Leeds Merriweather can’t seem to catch a break. A scion of a noble family, circumstances force him to leave Great Britain. He settles down in Boston and starts publishing a newspaper. But trouble follows him. It’s 1773, and people are tired of the British yoke. A staunch pacifist, Leeds doesn’t want to pick sides. But once he meets beautiful, secretive Sally Hughes, Leeds falls for her hard. Together, they find themselves both pawns and players in the early years of US history.
Larry Brill’s historical novel THE PRINTER AND THE STRUMPET continues the misadventures of a hapless hero Leeds Merriweather, first introduced in his previous book, The Patterer. Leeds is a man relying on his wits and luck to eke out a living. He is pragmatic but not a cynic; a man of the world but also a gentleman; vain but without delusions of grandeur. Leeds may not realize it at first, but colonies on the brink of the American Revolution are just the right place for him.
Brill cleverly uses history to offer satirical comments on politics and media here and now. In the novel, British Governor Thomas Hutchinson purchases newspapers all over the colonies to print pro-Unionist propaganda. All the while, he’s crying crocodile tears about the lack of journalist integrity and fake news. Over time, a polarization between the supporters and opponents of the British Crown grows so much each side reports only the facts that suit them. At first, Leeds tries to satisfy both sides, but as his friend wisely observes: “In today’s world, the worst ditch was in the middle of the road.” The pen may be mightier than a sword, but only if the person wielding it believes what he writes.
If there’s any flaw within the novel, it is in Brill’s insistence on peppering it with anachronistic pop-cultural references. It is funny to recognize an occasional quote by Dickens or Weller. But once the novel starts referencing Eric Clapton’s “Layla”, Janis Joplin’s “Me & Bobby McGee”, or even Sesame Street, the joke quickly grows stale. Nevertheless, the novel is superbly entertaining. While it is fairly obvious where the story is going, even that is a part of its charm. We want to see the good guy triumph by using his smarts against the bully.
If Larry Brill’s THE PRINTER AND THE STRUMPET was just an entertaining romp set in the early years of the American Revolution it would have already been a fun read, but its satirical take on today’s media and politics makes it even better.
~Danijel Štriga for IndieReader