A Long Way From Chicago by Richard Peck

A Long Way From Chicago teases only a glimmer of a glimpse of the setting of this historical fiction novel set in the Depression era in a small town located a train ride away from Chicago. The story is narrated by Joe, an older man as he recalls memories of his childhood when he and his sister spent seven summers with their "tough as an old boot" Grandma. Without the rural, small-town setting and the main character, Grandma there surely would not have been a story. Grandma presents as a large, rough woman who has no fear and is not afraid to stand up to anybody and to "tell it like she sees it." This characterization lends the humor in the story as the reader contrasts Grandma against the stereotype grandmother one would expect two young children to visit every summer. The reader is able to sense the span of time not only over the course of seven summers between 1929 and 1935 but further ahead to 1942 when Joe recalls attending boot camp prior to his military duty in World War II. Who else could portray the necessary resourcefulness that must have been employed during the Depression era than Grandma herself? The novel is formatted into short stories, each connected to the other as in chapters; but each story is another year's summer recalled in detail by Joe. The reader is quickly engaged into the book and introduced to Grandma when she calmly and resolutely insists that a dead gangster's coffin reside in her parlor the night before his funeral. Traditionally the family stays watch over a dead family member's coffin the night prior to the funeral, but Shotgun Cheatham had no family. Grandma went one step further and guarded the house with her double-barrel shotgun. Joe and his sister, Mary Alice seem to be "putty in the hand" of Grandma this summer and the next following summers as they are directed to join Grandma in her many escapades and trickeries with the townfolk. Picture Grandma foiling two mischievious boys from the dairy delivery truck trying to trick her with a mouse in a bottle of milk. The fun never ends as the reader is brought into the story beside Joe and Mary Alice witnessing Grandma fishing in forbidden waters only to discover some of the town's men of authority drunk in their underwear on a porch of an old shack. Later in the story a blackmail opportunity surfaces. Other adventures ensue with Grandma, each more delightful to the reader than the last. Towards the end of the book Peck gently implies Grandma's softer side. There are a few chapters where Grandma sends Joe and Mary Alice to the attic to find things for a yard sale and later for a town centenniel celebration. The reader may figure out that this is Grandma's way to reveal for her grandchildren the nostalgia from her past without her surrendering her facade of "tough as nails." Grandma is really a deeply compassionate soul who winds up helping several people in her community and impacting her own grandchildren with her "hidden" goodness. This character trait surfaces more clearly at the end of the book as Joe passes by Grandma's house in a train bound for boot camp, and Grandma waves to the train knowing Joe is on it somewhere. Joe is touched by her wave and waves back. Throughout the book Joe and Mary Alice are outstaged by Grandma. They appear only as observant onlookers to the actions until the end of the book when Mary Alice "shows her colors" dancing with Ray Veech in the centenniel celebration. Mary Alice's boldness shows clearly, a trait she must have learned from Grandma. Joe may have turned out to be a more conservative character in the way that he told his tale, but his tenacity and toughness showed his readiness to fight in the war. I'm anxious to read A Year Down Yonder to again enjoy Grandma's antics. I've been acquainted with a couple of "Grandmas" in my life, and it continues to amaze me how the facets of human nature and compassion come in so many shapes, sizes, and personnas.