The Something That Happened in Pepperville (2nd Edition)

Pepperville Stories, Book 1

By: Joann Keder

Narrated by: Rob Holtzmann

Pepperville is a quaint, sleepy town where nothing ever seems to change...but that's probably because no one ever leaves. In fact, an outsider would probably think that everyone in Pepperville is just a little bit eccentric - from the policeman on his bicycle to the postal worker who will deliver mail only at night. Jenna Thompson has lived all of her 19 years in a cottage behind the Ashton Mansion. Like everyone else in Pepperville, Jenna's entire day is predictable - from what she will buy at the store to the footwear she will use to walk there. Then one day during a routine trip to the Shoppe and Walke, Jenna is horrified to discover that a vagrant has taken up residence in the biggest tree in town. No one knows why he is there, but the citizens of Pepperville do their best to make the glum young man as comfortable and welcome as possible. Everyone, that is, except for Jenna, who is determined to rid her town of this strange and silent squatter. Little does she know that her schemes will change the face of Pepperville forever.

©2009 Joann Keder (P)2020 Joann Keder

A disturbing story

First, the good: The narrator, Rob Holtzmann has a great voice, deep and assuasive, which is perfect for this. I know he is still new to this work, and this is his first Audible narration, and with that said, he did a great job! I look forward to following his career, if he continues in this arena, and watching (hearing) how he keeps improving. As a first attempt, though, I say ‘well done!’

Just a couple of nit-picks with the audio: First, the sound quality seemed to degrade somewhat at the start of chapter 12. It’s actually quite a jarring change if you’re listening with headphones or earbuds turned up. Second, there are a couple of in-chapter breaks where there should be a pause, either in the recording, or the narration, but there are none, which causes some confusion in the continuity of the story.

Now, about this story, I really can’t say that I understand what kind of book this is meant to be. In the beginning, I thought it was going to be simply a cute, maybe comical, little book about a small town full of zany townspeople with small-town conventional values dealing with whatever “the something that happened” was. But no, after hearing the book in it’s entirety, I can definitely say for sure—at least for me—that it’s not cute, comical, or simple, but rather a little disturbing.

Overall, perhaps this is meant to be a story about change, and the repercussions of the unwillingness to change, or accept change. Or possibly it is meant to have more to do with the need to know, relate, and empathize with other people. Or perhaps it’s even meant to be as simple as the importance of recognizing your ‘sameness’ in someone else? Or it could be none of these things and I’m trying to give it more meaning than it really has.

I do appreciate the quirky, if backwards and sometimes very insensitive, characters in Pepperville. I can also appreciate the quirky town of Pepperville as well, which feels very much like a character unto itself—maybe the main character. Most of the cast of characters we learn about offer their ‘something‘ to the story, and most are entertaining. But some feel like they’ve been added only to better flesh out the character of the town as a whole, but didn’t progress the plot or serve another function besides.

Unfortunately my gripes don’t end there. And in an effort not to be too spoilery, I will try to be as vague as possible in my explanations. First, you can read in the synopsis that Pepperville suddenly develops a problem with a young man living in a large tree in the middle of town. There’s a story behind this young man’s decision to live in the tree that I won’t spoil here, but it’s just one of several instances in the book where someone very obviously has mental health issues, and desperately needs help, and yet nothing is ever said, or done, about that need. There are also many occasions where the subject matter gets very, very dark, even disturbingly so, and yet it gets glossed over, or made fun of, or just spoken of once, then forgotten about and never mentioned again. And I mean seriously dark subjects like...
******POTENTIAL VERY TINY MINOR SPOILERS******
...accidental horrible deaths of children, suicide, vehicular manslaughter, child abuse, rape, murder, framing someone for murder, planning murder, and even criminal grave exhumation! All just part of the story one second, then forgotten the next. And this is supposed to be humorous?
******END OF ANY POTENTIAL TINY SPOILERY*******

I’m not trying to say that it’s every author’s job to be a spokesperson for all that’s right and good. And before you call me a ‘liberal snowflake,’ NO- I’m not saying I’m offended by the mere mention of the subjects above. What I am saying, though, is that there are some darker subject matters that maybe should stay in the dark. Others, I think, can be brought into the light of comedy, but only in the right way, and in the right context. And this just wasn't the right way or the right context, at least not for me. So this really made it difficult for me to enjoy the story overall, and I really wanted to like it.