Good Reads / Community Library Notes
Whiskey When We're Dry
John Larison
Review by Priscilla Comen
Whiskey When We're Dry
John Larison
Review by Priscilla Comen
Whiskey When We’re Dry, by John Larison is the story of Jessilyn Harney’s life, first as a young girl, then as an orphan, and then as a young boy. When her father dies far from his home, she finds his body and buries him. Alone in the world, she decides to leave her land to find her brother, Noah. He had left home after a fight with their Pa and consequently became an outlaw. Jesse hears stories of his daring exploits and sees his picture on wanted posters.
Jesse is an excellent sharp shooter and, disguised as a boy, becomes one of the Governor’s militia men. She and Greenie room together and she keeps her disguise safe. Greenie thinks she is a “fish” when she doesn’t want to frequent a local whore house. When she wins shooting contests against the country’s best shooters, the Governor is pleased and shares his winnings from bets with her. Written in the dialogue and times of the 1800s in the midWest, through Jesse’s voice, author Larison holds our attention throughout.
The Governor’s daughter, Constance, is prepared by her father to marry a wealthy old man, but she is in love with the son, Will, of her father’s black butler. Will and Constance had grown up together at the mansion and are devoted to one another. At Constance’s engagement party, the band leader opens his guitar case, takes out a pistol, and fires at the crowd. Someone throws a burlap sack over Constance’s head and drags her away. Will also disappears. In the chaos, Jesse recognizes the shooter as her brother Noah. She follows him and ends up also shooting at the Governor and his men. They escape to a hidden valley they call “The Rock.”
Noah credits the Lord with his success at robbing banks and killing other outlaws. He gives sermons on Sundays and reads from a Bible he has only memorized. His followers worship him and build a barricade with the rocks to block the entrance. Jesse meets and falls in love with Annette, a large woman dressed as a man. She loves Jesse too. When another outlaw, Dizzy, attacks their hideout to steal their money, the war is on. Dizzy’s gang kills several of Noah’s men, Jesse and Annette decide on revenge, and they go to Dizzy’s bar to find him.
Noah’s woman, Jane, is pregnant and Constance is pregnant with Will’s baby. Will has been killed by the Governor’s militia. The action never ends from page to page. Do Noah’s followers escape from the rocked-in valley? Are babies born to Constance and Jane? Is Noah captured by the army? What happens to Jesse? Our sympathies are with her by this time. Find out the answers at your Mendocino Community Library.
Jesse is an excellent sharp shooter and, disguised as a boy, becomes one of the Governor’s militia men. She and Greenie room together and she keeps her disguise safe. Greenie thinks she is a “fish” when she doesn’t want to frequent a local whore house. When she wins shooting contests against the country’s best shooters, the Governor is pleased and shares his winnings from bets with her. Written in the dialogue and times of the 1800s in the midWest, through Jesse’s voice, author Larison holds our attention throughout.
The Governor’s daughter, Constance, is prepared by her father to marry a wealthy old man, but she is in love with the son, Will, of her father’s black butler. Will and Constance had grown up together at the mansion and are devoted to one another. At Constance’s engagement party, the band leader opens his guitar case, takes out a pistol, and fires at the crowd. Someone throws a burlap sack over Constance’s head and drags her away. Will also disappears. In the chaos, Jesse recognizes the shooter as her brother Noah. She follows him and ends up also shooting at the Governor and his men. They escape to a hidden valley they call “The Rock.”
Noah credits the Lord with his success at robbing banks and killing other outlaws. He gives sermons on Sundays and reads from a Bible he has only memorized. His followers worship him and build a barricade with the rocks to block the entrance. Jesse meets and falls in love with Annette, a large woman dressed as a man. She loves Jesse too. When another outlaw, Dizzy, attacks their hideout to steal their money, the war is on. Dizzy’s gang kills several of Noah’s men, Jesse and Annette decide on revenge, and they go to Dizzy’s bar to find him.
Noah’s woman, Jane, is pregnant and Constance is pregnant with Will’s baby. Will has been killed by the Governor’s militia. The action never ends from page to page. Do Noah’s followers escape from the rocked-in valley? Are babies born to Constance and Jane? Is Noah captured by the army? What happens to Jesse? Our sympathies are with her by this time. Find out the answers at your Mendocino Community Library.