Customer Reviews

Fools Parade (Appalachian Echoes Fiction)

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This Gangster Novel set in the mystical town of Glory West Virginia has had more than it's fair share of grinding corruption and poverty during the Great Depression.On April of 1935,3 men were released from the Glory Jail boarding a train but returning to Glory to the bank.They were carrying a satchel filled with $25,352 and 32 cents.That was Blood money for the corrupt bosses of that time.With an array of both good and evil characters,makes this an extrordinary eerie suspense novel in the same tradition of Davis Grubb's prior novel"The Night of the Hunter" which both books were made into movies.The reknowned movie classic"Fools Parade"1971 starring Jimmy Stewart,a young Kurt Russell (at the time rarely seen in a non-disney film) and George Kennedy has unfortunately never been released on vhs/dvd in the U S.Video Distrbutors both large and small should aggressively pursue the release of this great gem that's sadly been overlooked!! Meanwhile,enjoy the book!!Finally,thumbs way up for the late,great Moundsville-Clarksburg, West Virginia author" Davis Grubb" who has entertained millions with his captivating novels!!Good Show!!Also,Thomas E. Douglass is planning to do a biography on the reknowned Davis Grubb and hopefully it will be out in the near future for all to enjoy!!Hurry up!!

In 1935, $25,452.32 was a fortune. Enough to kill or be killed over. When a paroled ex-Union miner discovers he must face a corrupt bank president and an amoral, murdering prison guard to get his money, it's dynamite! Jimmy Stewart is great in the movie role as Matty Appleyard, a gentle man with an iron core, as the aging actor was from a small coal mining town. It is odd to see George Kennedy as a vicious prison guard, and Strother Martin as a bashful ex-con, their roles reversed fom "Cool Hand Luke." Davis Grubb writes much from experience, telling a spooky tale of a hypocritical Sunday school teacher/prison guard who stalks the cons much like Harry Powell in "Night of the Hunter". He weaves the lives of poor West Virginia folks, outcasts of the Depression, prostitutes, as all the same good backbone of society. The book ends with a positive note, as the people were against banks and cheered to see Matty finally get his money and the banker get his come-uppance.

I saw the film many years ago, and have now just read the book.
Entertaining, and you do find yourself caring for the ex-cons, hoping they don't get caught.
Thankfully there is a happy ending, with all turning out right for everyone.
Good weekend reading.