Witless

By Dennis Vickers

Affairs of the heart, murder, suicide, riot, gossip, politics, heroism, cowardice--Witless bubbles over with the passionate extremes of life. Two peoples settle in Britts Mill, a small town in Southern Wisconsin, in the middle of the nineteenth century. The first are fun loving, free-spirited people who build the town's dance hall and saloon. They love, they dance, they play cards, they pull off pranks, they build their dreams. The second are the congregation of the Church of the Bridge. They pursue austerity in this world and hope for paradise in the next. Hubert Dartmouth, founder of the Church, is struck by lightning, survives, and commits his life to censuring worldly pleasure. His son and grandson each take the leadership of the Church, when their times come, and pursue the same end. The conflict between these cultures begins as inconsequential friction but grows over a half a century to erupt into an explosive conclusion.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1442195193
• ISBN13: 9781442195196
• Release Date: May 2009
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

It's a New Classic

The author says that his purpose in writing is always to explore some important idea. Now, that's what I'm looking for! But he also strives to create a 'good' story. And has he done that! Inhabitants of the American Upper Midwest in the 19th Century lived each day as it came. They talked, they gossiped, they gave advice, they cared for each other, they shared occasional off-color jokes, and, on occasion, some even played practical jokes on their targets. They were faithful. They cheated. They were loose. They were stern. They were friendly. They were shy. They loved. They were hurt. Their lives were as vibrant and full of feeling as anything I have ever experienced. I know. I was there...Through this book. Now, you won't catch me claiming that Witless will do for the history of Wisconsin what great classics have done for other portions of America--Tom Sawyer, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Roots...No, you won't ever hear me say that...........But I can think it!!

Title Reissued from Good Press, Madison, WI

This edition from Good Press is repackaged to make the book more affordable.

The opiate of the masses?

The humor in "Witless" leads the reader through a story that is both subtly disturbing and an appropriate background for today's headlines. The book provides a good read, but below the surface poses questions about the nature of community and the role of religion in daily life. Can morality and humor coexist? Is there room for humanity or ethics in fundamentalist religion? I recommend the book to anyone interested in local atmosphere, human nature and the roles of sectarian intolerance and complacence in fostering tragedy.

Women to be Reckoned With

In chapter 1 of Witless, Mary Baird and Emmy Britts, young wives living in a small Wisconsin town in the middle of the 19th Century, pull a prank on their husbands and their husbands' friends. I won't spoil the surprise; suffice it to say the prank becomes a local legend-These are women who know how to have fun.Later in the book, Anna Baird-Langdon, daughter of Mary Baird, weary of her sagging marriage, marshals her energy to the benefit of the town's school. Her work there leads to a close friendship with Arthur, the school's teacher, and ultimately scandal. She becomes the target of Preacher Dartmouth, an unlikable old bigot who believes women should be neither seen nor heard. She suffers a severe blow at his hands, but escapes, recovers, and plots her revenge. In the end she transforms her mother's prank. What was playful becomes deadly serious-the objective not fun, but sweet revenge.Mary, Emmy, Anna, and other female characters in Witless, make the story. They are smart, funny, high-spirited, and audacious. They are women to be reckoned with.

Love, hidden, then swept away.

Witless succeeds on two fronts. First of all, as a story. Three generations of characters play out their triumphs and fiascoes, their courage and cowardice, their loves and hates. You'll find likeable characters and unlikable ones, mixed in a stew of surprising events. Second, as reflection. What happens when diverse cultures are thrown together with nothing to resolve differences beyond what the cultures themselves provide? Witless reveals one answer, not an appealing one for either side. Perhaps reading this story will prompt you to think of others. That wouldn't be surprising; imagination stimulates imagination, and Witless is, above all, imaginative.