“Alice and Her Grand Bell” by Will Tinkham

After reading this book, I am at a loss for words. And those who know me are aware that it doesn’t happen often. It happens only when I loved the book so much that it is extremely – exaggeratingly even – important for me to share my admiration with the world. And to find the right words so the world would believe me.

“Alice and Her Grand Bell” by Will Tinkham is a piece of literature that deserves to be included in American literature university programmes. I wanted to say “school programmes”, but since there are sensitive themes and plotlines, it is probably more suitable for a more mature audience.

What makes this book more than a collection of stories about separate people is the over-arching feeling it gives you while reading. Reading the seemingly unconnected stories set in different timelines, I had a feeling that I am delving into the history of America. The author has managed to draw a wide canvas of American life through the stories of ordinary people.

In 1990, Brock is eighteen and knows little about life. But he is about to learn and learn quickly. Before the first Gulf War, the possibility of the draft’s return hangs like a sword of Damocles over American families. And in Brock’s family, the Vietnam War has left unhealing scars, slicing his two older brothers off. Besides, Brock is eager to finally find out the secrets behind the fates of the brothers he’d never met.

As a side note, I can’t but mention that the author has created one of the most infuriatingly annoying characters I’ve encountered in the countless books I’ve read. It is truly fascinating how I wanted to strangle that character with my bare hands. And I am an extremely peaceful person. Bravo, Mr Tinkham, masterfully done!

In 1865, a different war changes the life of Grace’s mother forever. Not on the battlefield, but at the hand of a bastard who forces the woman to flee her home and start a dangerous journey in search of a new place she and her two daughters could call home.

In 1990 Brock moves to Canada. His life as an adult begins with uncovering family secrets, old and new. Navigating through the tumult of his home country and personal discoveries, Brock has to find his place geographically and emotionally.

In the final decades of the 1800s, Grace also rides her coming-of-age wave. The stakes are similarly high. The country is in transition, dealing with issues the Civil War uncovered.

And then, both time- and plotlines intertwine in the most unexpected manner.

“Alice and Her Grand Bell” is the kind of book you can’t put down even long past your bedtime hour. The author twists the tale, not leaving the readers without the answers they crave for, but also igniting their interest to know more.

Needless to say that I’ll continue reading the Americana series by Will Tinkham. Storytelling at its best!