Review of Big Wheat by Richard Thompson

The Great Plains during the post World War I boom years of “big wheat” provide an unusual setting for a mystery. The charm of this book is as much in its intricate descriptions of the steam driven machinery that made the big harvests possible as in the story, although the story became increasingly compelling as I read.

Having stabbed his abusive father in the hand with the carving knife at the dinner table, Charlie, the unlikely hero of this book, sets out from the family farm without much of a plan or seemingly many prospects. From the outset we’re also introduced to a mysterious man who believes he needs to supply the land with blood to make up for the ravages of the plowed-under prairies. While the man’s concern for the environmental damage being done is well-founded, as will be so vividly demonstrated by the “dust bowl” later in the history of the plains, his methodology is macabre. With a sinking feeling we realize early on that Charlie is bound to get blamed for this man’s murderous madness.

At first I thought the book would follow a predictable path as Charlie, oblivious to the murder he has been accused of, gets tangled up with both the lawmen chasing him and the madman. But this book has many twists and unexpected turns, not the least its remarkable cast of characters. You could not possibly predict the array of unconventional friends that Charlie meets up with along the way, nor the villains who add more evil to the surplus provided by the madman. Fortunately, Thompson clearly has an optimistic streak in him somewhere that believes loyalty and goodness can outweigh the evil in humankind. Don’t expect a strictly happy ending, but don’t worry that this book will be too dark, either. For a vivid portrayal of farm life at the beginning of the twentieth century and for an even more vivid picture of life on the fringes of this most iconic of American lifestyles, read Big Wheat.