Calgary Public Library

Bleeding Kansas, [a novel], by Sara Paretsky

eng

fiction

Bleeding Kansas

talking book MP3

by Sara Paretsky

[a novel]

Bleeding Kansas is the story of the Schapens and the Grelliers, two farm families whose histories have been entwined since the 1850s, when their ancestors settled the valley as antislavery immigrants. Today, the Schapen family, still terrified by the lawlessness of the 1970s -- when Lawrence was the most violent college town in the nation -- have turned to that old-time religion for security. The Schapens keep a close eye on all their neighbors, most especially the Grelliers. They keep careful track of everyone's misdeeds, and print the most egregious on their family website. When Gina Haring, a Wiccan, moves into a nearby empty farmhouse and starts practicing pagan rites, the Schapens are so outraged that they begin an active harassment campaign against the Wiccans. The family members worry, too, about who stands better with the Lord, they or the Grelliers. When a Schapen cow gives birth to what may be a "Perfect Red Heifer" -- needed if the Temple is ever rebuilt in Jerusalem -- the Schapens are convinced that God is indeed smiling on them