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eor17. Robert D. Hale "The Elm at the Edge of the Earth"
Robert D. Hale's book "The Elm at the Edge of the Earth" is the book that all the E. L. Doctorow books try to be. It is labelled as a novel, but I'm pretty sure it's a memoir. It follows the adventures of a young boy through a year staying with his aunt and uncle who are employed at a County Home. He basically wanders around like a young kid will do and visits with all the workers and inmates of the home. The story takes place in the '30's so he isn't nearly as sheltered and hovered over as a kid of today. That makes for a much more interesting book and you get to meet much more interesting characters.
Hale weaves the historical part of the historical novel in smoothly. Not making it obviously he's explaining to you ignorant folk what it used to be like. The mix of history, character, wandering interests of the average child, and selection of incidents to make a plot and character development is well done. If what I found on the Internet is right, this was Hale's first (and perhaps only) novel. If so, bravo, it's a lot better than the many of the people who churn them out regularly.
Robert D. Hale's book "The Elm at the Edge of the Earth" is the book that all the E. L. Doctorow books try to be. It is labelled as a novel, but I'm pretty sure it's a memoir. It follows the adventures of a young boy through a year staying with his aunt and uncle who are employed at a County Home. He basically wanders around like a young kid will do and visits with all the workers and inmates of the home. The story takes place in the '30's so he isn't nearly as sheltered and hovered over as a kid of today. That makes for a much more interesting book and you get to meet much more interesting characters.
Hale weaves the historical part of the historical novel in smoothly. Not making it obviously he's explaining to you ignorant folk what it used to be like. The mix of history, character, wandering interests of the average child, and selection of incidents to make a plot and character development is well done. If what I found on the Internet is right, this was Hale's first (and perhaps only) novel. If so, bravo, it's a lot better than the many of the people who churn them out regularly.
