Bone'' and ''Woe to Live On'' became movies. ''Woe to Live On'' was renamed ''Ride with the Devil'' by director Ang Lee.) I wouldn't be surprised if this becomes his third as, although generally avoiding autobiographical writing, ''The Maid's Version'' is inspired by a real event.