The Devils of Bakersfield

This book caught my eye because my parents and grandparents were Bakersfield people. If you've ever been there you can't forget the dryness of the area or the slow and steady oil pumps found in all sorts of places. Bakersfield always seemed like a nice place to me with my child's eye perspective but author John Shannon tells a different story.

Admittedly fiction, there are 'historical accounts' placed throughout the book to shed light on the present circumstances. As I shared some of the 'accounts' [bigotry, racism, classism] with my dad [my leading authority on B-field], he said there was truth in those facts. It was interesting and weird to learn a little B-field history in a fiction book in Michigan.

I sort of liked the main character, Jack Liffey, and thought some supporting characters had more...character. Vicariously visiting Kern County was fun for me. On the other hand, I didn't like the depiction of a crazy church/cult because I just get tired of religious people being portrayed as dorks. The corruption of civil and religious leaders is not new and wasn't interesting in this book. The alternate endings placed the emphasis on a character besides Jack and I just didn't find it sensible or enjoyable or tidy. I wouldn't recommend this book to very many people; my enjoyment came from a personal link to the location and not from the writing.