Description: From an American master and author of Winter's Bone, this dark tragedy tells of a deadly dance hall fire and its impact over several generations.
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 Quotes: Editors' Choice, Times Book ReviewA Best Book of 2013, Slate A Best Book of 2013, Washington PostAn NPR 2013 "Great Read"Winner of the 2014 Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize for FictionA Top Five Book of the Year, Kansas City StarA Best Book of 2013, St. Louis Post DispatchKirkus Reviews selection for the Best Books of 2013A Best Book of 2013, Capital Times (Madison, Wis.)An Irish Times Book of the YearAn Irish Mail on Sunday Book of the YearA Favorite Book of 2013, National Post (Canada)One of Amazon's Top 10 Best Books of the MonthAn Amazon Best Book of the YearA Best Work of Fiction in 2013, Sam Sacks, Wall Street Journal