- Paperback: 332 pages
- Publisher: Univ Tennessee Press; 1 edition (Jun 6 2001)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1572331143
- ISBN-13: 978-1572331143
- Product Dimensions: 21.5 x 14.8 x 2.4 cm
- Shipping Weight: 431 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,857,091 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Book Description
“Dark violence and piebald absurdity share an uncertain border, and now and then some mythmaker on his day off, like Grubb, manages to write within this certainty. A fine book, written for the hell of it, which is a splendid reason.”—Time
Set in the Appalachian backcountry in the midst of the Great Depression, Fools’ Parade traces the adventures of three ex-convicts who become involved in a wild and woolly chase along the Ohio River.
Convicted murderer Mattie Appleyard has just served forty-seven years in Glory Penitentiary. His release puts him in possession of a check for $25,452.32—the result of his having salted away his meager earnings in the Prisoner’s Work-and-Hope Savings Plan of the local bank. With his friends Johnny Jesus and Lee Cottrill, he plans to open a general store that will compete with the company store in Stonecoal, West Virginia.
Unfortunately, banker Homer Grindstaff, prison guard Uncle Doc Council, and Sheriff Duane Ewing have no intention of allowing Mattie to realize his ambitions. Mattie’s efforts to cash his check set a deadly pursuit in motion and introduce the reader to a host of colorful characters and a vividly recreated regional and historical background. Good and evil meet head-on in this novel that is, by turns, warm and humorous, rousing and tumultuous.
The Author: Davis Grubb (1919–1980) was the author of ten published novels, the most famous of which was Night of the Hunter. Both that book and Fools’ Parade, originally published in 1969, were made into motion pictures.
Set in the Appalachian backcountry in the midst of the Great Depression, Fools’ Parade traces the adventures of three ex-convicts who become involved in a wild and woolly chase along the Ohio River.
Convicted murderer Mattie Appleyard has just served forty-seven years in Glory Penitentiary. His release puts him in possession of a check for $25,452.32—the result of his having salted away his meager earnings in the Prisoner’s Work-and-Hope Savings Plan of the local bank. With his friends Johnny Jesus and Lee Cottrill, he plans to open a general store that will compete with the company store in Stonecoal, West Virginia.
Unfortunately, banker Homer Grindstaff, prison guard Uncle Doc Council, and Sheriff Duane Ewing have no intention of allowing Mattie to realize his ambitions. Mattie’s efforts to cash his check set a deadly pursuit in motion and introduce the reader to a host of colorful characters and a vividly recreated regional and historical background. Good and evil meet head-on in this novel that is, by turns, warm and humorous, rousing and tumultuous.
The Author: Davis Grubb (1919–1980) was the author of ten published novels, the most famous of which was Night of the Hunter. Both that book and Fools’ Parade, originally published in 1969, were made into motion pictures.
Book Description
“Dark violence and piebald absurdity share an uncertain border, and now and then some mythmaker on his day off, like Grubb, manages to write within this certainty. A fine book, written for the hell of it, which is a splendid reason.”—Time
Set in the Appalachian backcountry in the midst of the Great Depression, Fools’ Parade traces the adventures of three ex-convicts who become involved in a wild and woolly chase along the Ohio River.
Convicted murderer Mattie Appleyard has just served forty-seven years in Glory Penitentiary. His release puts him in possession of a check for $25,452.32—the result of his having salted away his meager earnings in the Prisoner’s Work-and-Hope Savings Plan of the local bank. With his friends Johnny Jesus and Lee Cottrill, he plans to open a general store that will compete with the company store in Stonecoal, West Virginia.
Unfortunately, banker Homer Grindstaff, prison guard Uncle Doc Council, and Sheriff Duane Ewing have no intention of allowing Mattie to realize his ambitions. Mattie’s efforts to cash his check set a deadly pursuit in motion and introduce the reader to a host of colorful characters and a vividly recreated regional and historical background. Good and evil meet head-on in this novel that is, by turns, warm and humorous, rousing and tumultuous.
The Author: Davis Grubb (1919–1980) was the author of ten published novels, the most famous of which was Night of the Hunter. Both that book and Fools’ Parade, originally published in 1969, were made into motion pictures.
Set in the Appalachian backcountry in the midst of the Great Depression, Fools’ Parade traces the adventures of three ex-convicts who become involved in a wild and woolly chase along the Ohio River.
Convicted murderer Mattie Appleyard has just served forty-seven years in Glory Penitentiary. His release puts him in possession of a check for $25,452.32—the result of his having salted away his meager earnings in the Prisoner’s Work-and-Hope Savings Plan of the local bank. With his friends Johnny Jesus and Lee Cottrill, he plans to open a general store that will compete with the company store in Stonecoal, West Virginia.
Unfortunately, banker Homer Grindstaff, prison guard Uncle Doc Council, and Sheriff Duane Ewing have no intention of allowing Mattie to realize his ambitions. Mattie’s efforts to cash his check set a deadly pursuit in motion and introduce the reader to a host of colorful characters and a vividly recreated regional and historical background. Good and evil meet head-on in this novel that is, by turns, warm and humorous, rousing and tumultuous.
The Author: Davis Grubb (1919–1980) was the author of ten published novels, the most famous of which was Night of the Hunter. Both that book and Fools’ Parade, originally published in 1969, were made into motion pictures.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Make way Bonnie and Clyde!! Author,Davis Grubb Rules!!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Fools Parade (Paperback)
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!!
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.3 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews) 14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Make way Bonnie and Clyde!! Author,Davis Grubb Rules!!,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Fools Parade (Paperback)
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!!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fools' Parade,
By Daniel Fitzgerald Smith "dfsmith" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Fools Parade (Paperback)
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.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fast read,
By Bernard J. Ryan "BJR" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Fools Parade (Paperback)
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. |
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