🎧 Book Review: Bell Hammers by Lancelot Schaubert

3⭐
Publication date ~ book ~ October 12, 2020, audio ~ March 9, 2023
Page Count ~ 336
Audio length ~ 7 hours 29 minutes
Narrator ~ Lancelot Schaubert (more on that below)
POV ~ 3rd person
Featuring ~ historical fiction, short chapters

My review:

This is another instance where I probably would not have picked this book up on my own, but I’m not mad I read/listened to it. I wasn’t blown away, but I had a fine time with it.

(Wilson Remus) Remmy’s story spans from 1941 – 2012. Each chapter is a new year of his life told in chronological order, which made it easy to follow along with. It was entertaining with some humorous moments and quite a bit of pranking going on. There’s a little true crime and religion sprinkled in too. It’s always interesting to read about how living was back in the day.

Narration ~ I really like when the author narrates their own work. I feel like it give the story a little extra pizzazz. Since they’ve written it they know when to show proper emotion and really get the reader engaged. It felt like he had a real connection to the story. I liked the extra audio effects and he even sang us a tune or two.

*Thanks Lancelot Schaubert for asking me to read your book and to NetGalley for the audio copy. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*

Add to your never ending TBR  ~ goodreads

I’d love to hear your thoughts if you’ve read it.

Book blurb:

Remmy grows up with Beth in Bellhammer, Illinois as oil and coal companies rob the land of everything that made it paradise. Under his Grandad, he learns how to properly prank his neighbors, friends, and foes. Beth tries to fix Remmy by taking him to church. Under his Daddy, Remmy starts the Bell Hammer Construction Company, which depends on contracts from Texarco Oil. And Beth argues with him about how to build a better business. Together, Remmy and Beth start to build a great neighborhood of “merry men” carpenters: a paradise of s’mores, porch furniture, newborn babies, and summer trips to Branson where their boys pop the tops off of the neighborhood’s two hundred soda bottles. Their witty banter builds a kind of castle among a growing nostalgia.

Then one of Jim Johnstone’s faulty Texarco oil derricks falls down on their house and poisons their neighborhood’s well.

Poisoned wells escalate to torched dog houses. Torched dog houses escalate to stolen carpentry tools and cancelled contracts. Cancelled contracts escalate to eminent domain. Sick of the attacks from Texaco Oil on his neighborhood, Remmy assembles his merry men:

“We need the world’s greatest prank. One grand glorious jest that’ll bloody the nose of that tyrant. Besides, pranks and jokes don’t got no consequences, right?”

Connect with Lancelot 💕 Facebook ~ Goodreads ~ Website

Thanks for stopping by!  Visit my bookish product page here 🥰📚

Connect with me ⬇