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Time ripe for another 'Tale for 3 Counties'
Jan. 12, 2008
Commentary
This is usually the time of year that the long, dark winter has settled
upon us.
While you may have hit a few golf balls this week, maybe even thought
about turning the air conditioning on during your afternoon commute,
don't be fooled. This is Western New York, we'll get our winter.
And when it does we'll turn to comforting staples: for some it'll be
a thick, warm stew; for others a book. Whatever your choice, consider
escaping into Thomas Mullen's debut novel The Last Town on Earth.
The action-filled story is this year's selection for the "A Tale
for Three Counties" community reading project. The program, which
has brought five other authors to Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties
since 2003, encourages people to read the same book, talk about it and
then meet the author.
To get you started, the beginning of The Last Town on Earth is published
as a special section inside today's editions of The Daily News. Inside
the section, you'll find a schedule of book discussions and an update
on past Tale authors (three of whom have new books coming out between
now and June).
The Last Town on Earth is set in 1918 at the height of the strikingly
virulent and often fatal flu epidemic. At the same time, World War I
rages in Europe and communities are divided over the U.S. role.
Mr. Mullen told The Daily News in October that his novel was inspired
by an article he read about a decade ago that mentioned some uninfected
towns were so terrified of what they heard about the flu that they decided
the only way they could protect themselves was if they blocked roads
leading to town and posted armed guards to prevent anyone from entering.
That's what Mr. Mullen's fictional Pacific Northwest town of Commonwealth
does. But when a lost, starving, cold traveler begs two guards for food
and shelter, they found themselves unprepared. Should they put themselves
and the town at risk by helping him, or turn him away to die in the
woods?
>From that opening incident, Mr. Mullen introduces readers to not
only the characters but the time period. It was one of surprising political
repression and tense emotions regarding the U.S. role in the war, and
also of violent labor activity.
People worried about a pandemic? A nation divided by war? Sound familiar?
While Mr. Mullen's story is based on history, his story could also teach
us something about our selves today.
In today's Lifestyles/Extra section, staff writer Scott DeSmit provides
some local perspective on the 1918 influenza. You may be surprised to
see a number of parallels with the people of Mullen's fictional Commonwealth.
Even in Western New York towns ordered quarantines, and some even sought
to create special police forces to ensure that orders from the local
health department were carried out. Schools were closed for a month.
Hundreds were afflicted by the flu; many died.
As part of this year's "Tale" program libraries are planning
additional historical programs and exhibitions about the flu outbreak
and World War I. Details on several of those projects are still being
finalized. Richmond Memorial Library will have a "History Sandwiched
In" program on Feb. 27. Modeled after the library's lunch-time
book review series, the program will bring Genesee County Historian
Susan Conklin to the library to talk about the Spanish flu in Genesee
County in 1918.
By March, when Mr. Mullen visits Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties,
many will have read The Last Town on Earth. And many readers will also
have participated in one of the 18 book discussions planned at local
libraries (the first is Feb. 16 at Wyoming Free Library).
Thousands of readers have participated in the Tale project. Many keep
coming back year after year. If you're only just discovering Tale, consider
clicking on the project's Web site at http://www.taleforthreecounties.org.
A number of recent updates have added information and photographs from
previous programs, including an extensive collection of stories from
The Daily News. You'll also download this year's brochure, which includes
a schedule of discussions, author visits and questions to consider while
reading The Last Town on Earth.
Tale organizers pick a book they hope will pique the interest of local
readers - a new author, or one not familiar to area readers. The goal
of the "Tale" project is to get readers to discover a good
book and introduce people to their library.
"We intentionally choose books that are unlike what we have read
in the past and also choose ones that may 'stretch' a reader's horizon,"
says Leslie DeLooze, the Richmond Memorial Library reference librarian
who has spearheaded the project since its 2003 beginning. "One
of the best parts of the program is finding 'the' book and then hearing
that readers liked the selection."
Copies of The Last Town on Earth are available for loan and purchase
at local libraries and bookstores. So cozy up, and find comfort as snow
returns to the forecast.
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Courtesy of Batavia Newspapers Corporation