Ragtown
1930s Nevada. Sixteen-year-old Helen Carter and her father migrate from Kansas to Ragtown, a shanty community near Las Vegas, joining thousands of other despairing souls who seek employment with the Hoover Dam Diversion Project during the Great Depression. When Helen’s father dies from toxic work conditions, her options are few. She can marry, become a prostitute, or starve.
Alone and bereft, Helen befriends Ezra Deal, his sister Grace, and his little brother, Pepper. Grace soon dies in childbirth, leaving Ezra lost and consumed with guilt. Helen assumes responsibility for Pepper, and although she is attracted to Ezra, he shows little interest in a romantic relationship. In desperation, Helen marries Cotton Vaughn, a rowdy tunnel worker who becomes involved with casino mobsters.
Their marriage disintegrates as Cotton’s gambling, drinking, and abuse increase. She and Pepper flee to the mountains. By living off the land and selling her novel pain remedy, Helen gains financial security and finds a secure home for Pepper. When the two-year construction project ends, Helen faces difficult choices. Does she stay in Ragtown or move on and pursue her dream of independence?
Gamble’s skillful employ of dual-first-person narration powerfully conveys the personal tragedies and triumphs of Helen and Ezra paralleled with the broader overwhelming conditions created by the Great Depression and the Hoover Dam construction. Well-researched, detailed scenes of impoverished shantytowns, dangerous building sites, and corporate versus labor conflicts enhance the suspenseful plot.
Helen is a heartwarming, strong, resilient, and optimistic heroine who struggles to survive amidst adversity and social injustice. Ezra, her love interest, is well-developed and engaging as he grapples to find his life’s purpose. A colorful, robust cast of characters based on historical oral stories vividly captures the 1930s. The end-of-chapter author notes provide further insight into this lesser-known period of challenge and hardship.
