Book Review: Muskrat Ramble
Muskrat Ramble. Mim Eichmann. Living Springs Publishers, LLP, March 2021, Trade Paperback and E-Book.
Reviewed by Wayne Turmel.
Muskrat Ramble is the ambitious story of a woman’s journey through the first half of the Twentieth Century. The novel follows Hannah Barrington, a woman damaged by racial prejudice, constricting social mores, and tumultuous changes in American society as she tries to navigate the world with two small girls in tow: one white, one biracial.
In this sequel to the author’s first book, A Sparrow Alone, Hannah flees Missouri for New Orleans in hopes of finding a better life for herself and her girls. She arrives in a confusing world where race is divided into fractions, a single woman is at the mercy of unimaginable constraints, and new music—Jazz—provides the soundtrack.
The book’s title comes from a ground-breaking recording by Creole jazz pioneer Edward (Kid) Ory. Hannah meets Ory when he’s still a young, unknown trombonist and their relationship intertwines again and again over forty years. The true story of his rollercoaster musical career provides touchpoints for Hannah’s own story, and he’s one of many real-life characters Hannah encounters.
The novel also chronicles the heroine’s encounters with the biggest events of the century, such as life on the home front during the Great War, the outbreak of Spanish Influenza, and the migration of African Americans north to Chicago.
The author’s personal musical passion and expertise shines through in the way she documents the music and its characters. The intersection of jazz, classical music, and vaudeville is lovingly detailed. Hannah’s is not a simple story, and you’ll learn more about opera costuming, the music business in the Twenties, and the horrifying treatment (or lack thereof) for autoimmune diseases like encephalitis than you may expect. People who enjoy historical fiction for the details and to learn something they didn’t know will be richly rewarded.
This tale of one woman’s harrowing personal odyssey through half a century is not a breezy read, but worth the journey.