Fool's Parade
By Davis Grubb
Summary
Mattie Appleyard, Lee Cottrill, and Johnny Jesus all get released for the Glory Prison. Mattie was a murderer, Lee was a bank robber, and Johnny was accused of rape. Mattie Appleyard has earned over $25,000 in prison work and many people in Glory do not think that it is right for him to have that kind of money. $25,000 is a great deal of money at this time, so some people decided to do something so that Mattie Appleyard does not receive this money. The Glory officers send the three former prisoners on a train away from Glory, Mattie was given his check and put it in his jacket without even looking at it. While on the train Johnny, Lee, and others on the train become curious about the big check and want to see it. So Mattie finally pulls it out and looks at it and lets others look at it as well. When Mattie Appleyard gets his check back he looks at it a little more closely. After his observation he discovers that he can only cash this check back in the town of Glory. So Mattie Appleyard, Lee Cottrill, and Johnny Jesus plan a way to go back to Glory to cash the check. What they do not know is that there are people in Glory and right outside of Glory that will do everything to make sure that Matties plan will not work. These people will get paid to kill Mattie, Lee, and Johnny to make sure that they do not get the great deal of money. But for an old man Mattie Appleyard has many years of experience and a little fight left in him and he will need it all to get past the people of Glory.
Characters
Mattie Appleyard is the overall main character in this book, he is getting very old and it is about time for him to settle down. He also has been in jail for a very long time and has earned over twenty-five thousand dollars in prison work. Johnny Jesus is a young man that has become very close to Mattie Appleyard, he thinks of him as a father figure. Lee Cottrill is became good friends with Mattie and Johnny while in prison, Lee is probably in his fifties or sixties. Doc Council is a police man that has a big head, and thinks that he is the big guns of the town.
Review
I recommend this book to anyone that wants an action and mysterious book. I have already let people know how much I have liked reading Fools' Parade, and that they should go check it out for themselves. Personally I love reading action and mystery books and this book has a great combination of the two. I never knew what exactly was going to happen throughout the book. In the book the three former prisoners were confronted or in the same house many times and I never knew if Doc was going to catch them or if they would find another crazy way to escape. I am very glad that I decided to read this book and I advise everyone to read it.
Favorite Passage
My favorite part of the book is when Mattie goes into the Glory bank to cash his check. The workers do not know that Mattie has dynamite strapped to his chest and with one wrong movement he could flatten the whole town. I like this part because while in prison Mattie Appleyard specialized in mining and especially the part involving dynamite. So he uses his many years of knowledge against the town to get what is his.
Works Cited
"Fools Parade [Paperback]." Fools Parade: Davis Grubb: 9781572331143: Books. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Nov. 2013. <http://www.amazon.ca/Fools-Parade-Davis-Grubb/dp/1572331143>.
"Share Davis Grubb." e-WV. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Nov. 2013. <http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/8
Grubb, Davis. Fools' parade. New York: World Pub. Co., 1969. Print.