1919 Misfortune’s End

Paula Phelan
ZAPmedia (2007)
ISBN 9780977819201
Reviewed by Nancy Wade for Reader Views (1/08)


Author Paula Phelan’s book, “1919 Misfortune’s End,” is a tale of two families living in the society of 1919 and what affects them the most during this time:  war, flu, bias, death/destruction, rioting and murder.  The storyline tells some of what the KKK did, or supported, in this time in the south.  The story starts in Washington, DC, and ends in New York City.

The story flips from one family’s story to the other family’s story.  It was hard for me to flow between the two families without backtracking to see who was where and what family I was reading about.  They had quite a bit in common and a lot of difference, depending on what point of the story you were reading about and which family member was being discussed.

The story mentions the health problems of the President of the United States and who was affected the most by his illness.  According to the story, the American people were the ones most hurt by his illness and lack of attention or even lack of caring. 

It is hard to imagine the time before electricity, cars, radios, televisions, or even computers.  Some families did have telephones, but not all.  The families not only heated by coal or wood stoves but cooked by them also. Minorities were treated severely for just being what they are.  Women were treated as servants to stay at home and have no opinions.  They did all the housework, raising the children, the cooking, ironing, starting the fires in the morning, and so forth.  Life was hard for the men but so much harder for the women.

Many of the soldiers came home to nothing, no families or jobs or homes.  The minorities that fought were treated as if they were slaves; a lot were killed in riots and mob attacks and not just the soldiers, women and children also.  Frustrations were taken out on those who could not protect themselves or their families.

I would like to think that in 2008 minorities are treated better than as depicted in “1919 Misfortune’s End.”


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