In 1929, a dance hall in a small Missouri town exploded, killing
forty-two people. One of them was pretty
Ruby DeGeer, who, although poor and poorly educated, easily attracted the
attention of wealthy men. One of these
men was banker Arthur Glencross, who employed Ruby’s older sister, Alma
Dunahew, as his maid. Alma had good reason to believe that Glencross was
responsible for the explosion and made herself few friends in town by saying
so. Although there were others who could be suspected, Alma was unyielding in
her certainty of his guilt. Her fight
for justice eventually turned into what was considered bizarre behavior. Finally, practically catatonic, she was
committed to the Work Farm. Her disappearance into her own misery left her
youngest son, John Paul, motherless at an age when he still needed his mother.
Dependent on odd jobs and the kindness of neighbors for most of his childhood
and youth, John Paul resented his mother’s obsession and the loss of his
family. The rift these hard times created between mother and son lasted into
John Paul’s adulthood and Alma’s old age. In The Maid's Version, Alma
tells her story to her grandson with hope of healing the rift. Author Daniel
Woodrell is a well-respected author whose last book, Winter's Bone was
made into a successful movie. In this book he draws a vivid picture of small
town life in depression-era Middle America, clearly depicting the great divide
between rich and poor, weak and powerful.
Check out The Maid's Version @ the library! (Check out the new version of County Cat too!)
