Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 20, 2020)
BOOKMONGER Novel gives bleak tribute to the downtrodden MADDOX D ance S tudio Home of North Coast Dance Center little ballet theatre 503-861-1971 389 South Main Avenue Warrenton, OR www.maddoxdancers.com maddoxdancers@opusnet.com 22 // COASTWEEKEND.COM Hammond Kennels THE ONLY DRIVE THRU COFFEE SHOP ON THE SOUTH SLOPE OF ASTORIA We provide a comfortable and caring environment for your pets! Boarding • Grooming Training • Pet Supplies 503-861-1601 • 1050 Pacific Drive Hammond, OR www.hammondkennels.net 632 W. Marine Drive, Astoria at Smith Point The relentless rains of early 2020 seem a perfect match for the dismal tone and set- ting of Melissa Anne Peterson’s powerful debut novel, “Vera Violet.” The novel fi rst appeared nearly a decade ago under the title “Jimmy James Blood.” The book, which was originally self-pub- lished, tells the story of an impoverished small town in Washington state. Peterson comes from a small town as well; she is a native from Shelton, Washington. Now, after further nurturing by writing teachers and colleagues at Olympic Col- lege’s Shelton campus and The Evergreen State College, Peterson has republished the novel. Local librarians and novelist Jona- than Evison also helped champion Peter- son during the republishing process. The republished novel brings with it a new title and an established publisher. “Vera Violet” takes place in a log- ging town where the working class folks fi nd themselves getting left behind. Even those who take pride in their self-suffi - ciency cannot compete with the hand being dealt to them from the land beyond the for- ests: federal mandates, opportunistic outsid- ers and a changing world. But as traditional opportunities dry up, pernicious ventures arise; marijuana grow- ing and meth labs. This is the new reality that the young people in town learn to nav- igate, especially for those who live on Cota Street, where the railroad runs in behind fl imsy houses. That’s where Violet grows up, and everyone can see the handwriting on the wall. “None of us Cota kids would be remem- bered in history books. The tidewater mill was silent. The polluted harbor was lifeless. ... The future was covered by a thick blan- ket of fog.” Told primarily in the fi rst person from Violet’s point of view, sentences are crafted as descriptive but intentionally monotone statements – bleak, accepting of futility, This Week’s Book “Vera Violet” By Melissa Anne Peterson Counterpoint Press — 256 pp — $16.95 numb to brutality, and bereft of imagina- tion, save for the specters that haunt one’s dreams. Violet’s mother walks away from it all. Her big sister does, too. Her brother takes to selling meth to support his girlfriend and their baby. And her dad, increasingly irrel- evant to his family, resorts to the life of an embittered hermit. But Violet – at least at fi rst – has some- thing to stay for. She loves Jimmy James Blood, and he loves her. They are both fi erce, both fi ghters, and they understand one another. But the drugs and the alcohol, the easy access to guns, and the town’s soul-crush- ing paucity are a toxic combination. Vio- lence erupts. Blame is assigned, sometimes in error, and consequences are brutal. “We were somehow always wrong,” Violet says, “It was our own fault. The vio- lence continued. Young girls kept conceiv- ing life. The babies ended up struggling along with the rest of us.” Even when Violet gets into her rusty Ford and tries to drive far away to escape her hometown, its senseless tragedies are carved permanently on her heart. And she discovers that the new place where she lands has its own brand of hopelessness. This book contains some mystifying transitions, and a few signifi cant relation- ships are revealed late in the game. But in the way incessant rainfall can be a mesmerizing and devastating force, “Vera Violet” is too. The Bookmonger is Barbara Lloyd McMichael, who writes this weekly column focusing on the books, authors and publish- ers of the Pacifi c Northwest. Contact her at bkmonger@nwlink.com.
