The Whiskey Sea by Ann Howard Creel

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Obtained from: Netgalley

Read: July 29, 2016

Motherless and destitute, Frieda Hope grows up during Prohibition determined to make a better life for herself and her sister, Bea. The girls are taken in by a kindly fisherman named Silver, and Frieda begins to feel at home whenever she is on the water. When Silver sells his fishing boat to WWI veteran Sam Hicks, thinking Sam would be a fine husband for Frieda, she’s outraged. But Frieda manages to talk Sam into teaching her to repair boat engines instead, so she has a trade of her own and won’t have to marry. Frieda quickly discovers that a mechanic’s wages won’t support Bea and Silver, so she joins a team of rumrunners, speeding into dangerous waters to transport illegal liquor. Frieda becomes swept up in the lucrative, risky work—and swept off her feet by a handsome Ivy Leaguer who’s in it just for fun. As danger mounts and her own feelings threaten to drown her, can Frieda find her way back to solid ground—and to a love that will sustain her?

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The Whiskey Sea marks my first experience with author Ann Howard Creel. The premise captured my attention as I’ve not read a lot of Prohibition era literature and saw a degree of promise in the idea of a woman engaging in the transport illegal liquor.

Generally speaking, I feel that Creel capitalized on a lot of that promise. Frieda Hope is a thought-provoking protagonist and I liked the authenticity shown in her relationships with Silver and Bea. She’s intensely relatable and I liked how easy it was to understand the world as she saw it. I was also impressed with the tangible tension Creel created in the final chapters and I liked how those scene made me realize how invested I’d become in the narrative.

That said, I struggled with the pacing and tone of the story. The action was very drawn out and I didn’t feel the content necessitated the extended timeline. Frieda’s tendency to reflect on the morality of her activities as well as her love life allowed a lot of insight to her character, but after a while I found myself wishing Creel hadn’t wasted quite so much ink beating round the bush.

When all is said and done, I found The Whiskey Sea somewhat predictable, but I enjoyed the time and I spent with it and look forward to reading more of Creel’s work.

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And then there was the hidden hope she told no one about, not even bea—that maybe someday there would be a man who understood her, who allowed her to be untamed, who understood her love of the sea, and who might love her despite her freewheeling ways. someday, some way…

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Magnolia City by Duncan W. Alderson

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Obtained from: Netgalley

Read: April 28, 2014

Houston in the 1920s is a city of established cotton kings and newly rich oil barons, where the elite live in beaux art mansions behind the gates of Courtlandt Place. Kirby Augustus Allen, grandson of the Allen brothers who founded Houston as a real estate deal, is grooming his daughter Hetty to marry Lamar Rusk, scion of the Splendora oil fortune. Instead, at the No-Tsu-Oh Carnival of 1928, beautiful, rebellious Hetty encounters a mysterious man from Montana dressed in the gear of a wildcatter--an outsider named Garret MacBride. Hetty is torn between Lamar's lavish courtship and her instinctive connection to Garret. As Lamar's wife she would be guaranteed acceptance to the highest ranks of Houston society. Yet Garret, poor but powerfully ambitious, offers the adventure she craves, with rendezvous in illicit jazz clubs and reckless nights of passion. The men's intense rivalry extends to business, as rumors of a vast, untapped ocean of oil in East Texas spark a frenzy that can make fortunes--or shatter lives and dreams beyond repair. A sweeping, sumptuous debut that evokes the turmoil and drama rippling through the history of the Lone Star State, Magnolia City is a story of love, greed, jealousy, and redemption, brought to life through the eyes of its unforgettable heroine.

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I was ecstatic when I finished Duncan W. Alderson's Magnolia City, euphoric even. I’d come, I’d read, and though it was an uphill battle from the beginning, I had conquered. This smug sense of triumph set the tone for my review, imbuing my commentary with a sarcasm Alderson’s work didn’t necessarily deserve, something I realized while proofing my work. Don’t misunderstand, I am still delighted at being done with this book. I’m simply acknowledging that quiet reflection afforded an appreciation for the story that was not evidenced until I’d said goodbye to Hetty Allen, Lamar Rusk and Garret MacBride.

From a historical perspective, Magnolia City is a masterpiece. Layers of minute detail provide an astounding backdrop, effectively transporting readers to a bygone age. Alderson’s subtle manipulation of fact is delicately refined and so seamless that one hardly realizes where truth meets fiction.

Alderson’s prose adds another dimension to the narrative. The glittering opulence of Bayou Bend, the fiery burn of mescal, the unmistakable scent of oil fresh from the earth. His evocative and lyrical descriptions produce a piercingly vivid portrait, one that wholly immerses his audience in Hetty’s experiences and complex affairs. 

The problem I have with this piece, is its length. Alderson’s themes are introduced early on, but they so vague and scattered that pinpointing their nature and connecting one to the next is a practical impossibility. I’m not exaggerating, I spent most of the narrative frustrated at what I identified as lack of direction, fighting the urge to scream at what seemed a mishmash of unrelated concepts. I often felt lost in the immense scope of the narrative and though I was ultimately impressed with Alderson’s thesis, I can’t help feeling the novel is about two hundred pages longer than it needs to be. 

Would I recommend the book? I don’t know. I suppose it would depend on the reader. Magnolia City is by no means an easy read and might not be the best choice for those seeking immediate satisfaction, but it is a dramatic and emotionally poignant story that shouldn't be undervalued.

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"The Old Houston and all it stood for, is demolished. We're living in a Depression, in case you hadn't noticed. We can't afford these pretensions anymore."

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