2018 School Spending Survey Report
The Maid's Version
Little, Brown. Sept. 2013. 176p. ISBN 9780316205856. $25; ebk. ISBN 9780316205863. $12.99. F
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This brief novel, set in the small Missouri town of West Table, centers on the mysterious 1929 explosion and fire at the Arbor Dance Hall and its effects on a local family across three generations. Among the 43 people killed was Alma DeGeer Dunahew's younger sister Ruby DeGeer. Forever after haunted by the incident, Alma, a maid for one of the town's wealthiest families, is nearly driven crazy by her belief that the tragedy was a criminal act—the result of a scandalous love affair between her sister and her employer. Years later, when Alma's grandson Alek is sent to spend part of a summer with his eccentric grandmother, he begins to learn of the town's secret history and of his family's role.
VERDICT Drawing on real-life events that rocked his hometown and his family, Woodrell returns nearly a decade after his celebrated Winter's Bone with a story that feels less of a different time and more timeless—a stark, haunting tale of almost mythic power and sweep. [See Prepub Alert, 3/18/13.]
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