Bell Hammers

Little Egypt the area referred to in Southern Illinois caught my attention right away. I am from that area Cairo, Illinois. The stories were certainly unique and entertaining. You'll want to continue reading to see what Remmy has gotten into next.
I cannot agree with the author on the way everyone speaks in Southern Illinois. It certainly is different than central and Northern Illinois in many ways beautiful territory is just one of it's charms.
I would encourage readers to buy this book for it's uplifting entertainment and some charming stories; whether true or not.

This is a story that needed tellin, simple as that. Boy I’m sure glad he did. You see, my people from way back when are just like these people, so I grew up hearing stories and tall tales just like the ones in this here book. Most of em are probably true, but who knows and honestly, who cares? Like I said, these are stories that needed tellin. And they are told just like they were said, in that wonderful spoken vernacular of those wonderful people. It brought me back to when I was a little girl listening to my PaPaw talk about the coal mines and how hard it was for a regular guy to get ahead when the company men had all the power and money. And the pranks they would play, just to break the monotony of everyday life. Sunday picnics with all the neighbors, living down by the railroad tracks, carrying around little pieces of coal in my pocket because I liked the smell of it, stuff like that. Nobody writes stories about “hillbillies”, which is what my people were called, and told the truth. Nobody has written a story about Remmy, until now, and told the truth. This will feed your soul so just read it already!

Interesting look at life in Middle America as big business and the common man face off. Realistic characters bring life to an informative novel.

Bellhammers by Lancelot Schaubert is a full length, contemorary novel. The storyline spans decades and starts when the hero, Wilson Remus is six years old. He lives a life well lived, a lifetime filled with love, life, family, career, history, failure and succes. I loved the excekllent writing and the captivating story, the beautifully thought out and beautifully told story.

Bell Hammers by Lancelot Schaubert was the book I needed recently. I'd been struggling with anything I had picked up to read...until Bell Hammers. Schaubert tell us about the life and time of Wilson Remus (Remmy). From when he was six years old and running to catch his ride to school buck naked. Until he came face to face with the Lord at his life end. I will look back to my time with Remmy with fondness.

I would like to thank the publishers and NetGalley for this advanced digital book and the opportunity to review Bell Hammers.

Bell Hammers is and enjoyable and thoughtful read, one that captures life in southern Illinois Coal Country during the 20th century. The novel is told in stories, starting in Remmy's childhood, and bringing us through his adulthood, marriage, fatherhood and grandfather hood. Overshadowing everything is the Big Oil company, and Remmy's long play to develop a prank designed to even the score. The book is both funny and poignant and as I read through, I really felt myself bonding with these characters.
The book is loosely based on real life stories of the author's relatives which provides a sense of authenticity. Early in the book, Remmy is told of his grandfather's participation in the Herrin Massacre. I had never heard of this, but the telling was so real, I had to stop reading to find out if it was a real event. It was a real event, it was horrific, and I cannot believe I never heard of it in school.
This book is a bit of a slow read in the second half, but does pick up as Remmy's plan comes to fruition. I thank NetGalley and IBPA for an advanced copy of this enjoyable book in exchange for an honest review.

Humorous, folksy and charming. Reminiscent of Mark Twain's style of storytelling. As comfortable as a pair of slippers and an easy chair, this read is well worth the time spent.

A review copy was provided by Net Galley and the publishers. This is an honest, unbiased, uncompensated review.

“Bell Hammers” by Lancelot Schaubert is a fun and humorous story delivering a powerful message. The book can be summarized as a collection of several stories. The characters are loving and realistic. The writing style is excellent, reminiscent of Mark Twain.

Thanks to the author and the publisher for the ARC.

Verdict: Recommended.

A comfortable, fun and humourous story, reminiscent of Faulkner and Twain. With loving and realistic characters and excellent writing a story that needed telling done well. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the arc.

This is excellent. Good humor, good writing and a pretty realistic plot that also includes very good dialog. For me it has all of the elements of a great story. Recommended.

I really appreciate the review copy!!

I want to start off by saying thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book, it was a very good read easy to follow along with storyline and characters. This was a new author for me but I very much enjoyed it, thank you for the opportunity and I look forward to reading more by this author again. I highly recommend this book to everybody.

Bell Hammers was a relevant, funny, and important read. It's a series of stories told from the point of view of Remmy, presenting stories possibly handed down through many generations, representing those held back capitalism, by progression, by those with money. It is authentic and presents many example of pranks and tricks which common folk played on one another to entertain themselves and break the monotony of everyday life. I loved this book and found myself putting on an accent in my head as I read along. I'd highly recommend this sentimental read.

The book took a little while to get into reading. Once hooked, it was a well written joy to read. The author provided great character depth. I enjoyed Bellhammers.

What I Liked

The writing. From the very first sentence, I knew I was going to love this book. And I was right! It begins with the scene where the protagonist rushes off to school buck naked. It is either that or miss the last ride. And being a kid and a prankster at heart, they do the only thing true to their nature! The author continues to win your heart with their words right to the end.

The research. You walk in Little Egypt, Illinois, with the characters. A few footnotes show that the author filled in the blanks with other reference material.

The truth. Even though, the protagonist or their family don’t come off smelling like roses after several incidents, the author chose to tell the story as it was. I liked the honesty because it made the character more interesting to read about.

The humor. And the quirkiness of the characters. Whether it is the protag or his wife, his grandpa, or their collective friends. They saw the worst of times and tried to make life easier to live by being ready to laugh at themselves and prank others.

What I Didn’t Like

The preaching. At the very end, when the protagonist dies and goes to heaven, they have a conversation with God. It’s on how some pranks start off well but can have unintended but disastrous consequences. I get the lesson that comes with it; I just don’t feel like it was needed.

What Made Me Pause

The rape. For all I know, it happened just as described in the book. And it didn’t even drag on for pages and pages. Nonetheless, it hurt.

To summarize, read this book if you like small town stories, those based on family life, and love to laugh.

I requested this book on Netgalley and I’m glad I did!

This is a great author that I have never hear about but am so happy that I was able to read this wonderful book.
This book was a cute and funny novel that had a lot of charm and made me smile throughout. This book was well written and easy to understand. This is not my normal genre of reading, however I requested it to go outside of my spectrum and I am sure glad I did. This book not only had a realistic feel to it but it was easy to read and hard to put down especially the further I read. This book had a folksy element to it and was set in the Midwest which added to the charming and comfortable element I feel the writer was going for.

Bellhammers follows an ornery child on his path to become an ornery man. The story begins in a modest town in Illinois with Remmy getting a bath in a metal tub. When the "bus" (an old flatbed truck) pulls up the street he runs naked after the truck to catch the bus. Even from the first page the reader understands that this is no normal lead character, but one with life and stories...and pranks.

Throughout the book, Remmy and his best friends, a.k.a. the "merry men" battle the big bad oil company. Hijinks end with a spoiled drinking well and ending with a prank to end all pranks (and possibly end Remmy in jail).

The book takes readers through the whole of Remmy's life, and we get to experience life with Remmy from the 40's into the early 2000's. I enjoyed stories of Remmy's dad delivering milk, and Remmy later selling ice--reminiscent of a simpler time in American life.

The book isn't all hijinks, however. Bellhammers also focuses on serious issues such as the ethics of big corporations. Of love and family. Of race, and the prison system. And through it all Remmy has his faith and conversations with the Lord. Overall it was a charming read that you will be thinking about long after reading the last page.

I received a free electronic ARC of this historical novel from Netgalley, Lancelot Schaubert, and IBPA. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. In a style all of his own, Schaubert brings us the poignant history of a town, a family, that is crystal clear in minute vignettes of time and place through the eyes of youngster Wilson Remus Broganer.

Remmy is 6 years old when his story begins in Bell Hammers. Bell Hammer is a very small place, the oil fields of Texarco just about the only employer around and the employees are badly treated and often robbed of time or money or both. We have a chapter for each year, as seen through the eyes of this youngster who is sharp and funny and wise beyond his years.

As a Southwesterner, Illinois has always rested in my mind cleanly in the north and the east, but this story is true southern from the git-go. It is a wild ride between angst and laughter, and these protagonists are quickly included among your friends and family. You will want to read this book. This time, this place is picture-perfect and heartfelt. Schaubert is an author to follow.

pub date Oct 12, 2020

This book had me hooked with it's writing and character development. It made me think, smile , pause and laugh . An accomplishment only made possible by weaving the intricate tasks of good writing, timing and pacing.

Bell hammers is one of those books which is humorous yet poignant. This book makes you laugh yet gets you thinking about some serious issues.
Remmy lives in Little Egypt, southern Illinois in coal county. This books sketches his antics from childhood till old age and finally death. Remmy is quite a character, in fact all the characters in this story are characters ( if you know what I mean😜). All his life remmy dreams of building Camelot , having fun with his merry men and playing an ultimate prank coz “ pranks and jokes don’t have no consequences”.
His enemy is Texarco, the oil company.
Some of his antics , specially those with grandpa Patrick are hilarious. I also loved his conversations with The good lord.

The author has based this book on the actual experiences of some of his own relatives. Clearly, this was a story waiting to be told . The narrative style is reminiscent of some classic authors . I loved the use of some local language and slang ( for want of a better word ). The book does tend to stretch a bit towards the middle but overall it was a good one .

One of a kind book that tells serious issues in a funny way. While reading the first chapter, i knew how special the main character Remus is. Humorous and heartfelt throughout. The relationship between Remus and relatives is very relatable. It was bit dragged in some chapters, but I loved the use of local slang and scenarios by the author. Surprisingly i found the language mimicking some classic authors. Well thought and more pressing than I thought it would be!
Thank you NetGalley, Lancelot Schaubert for reader’s copy of the book. The review is my own and was not influenced in any way.

I loved this book, it took me way back to the days when I was growing up. It was humorous, during these times right now that we are going through right now, it is just the book that I needed to lighten the mood.

Thank you for the chance to read and review this book.

Bell Hammers is a wonderfully written book that follows Remmy through life in southern Illinois. It is told in a series of short stories linked together with each chapter covering a year of Remmy's life starting in elementary school. Remmy learns how to be a prankster from his grandfather and the book is peppered with jokes between him and friends, wife and children. When a faulty oil derrick falls in Remmy's yard and poisons the neighborhood well, he assembles his band of "Merry Men" to perform the world's greatest prank. Pranks and jokes have no consequences, right?

The writing is very good and reads a little like Mark Twain, especially the earlier sections. The author talks about his inspiration for this book coming from interviewing older grandparents and uncles about their lives. In some places, Bell Hammers reads like a series of anecdotes told at a family gathering--it was excellent.

Bell Hammers focuses on the life, loves and hijinks of Remmy, beginning with his childhood in Illinois through to his death.

Family and love play a huge part in this story but it also heartbreaking the conduct of big corporations and their responsibility to the communities they are a part of.

I loved the language and the ambience, it was especially heartwarming to read the acknowledgements. I look forward to another Remmy story!

One is not exposed to the middle America much, expect the stereotypical way pop culture wants us to believe. But this book does justice and provides a fresh and different outlook of life and times in those parts of the world. Remmy is the hero of the story - from start to finish, with an interesting and bold mix of other characters sprinkled in between. I found the book equal parts funny and tender, with a rare and authentic quality.

Thanks NetGalley for an advanced copy!

This was such a fun book and the writing was brilliant. I loved the characters as they were so realistic. This book was a great escape from Covid 19.
Many thanks to Independent Book Publishers and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a joy to read, thank you so much for the copy.
Remmy was such a funny character, I cried laughing so many times throughout this book. I absolutely loved the high school prank! This made me laugh so hard, thank you Lancelot for that.

I received this book from a Netgalley request for an honest review.

Bell Hammers: The True Folk Tale of Little Egypt, Illinois by Lancelot Schaubert is a story about Wilson Remus who lived his whole life in Little Egypt, Illinois. It is a very simple story about a man who aims to build his own paradise for the people he loves. I liked this book because of its plot, its themes, and the point of view. One aspect which I did not like about this book was the development of the plot that dragged the story.

The story involves a boy and how he grows up in a place owned and exploited by the oil corporate. First, I loved Wilson a.k.a Remmy's relationship with God and how that was developed in the story. Remmy strongly holds onto his faith on God and this faith helps him understand and cope with the struggles of his life. Second, I liked the simplicity of the action in the plot; Remmy's story did have a good amount of pranks which heated things up, but overall the action involved realistic and mundane scenarios such as Remmy's work as a carpenter. I liked the simple and funny bits of the story such as the scene of Remmy's marriage proposal and how he let Jim Johnston's kid to play in dung. These small funny things really brightened up the mundane action in the plot. As a reader, I really appreciated the realism and mundanity of the action in the plot because it was very simple and provided a different perspective on everyday life.

The themes that I liked in the story are coming of age and corporate exploitation. The story begins from Remmy's childhood and continues into Remmy's old age. This aspect of the plot provides an insight into the maturation of Remmy's understanding of the world around him. Additionally, the exploration of corporate exploitation highlights how Remmy struggled to understand and stand against exploitation of oil companies such as Texarco. His pranks on people like Jim Johnston help him vent his frustration from being mistreated by Texarco, but in the end the consequences of his pranks cost him a lot. This theme is important to the plot because it helps the reader understand how the economic and social landscape of Little Egypt transformed because of oil companies. The theme particularly highlights the disadvantages that oil companies brought to the people of Little Egypt, Illinois therefore, it accentuates the negatives of working under corporates. Overall, the combination of these themes gives the reader an insight into the lives of people who are exploited because of corporates.

Other than these themes, the story also has a very realistic narration. The narration is a third person limited narration, which focuses on Remmy's side of the story for most of the book. The narrator is very personal in his narration, which emphasizes his close relationship with Remmy and an intimate understanding of his life. This personal aspect of the narration helps the reader empathise with Remmy' story and understand his perspective better. Another aspect of this point of view is informal narration and dialogues, which are slightly difficult to understand nonetheless, this informality makes the story relatable to the reader. Therefore, the informal and personal narration makes the story simple, which enhances the realistic aspect of it.

The only problem with this story is its development. The story coveres a long time period so the narration drags a lot. The story focuses on a lot of uneventful scenarios in Remmy's life and these could have been introduced in a small number. This aspect of the book made it difficult to read, therefore I could not finish it in a few sittings. Other than this problem, Bell Hammers: The True Folk Tale of Little Egypt, Illinois is actually a good story. Its plot is very distinctive, its themes allude to significant issues, and its narration is simple and heart warming. This book is something completely different from the stories that I usually read, so I am grateful that I picked it up.

Bell Hammers is told through the voice of Remmy, using a series of stories which may have been passed down through generations. Remmy lives in Little Egypt, southern Illinois, his enemy is Texarco, the oil company. He has learned from his grandfather how to play jokes and pranks on others, as life can be a bit tedious.
The book is based on the actual experiences of some of the authors' own relatives, so this makes the events more meaningful to the reader and you could say it was a story waiting to be told.

This is a very different style of novel than I have found myself reading in some time. Written as a collective story that follows the life of one Remmy Brogenar. Born in recession era Illinois, Remmy was born and raised in the shadow of big oil and coal. Defying the corrupting effects of having a town full of big oil money, Remmy finds a way to make a life in Southern Illinois. Often humorous, there is a folkloric undercurrent to the story, as Remmy’s outlook is so often painted in the shadow of his favorite fairytale, Robin Hood. Remmy marries and goes on to have children, who have children of their own, and Remmy tries to be honest through it all. He does have a wicked streak, and is known for pranks that often lead him toward trouble. Full of both humor and tragedy, I can both laugh and cry at the crazy life of Remmy Brogenar. There is a palpable anxiety in the novel surrounding the polluting nature of big oil and coal, and the willingness of these executives to destroy and pollute for profit. This fight still goes on to this day. This is a fun story to read in spite of the injustices and the tragedies that seem to run in the family. Review posted to Facebook, Litsy, Goodreads,and LibraryThing.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC in return for my honest review. Lovely story. I've read a lot of thrillers lately so this was a refreshing change. Really enjoyed it, clever and well written filled with likeable characters.

I found this it be quite refreshing as it's not the typical story I find myself reading, and the characters were deep and rounded. Bringing to life Little Egypt, a real place I'd never heard of until picking up this novel, the author does a great job of telling a tale of people who feel so real.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.