鈥淎 Dangerous Business鈥� by Jane Smiley (Alfred A. Knopf)
After a fall publishing season filled with Big Books by John Irving, Cormac McCarthy and Barbara Kingsolver, to name just a few, it鈥檚 refreshing to read this taut tale from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jane Smiley (鈥淎 Thousand Acres鈥�).
Set in Monterey, California, about a decade before the Civil War, the dangerous business of the title is prostitution. Working girls Eliza and Jean ply their trade at two brothels in the coastal town, one for men, and one for women. When the bodies of young women are discovered, they begin to apply what they鈥檝e learned reading Edgar Allan Poe mysteries to try and solve the murders.
As they attempt to piece together clues, their clients start to look more and more suspicious, even as business proceeds as normal. Mrs. Parks, the madame who runs Eliza鈥檚 establishment, utters the quote on the book鈥檚 preface page, telling Eliza: 鈥淏etween you and me, being a woman is a dangerous business, and don鈥檛 let anyone tell you otherwise.鈥�
Indeed, as the plot unfolds, it鈥檚 remarkable what people got away with in the 1850s. Eliza鈥檚 abusive husband, Peter 鈥� who was shot to death in a saloon about two months before the events of the novel 鈥� is not missed by anyone and his killer remains at large. There is no posse searching for who killed the missing girls, either, so Eliza and Jean take their time following up on leads, going for long walks and horseback rides to investigate crime scenes and observe possible suspects.
The interplay between the two young women is the heart of the story. Maturing into a world that values them only as potential mothers or housekeepers, they find purpose and grow in confidence as they pursue justice. 鈥淭here was plenty to be learned in California,鈥� writes Smiley, 鈥渁nd Eliza was ready to learn all sorts of things 鈥� the names of birds, the adventures of the people she saw around her and of her customers鈥� But one thing she had learned was how quickly death comes鈥� What came much more rarely, and was therefore a little scarier, was true friendship, of the sort she had with Jean.鈥�
At 208 pages, the novel鈥檚 pace is quick. It feels like Smiley could mine more stories out of Monterey in 1854. Enough interesting characters enter and exit Eliza鈥檚 brothel bedroom to justify a series of novels. If anything like 鈥淎 Dangerous Business,鈥� they鈥檇 be fine stories indeed.
Rob Merrill, The Associated Press
