Settle in for a long-winded tale of a real-life outlaw: Larry Baran's THE HOUSEWIFE LOVED A BANDIT. When he was just about to turn five, Larry's mother Florence went to prison. His siblings remember more of their mother than he does, and most of it is bittersweet sadness. Still, Baran takes charge of keeping his mother's unbelievable story alive outside of the newspaper clippings in his aunt's home.
Baran's family has a penchant for skirting the law. In great detail, the author explores the way the world changed in the early 1900s and how the laws impacted his great-grandparents’ choices. More historical than true crime, this book may put some genre police on edge with Baran skirting convention (such as his family). Quite late in the text, THE HOUSEWIFE LOVED A BANDIT finally takes readers into the tale of Florence's risky romance outside of her marriage. “The next 50 years would be an adventure of Biblical proportions,” writes Baran of his mother's marriage to his father. The details of her crimes are surprisingly scant, however, making this story more of a memoir of a dysfunctional family than a Bible-level adventure. Despite the dysfunction and hardship that can come from this upbringing, Baran does manage to provide lots of humor. Particularly heartening and revelatory are the emails from Baran's sisters, which paint a more complex portrait of their mother: that of a discontent housewife.
It's clear from the end chapters that few in Baran's family had much interest in sharing Florence's story. Much of this history comes from a collection of news media surrounding her crimes and convictions. Given his unfamiliarity with Florence at the height of her crimes, it doesn't always feel like Baran himself was the right one to share this story. Also, the narrative is padded heavily with prose that suggests more stream of consciousness than documentary work. However, the tone does provide humor and interest, and the meta moments (like Baran asking the reader if they are “bored of this”) provide a certain intimacy that feels as if Baran and the reader are sitting in the den together.
An unexpected entry of true crime, THE HOUSEWIFE LOVED A BANDIT offers a humorous, nonviolent option in a genre that isn't known for light-hearted stories.
Larry Baran's THE HOUSEWIFE LOVED A BANDIT makes up for its lack of brevity with an approachable voice that will resonate with the right audience.
~ Melodie Coulter for IndieReader