From Publishers Weekly
Fleeing a soured marriage and the general turpitude of modern life, Dock Bass retreats to a newly inherited Gettysburg farm where he discovers a trove of priceless Civil War artifacts, including a possible recording of Lincoln delivering the Gettysburg address. He is soon besieged by media vultures, an opportunistic rival claimant to the treasure and a number of shady antiquarians trying to cash in on the find. Fortunately, Dock is just the man to defend Lincoln's legacy. Indifferent to fame and money, Dock stoically restores his farmhouse while denouncing or physically battering every avatar of contemporary crassness; at one point he even recites the Gettysburg Address by heart, punctuating it with crashing hammer blows. Finally, assisted by an eccentric history professor and a glitzy investigative reporter with a heart of gold, Dock squares off against an evil gay antiques dealer and his henchman. Smith (
One-Eyed Jacks) concocts a frothily entertaining satire of the corrupt Civil War memorabilia industry, but the fun is somewhat dampened by the figure of Dock, a tower of laconic manliness whose censorious mission is to reclaim the project of historical commemoration from all traces of vulgarity and materialism. The incongruous result is what you might expect if Gary Cooper were to ride into town to clean up
The Antiques Road Show.
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From Booklist
Canadian Smith delivers another engaging mix of comedy and caper novel. This time, though, the light coating of country noir that colored his delightful American debut,
All Hat (2003), has been replaced by a Capraesque mix of light and dark. On the lam from a vapid wife and an upwardly mobile real-estate job, Dock Bass--Mr. Deeds with a touch of Elmore Leonard--heads for Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where he has inherited a ramshackle house from a forgotten relative. While renovating the house, he stumbles on a trove of Civil War memorabilia, including what may be a primitive recording of Abraham Lincoln delivering the Gettysburg Address. Suddenly Dock lands in the middle of a gaggle of corrupt antique dealers and Civil War buffs even more avaricious than the real-estate weasels from his former life. No running this time. Dock draws a line in the Gettysburg dust and squares his back for a fight. The subsequent sparring match mixes comedy, history, and rugged individualism in just the right amounts. The ending leans toward sentimental, but like Capra, Smith earns it.
Bill OttCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
