I received this book from a Netgalley request for an honest review. Bell Hammers: The True Folk Tale of Little Egypt, Illinois by Lancelot Schaubert is a story about Wilson Remus who lived his whole life in Little Egypt, Illinois. It is a very simple story about a man who aims to build his own paradise for the people he loves. I liked this book because of its plot, its themes, and the point of view. One aspect which I did not like about this book was the development of the plot that dragged the story. The story involves a boy and how he grows up in a place owned and exploited by the oil corporate. First, I loved Wilson a.k.a Remmy's relationship with God and how that was developed in the story. Remmy strongly holds onto his faith on God and this faith helps him understand and cope with the struggles of his life. Second, I liked the simplicity of the action in the plot; Remmy's story did have a good amount of pranks which heated things up, but overall the action involved realistic and mundane scenarios such as Remmy's work as a carpenter. I liked the simple and funny bits of the story such as the scene of Remmy's marriage proposal and how he let Jim Johnston's kid to play in dung. These small funny things really brightened up the mundane action in the plot. As a reader, I really appreciated the realism and mundanity of the action in the plot because it was very simple and provided a different perspective on everyday life. The themes that I liked in the story are coming of age and corporate exploitation. The story begins from Remmy's childhood and continues into Remmy's old age. This aspect of the plot provides an insight into the maturation of Remmy's understanding of the world around him. Additionally, the exploration of corporate exploitation highlights how Remmy struggled to understand and stand against exploitation of oil companies such as Texarco. His pranks on people like Jim Johnston help him vent his frustration from being mistreated by Texarco, but in the end the consequences of his pranks cost him a lot. This theme is important to the plot because it helps the reader understand how the economic and social landscape of Little Egypt transformed because of oil companies. The theme particularly highlights the disadvantages that oil companies brought to the people of Little Egypt, Illinois therefore, it accentuates the negatives of working under corporates. Overall, the combination of these themes gives the reader an insight into the lives of people who are exploited because of corporates. Other than these themes, the story also has a very realistic narration. The narration is a third person limited narration, which focuses on Remmy's side of the story for most of the book. The narrator is very personal in his narration, which emphasizes his close relationship with Remmy and an intimate understanding of his life. This personal aspect of the narration helps the reader empathise with Remmy' story and understand his perspective better. Another aspect of this point of view is informal narration and dialogues, which are slightly difficult to understand nonetheless, this informality makes the story relatable to the reader. Therefore, the informal and personal narration makes the story simple, which enhances the realistic aspect of it. The only problem with this story is its development. The story coveres a long time period so the narration drags a lot. The story focuses on a lot of uneventful scenarios in Remmy's life and these could have been introduced in a small number. This aspect of the book made it difficult to read, therefore I could not finish it in a few sittings. Other than this problem, Bell Hammers: The True Folk Tale of Little Egypt, Illinois is actually a good story. Its plot is very distinctive, its themes allude to significant issues, and its narration is simple and heart warming. This book is something completely different from the stories that I usually read, so I am grateful that I picked it up.

My Recommendation