Book review
The Missing by Tim Gautreaux. Published by Sceptre Price €11.99.
By Katherine Thorne
Sam Simoneaux was sixmonths-old when his family were shot dead by people seeking revenge for the death of their brother. Years later, we meet Sam in France, at the end of World War i. He has expected to fight and is disappointed to find that the war has just ended.
He returns to the States and gets a job as head floor-walker in Krine's department store in new orleans. one day a couple lose their little girl, Lily, in the store. She has been kidnapped by Ralph Skadlock and his mother, sell Lily to a rich childless couple some distance away.
Sam is fired from his job but is told he will be re-employed if he finds the little girl. To achieve this, he embarks on a new job on an entertainment boat that sails from port to port along the river. it picks up crowds of people who want music, fun and alcohol, during those times of prohibition.
Also working on the boat are the parents of the little kidnapped girl. From then on, his life and theirs become inextricably bound up.
This is an amazing story, that takes us through a countryside of forest, swamp, poverty and crime. The morality and living circumstances of the ruthless outlaws who live there owe nothing to civilised behaviour.
Life and work on the boat are portrayed in graphic detail. We hear, see and smell the joys and horrors of these people, who live at the edge of society. The missing is a great read that takes us from the devastation of WWi in France to a world of unbelievable cruelty and lawlessness in the uS. But in the end basic humanity wins out.
