“The Maid’s Version” by Daniel Woodrell – Someone to Blame
In this story, we are presented with a common housemaid who lives in West Table, Missouri, with her husband who is often away and her three children. She serves a prominent citizen, and her life goes about as well as it could considering her position in life.
One day, however, the local dance hall is consumed by a gigantic explosion, and the maid’s sister is one of the forty-two caught in the catastrophe. Nobody can surmise what happened, with the potential parties to blame including the St. Louis mafia, the local preacher, bitter local gypsies, and good old plain bad luck.
However, the maid believes that she knows who is responsible and that a love affair is at the center of it all. And so, armed with nothing but her brains, she sets out to find the truth and bring the real culprit into the spotlight.
First off, if there is one thing The Maid’s Version excels in, it is the description of the small town and its inhabitants. Every detail is given attention and described vividly, but Woodrell never drags on insignificant elements, keeping the story flowing smoothly and relatively quickly. As far as the story itself goes, it is quite dark, and a bit reminiscent of Chinatown with Jack Nicholson in certain aspects.
For once, all of the town’s wealthier residents just want to sweep the truth under the rug and never look back on such a horrible event, and you can bet the house that there is a reason for it. Much of the imagery provided in the book is desolate, gut-wrenching, and in some cases, downright horrific, as is the case with the description of the dance hall fire for instance.
One of the more interesting things about the story is how the perspective keeps jumping from one character to the next, giving the reader precious insight into how the events unfolded and adding some layers to the mystery while peeling other ones away.
First off, if there is one thing The Maid’s Version excels in, it is the description of the small town and its inhabitants. Every detail is given attention and described vividly, but Woodrell never drags on insignificant elements, keeping the story flowing smoothly and relatively quickly. As far as the story itself goes, it is quite dark, and a bit reminiscent of Chinatown with Jack Nicholson in certain aspects.
For once, all of the town’s wealthier residents just want to sweep the truth under the rug and never look back on such a horrible event, and you can bet the house that there is a reason for it. Much of the imagery provided in the book is desolate, gut-wrenching, and in some cases, downright horrific, as is the case with the description of the dance hall fire for instance.
One of the more interesting things about the story is how the perspective keeps jumping from one character to the next, giving the reader precious insight into how the events unfolded and adding some layers to the mystery while peeling other ones away.
I have to say that Woodrell does a fantastic job at always keeping the reader wondering about how relevant to the story some characters truly are, for in some cases their involvement in the whole thing doesn’t become obvious until later on.
Details which appear insignificant end up playing a very important role later on, and that’s something the reader needs to keep in mind if he or she is to solve the mystery before reaching the last page.
All in all, though The Maid’s Version may appear slightly too formulaic in a few passages to avid mystery readers, in the end everything comes together wonderfully and makes for a story that won’t soon be forgotten by fans of the genre, whether it’s for the lush descriptions or the plot itself.
 | Daniel WoodrellDaniel Woodrell is an American fiction writer mostly known for writing novels that take place in the Missouri Ozarks. Many believe Woodrell to be the father of the “country noir” genre, to which most of his novels belong, such as Give Us a Kiss. |
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