I have a personal connection to the setting of the book. Not
only did my grandfather homestead in South Dakota a century ago the community
at which he homesteaded, Clark, has numerous similarities to the fictional
Libbie.
It is also a town of just over 1,000 people in a farm based
area. It is the county seat. It has a high school and a nursing home.
While Clark is located in a different part of the state and
I doubt they consider themselves in the type of decline as Libbie was portrayed
I kept thinking of Clark as I read the book.
I also have not heard in real life Clark of comparable
stories to the busy sexual lives of the fictional Libbie residents.
****
It was a book for which I had no knowledge when I opened the
covers. I bought it at the Once Upon a Crime bookstore in Minneapolis in
January when I was looking ahead for books for the Alphabet in Crime Fiction
meme hosted by Kerrie Smith at Mysteries in Paradise. It has been some time
since I read Tin City by Housewright
and when I saw The Taking of Libbie, SD
I knew I had my “S”.
Generally I know something of the plot to determine if I
want to read the book. For The Taking of
Libbie, SD I knew no more than than I had read a book earlier in the
series.
With nothing but the title to guide me my mind tried to
anticipate the plot. It seems impossible to keep a completely open mind until a
book is read. For no specific reason I expected the “taking” to refer to a form
of attack upon the community instead of the “taking” referring to a fraud
perpetuated on the town.
How easy it is to mislead yourself!
****
The one issue unrelated to the plot that upset me is the
cover. The photo of the big city has absolutely nothing to do with the story
and is blatantly misleading. The fictional Libbie is a small town of 1,200
people whose whole population might occupy one of the skyscrapers shown on the
cover. The story spends but minutes in the opening pages in Minneapolis and
little more later in the book. Had they shown the beautiful sunset sky alone it
would at least have had a connection. When I started the book I thought it
would involve a large fictional South Dakota city such as Rapid City (about
70,000 people) or Sioux Falls (225,000 in the metro area). I have no idea why
the publisher chose a cover that deceives readers. (I show the cover again to
illustrate the deception.)
Bill - I didn't know your family had homesteaded in South Dakota. I was there once, years ago, and it's definitely not the kind of place where the faint of heart homestead. I give your grandfather credit.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree with you more, either, about book covers. I really do like it best when they don't mislead the reader. I feel the same way about blurbs, too.
Your story of your relationship to the book and the setting is interesting. And I agree with you about the cover; a cover should have some connection to the story. Same for the title also. Book titles often puzzle me. But this title at least is close to the book.
ReplyDeleteMargot: Thanks for the comment. I think everyone has interesting ancestries. I am glad I know my own.
ReplyDeleteI remember some wonderful posts you have done on blurbs.
TracyK: Thanks for the comment. If a cover is not going to relate to the story I think it should at least not mislead the reader.
ReplyDeleteBill, I'm unfamiliar with the author and I guess that will remain so. I agree with your comment re covers. I can't say that this particular one stands out anyway or would make me grab the book of the shelf for further examination.
ReplyDeletecol: Housewright is a writer who deserves a better cover. It was a good story.
ReplyDelete