Matt Bondurant

You would think that a prohibition era tale of bootleggers vs. corrupt law officers with a cover photo that will remind you of the classic Bonnie & Clyde poses in front of period automobiles would make for a compelling read, but I didn't find that to be the case with this book. I found this to be a very slow-going read due to a lack of momentum caused by the jumps in the time-line structure. This also resulted in a lack of suspense as a lot of the plot resolutions were also known ahead of show more time.
Matt Bondurant's "The Wettest County in the World" (aka "Lawless" in the July 2012 movie tie-in reprint edition) is a history-based fictional novel about the lives of the author's own grandfather Jack and his great-uncles Howard and Forrest Bondurant. It relates how the Bondurant brothers ran a bootleg liquor operation (which is called 'blockading' in the local vernacular of the book) in Jackson County, Virginia in the late 1920's/early 1930's. The book's title is based on a quote from writer Sherwood Anderson which is one of the novel's epigraphs: "... the wettest section in the U.S.A. …the spot that fairly dripped illicit liquor, and kept right on dripping it after prohibition ended…is Franklin County, Virginia."
This huge amount of illegal liquor production required a network of corrupt law officials and officers to keep it protected and some of that came to light in an eventual trial which was documented by T. Keister Greer in "The Great Moonshine Conspiracy Trial of 1935". Greer's book became a major source for author Bondurant's fictional tale along with his family's personal stories. Bondurant's book in turn became the source for Nick Cave's screenplay for the film "Lawless" directed by John Hillcoat which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2012 and is scheduled for a general theatrical release in late August 2012.
The story is told in flashbacks from the time of the 1935 trial with writer Sherwood Anderson reporting on the scene on behalf of his own newspapers and also doing research for his later novel "Kit Brandon" which was built around the local myths of female blockader Willie Carter Sharpe (who was also perhaps the inventor of the American muscle car, due to her souped-up Fords used to outrun law officers). Anderson's history is portrayed reasonably accurately except for an error in his publisher's name (Liverright used instead Boni & Liveright) and Ernest Hemingway's 1926 "The Torrents of Spring" parody of Anderson's 1925 "Dark Laughter" mis-dated as if it was from 1934. The constant jumps back and forth between 1929-30 and 1935 took a lot of suspense and momentum out of the book though and made for difficult reading although each of the chapters by themselves were quite evocative in portraying the atmosphere of the Virginia Appalachian settings. show less

Books captivate readers for a number of reasons. Maybe it’s a character that reminds you of someone you know or someone you want to know. Maybe it’s a setting that you’ve always dreamt of. Maybe the plot engages your attention fully, refusing to let go even as it twists and turns.

If you’re lucky, a book captivates you because of its author’s voice and its author’s awareness of how to build character relationships and how to maintain suspense. Readers of Matt Bondurant’s The show more Night Swimmer can consider themselves among the lucky.

Bondurant centers his story on an American couple who win a pub in Ireland. Many people might take the cash equivalent of the prize, but Elly and Fred make the decision to leave everything and everyone they know behind. As Fred restores the pub in Baltimore, Elly spends her time swimming in the waters off Cape Clear Island.

Elly has a minor genetic abnormality (an evenly distributed, thin layer of fat) that allows her to spend long amounts of time in cold water. Her communion with the ocean is one of the strong points of Bondurant’s writing, likely because he is a long-distance swimmer himself.

A side note – the locations in The Night Swimmer are real, and images are available on the web if Bondurant’s word paintings make you want more.

Another strong point of the novel is the bond between Elly and Fred. Bondurant doesn’t describe their love in over-the-top prose. He lets his characters’ actions speak for themselves. It’s clear these two love each other, which makes it slightly confusing when events of the novel begin to overtake their relationship.

Elly and Fred begin to feel the power of the Corrigan family which controls most of the commerce and culture of Baltimore and Cape Clear. The Americans are outsiders and Elly’s growing awareness of the undercurrents on Cape Clear make them more of a target. Fred retreats into a novel he’s trying to write and neglects the needs of the bar. Elly retreats into her swimming and getting to know Cape Clear. The two start to drift apart, but Bondurant never fully explains why.

It’s a jarring flaw in the novel. Other plot points go unexplained. For some of them, this works – Elly starts to learn about mysteries on the island and she may not need all the answers. Some of the island’s mysteries though cry out for explanations, at least for the reader.

Highgate, a blind goat farmer who becomes central to the story, may be more than he seems. As may the Fastnet lighthouse, which exerts a strange pull on Elly.

It’s to Bondurant’s credit though that these flaws are minor. The story is told from Elly’s point of view, and Bondurant never once drops the female perspective, a feat not all male authors can pull off. The mood he creates throughout The Night Swimmer pulls a reader in. His descriptions of setting and character are active. Readers experience the setting as Elly does, not as a laundry list of flora and fauna. Even when Elly befriends a visiting birder (who offers his own threat to her marriage), her exposure to the numerous species excites the readers, rather than becoming a mind-numbing list of bird names.

The novel builds exquisitely to a series of climaxes before ending on what may seem an abrupt note. Perhaps that’s an area for improvement in Bondurant’s writing. Or perhaps it’s just a sign of not wanting to find yourself on the last pages of a book. show less

I was really surprised by this book. I like the mixture of ancient history and the modern day, and I was expecting another quick mindless adventure ala The Da Vinci Code. But this book while mixing the ancient and modern is actually the Anti- Da Vinvi Code. It is deep and well written, thought provoking, and funny.

The characters are odd and quirky and while you may not like them, you are fascinated to see who they are, and what they will do next.

The setting is entirely in the modern day, show more with the ancient history coming into the picture via the artefact the main character is studying, and his attempt to find the Third Translation a euphemism for transcendance. As a failed human who has no successful relationships, the main character tries to figure out what went wrong in his life, like the archeologist he is. He understands the dead in the past better than those living in the modern day.

The London settings are very evocative and gritty and work well with the surreal characters and events he gets involved in during his last week of work on the Stela at the British Museum.

The book can also be read as a parody of the hoopla surrounding and making up the latest literary craze for mixing and twisting history to make a modern thriller. show less

Article first published as Book Review:The Night Swimmer by Matt Bondurant on Blogcritics.

Personal interests often vary, and those with no knowledge or even care about those things which others see as unique and interesting, are a part of what makes each and every person individual. I do not profess to know much about swimming, nor do I understand the thoughts of those who live to swim, so I was quite surprised to find myself immersed in The Night Swimmer by Matt Bondurant.

The Night Swimmer show more tells the tale of a couple very in love, and who find themselves in a place that they little imagined. Winning a Pub in a small town on the coast of Ireland, Fred and Elly Bulkington find themselves in a place full of resistance to strangers, and next to a powerful and wild North Atlantic sea. The land itself is shaped by the storms and wild waves surging into the land which becomes a source of the belief and heartache of the natives of this wild and harsh land.

While Fred works at making the Pub successful, Elly realizes her love of swimming and finds solace in the surging waters of Cape Clear Island. It is hear she first becomes involved in the age old feuds and dangers of life in the remote islands of Ireland where danger seems to lurk everywhere. As her marriage begins to unravel, so too their idyllic lives begin to fall apart with danger and mayhem from those who do not want them there. Can they get through the anger and build their life together as it is meant to be? Can they help to stop a feud riven before time and full of heartache, or will they too be lost to the dangers and harshness of the land?

Bondurant has given us a group of characters full of life and danger. The descriptions of the land pull you there and engrave the beauty as well as the danger in the storm torn waves. The sadness and hurt of past disasters hold the residents in sway and have a part of everything they do. Those who are not born in the wilds of this beautiful country are treated as outcast and are made to understand their place. But even the vilest of those who make life miserable for the outsiders have a story that tugs at your being. Yet not everything can be forgiven.

As hurt and anger take their toll, bodies begin to turn up, and lives are changed in an instant. Can Fred and Elly survive the onslaught of such anger and make a home for themselves in such a dangerous and hostile place or must they give up their dreams? Through all the hurt and anger, Elly’s love of swimming and the sea take her to places and bring her in contact with others in ways that are hard to imagine.

I would recommend this story for those who enjoy romance and mysteries. With just a bit of the unusual and danger at every turn you will keep on turning the pages wanting to know where the story is headed. The danger of the coastline as well as from the people is well told and daunting, keeping you guessing as to where it will all end.

This would be a terrific book for a reading group as well as a book club. This is a story that will stay with you and one that would be great for your library.

This book was received free from the publicist. All opinions are my own based off my reading and understanding of the material. show less