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Rules of '48
Master storyteller Jack Cady's final novel, Rules of '48, is a stirring semi-autobiographical examination of changing social conventions, and the development of the American conscience in the aftermath of the greatest war in history. In a city with roots deep in the Confederacy, five men endure seven deadly weeks that forever alter their perceptions of the world.
257 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2001
48 people are currently reading
231 people want to read
About the author
Jack Cady
66 books32 followersWinner of Nebula, Phillip K. Dick, World Fantasy and Bram Stoker awards.
Obituaries:
in Seattle PI
in Peninsula Daily News
in Seattle Times
from Komo News
Obituaries:
in Seattle PI
in Peninsula Daily News
in Seattle Times
from Komo News
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
April 19, 2015
Ever been caught up in a book so beautiful that even though you want to devour it to the very last page, you slow yourself down, savoring the moments, drawing it out? Waking up in the middle of the night to read a little more?
I forget how powerful Cady is. Even the preface was moving.
No one, in my experience, has written so True, so compleatly, so honestly, so movingly, so . . . perfectly of the extraordinariness of our ordinariness.
So freaking beautiful.
If you're expecting a post-WW2 story with the usual suspects, this isn't it. It isn't set in any of the usual types of locales either.
Louisville, Kentucky. Jackson Street. Bardstown Road.
The drama comes from the oldest stage, the human drama, the everyday in a pivotal time, when Joseph McCarthy was in full cry, Richard Nixon was becoming a recognizable name. When "communist" was spoken carelessly and ruthlessly with malleable and malevolent definition. When a fourteen year old boy (Jim) could decide that "communist" meant that he and his Black friend Howard could go to the park together — and if that's what a communist was that's what he was.
Each character's insights are unique to them, but we see the weaving of a collective consciousness, the one that eventually demanded the Civil Rights Act and the changes of the coming decades, parts of that consciousness the quiet, conscientious generation, watching, knowing that right is right; parts of it those who returned from the battle fronts where obsessions with skin color and racial superiority/inferiority became subsumed in the realities of red blood and weren't ready to resume their previous status back home; and the generation of flux, seeing the anomalies, the BS, asking questions, demanding answers — not the same old song and dance. The ones who decided that if being a communist meant they could go to the park with a Black friend then that was what they'd be.
And what was against them.
This is a story of the birth of change in an everyday world inhabited by people we know, or pass on the street, or that some of us might cross the street to avoid — and the true extraordinariness of it all. It is also the story of individual change and awakenings. Wade, Lucky, Jim, and the agents of change, Lester and Howard.
Plus, it's a damned good story, masterfully wrought.
If you're a writer, you will be a better writer for having read it.
If you're a thoughtful human being, you will be a better human being for having read it.
I forget how powerful Cady is. Even the preface was moving.
No one, in my experience, has written so True, so compleatly, so honestly, so movingly, so . . . perfectly of the extraordinariness of our ordinariness.
So freaking beautiful.
If you're expecting a post-WW2 story with the usual suspects, this isn't it. It isn't set in any of the usual types of locales either.
Louisville, Kentucky. Jackson Street. Bardstown Road.
The drama comes from the oldest stage, the human drama, the everyday in a pivotal time, when Joseph McCarthy was in full cry, Richard Nixon was becoming a recognizable name. When "communist" was spoken carelessly and ruthlessly with malleable and malevolent definition. When a fourteen year old boy (Jim) could decide that "communist" meant that he and his Black friend Howard could go to the park together — and if that's what a communist was that's what he was.
Each character's insights are unique to them, but we see the weaving of a collective consciousness, the one that eventually demanded the Civil Rights Act and the changes of the coming decades, parts of that consciousness the quiet, conscientious generation, watching, knowing that right is right; parts of it those who returned from the battle fronts where obsessions with skin color and racial superiority/inferiority became subsumed in the realities of red blood and weren't ready to resume their previous status back home; and the generation of flux, seeing the anomalies, the BS, asking questions, demanding answers — not the same old song and dance. The ones who decided that if being a communist meant they could go to the park with a Black friend then that was what they'd be.
And what was against them.
This is a story of the birth of change in an everyday world inhabited by people we know, or pass on the street, or that some of us might cross the street to avoid — and the true extraordinariness of it all. It is also the story of individual change and awakenings. Wade, Lucky, Jim, and the agents of change, Lester and Howard.
Plus, it's a damned good story, masterfully wrought.
If you're a writer, you will be a better writer for having read it.
If you're a thoughtful human being, you will be a better human being for having read it.
June 13, 2015
This is a fictionalized memoir that reads like truth to me. My father owned a poultry business not far from the setting of The Rules of '48. Louisville is portrayed like I remembered it. The characters are true to life and the author treats them kindly. At 1.99 for a Kindle, this book is the best bargain ever! I had a hard time putting this book down!
August 11, 2016
This was one of those Book Bub ninety nine cent deals. I thought it was time I shook up my reading and tackled something different. This book chronicles the events taking place over a seven week period of August and September of 1948 on a section of Jackson street in Louisville Kentucky. The characters are a mixed bag of black, white, Jewish, Poles and a few Germans. It is written in the vernacular of the time which required that I look up several words and phrases. Derogatory ethnic slurs were common and used regularly. World War II has ended and most of America is on the cusp of the baby boom. Added to the mix is Senator Joseph McCarthy and the House Unamerican Activities Committee. The main characters run auction houses or pawn shops. It's an interesting look into a different America. Segregation and anger rule the day. It is an interesting character study on how this small community deals with the inevitability of integration. The author dedicates the final chapter to a "where are they now" follow up, which always works well for me.
May 7, 2015
There are surprisingly few reviews of this book on Goodreads or elsewhere. Cady is often described as a master storyteller, and that is apt. There is not a page out of place. The story is not drawn out but the characters come alive through the dialogue. It is really remarkable how some authors are able to make so much out of so little. The tale tells of hatred and racial violence in the immediate post-war period. It is set in Louisville. So it is not sunshine and lollipops. But it is entertaining, endearing and often funny. The authors politics do come out but not in a strident way. Events and people's motives are portrayed in a nuanced way. The story reminded me a bit of the movie "Stand By Me", although it is more mature and less simplistic. This is definitely one of the best books I have read this year.
November 30, 2015
"Hotter'n fresh biscuits in here!" And “quicker than a pigeon can poop” the reader is carried along into the world of auctioneers headed by Wade, who said “it was a good thing his parents found each other, because it would have been a shame to spoil two families.” Lucky runs a hockshop on Louisville’s Jackson Street, and his role is employer and mentor to two boys named Jim and Howard, and friend to Lester and Wade, auctioneering wizards. There are so many witticisms that this reviewer will let you find your own pleasure in them as you read. Though parts of the story are told by Jim or Howard, the most compelling sections belong to Lester and to Lucky, and we experience the blend of racism and tolerance common among Jews, Christians, blacks and whites living together in Southern cities following World War II.
December 28, 2015
I almost quit reading this book because it seemed too slow, that there was too much stuff in between the real action. Then I read other reviews and realized that this book is really about day to day life in Louisville in 1948. The murders in the book are just background. When I read it with that in mind, I could just relax and feel what is what like to be there, on the downtown streets. I learned a lot about running a pawn shop and auction house. I think the author was very realistic and unbiased with his story about what it was like to live in an almost black neighborhood then, and how people felt about and were dealing with the Jewish holocaust, which was still raw in people's minds.
October 7, 2024
There are two authors who I admire for turning their hardscrabble lives and experience around the working class into a uniquely vernacular voice: Jack Cady and Ivan Doig.
Doig captured the voice of Montana in the early and middle 20th century, while Cady had a varied working life all over the country, including stints in the Coast Guard, driving a semi, and as an auctioneer.
It's that last bit of experience that Cady draws on in this book. We're in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1948. A Southern city (small city or big town depending on how you see it). Segregated to a great extent, but showing some changes after the turmoil of WWII. Here are the viewpoint characters: The veteran auctioneer Wade and the Black man who is an experienced auction assistant who comes to work for him, Lester; the Jewish pawnshop owner Lucky; and the semi-autobiographical character who represents Cady in the book, Wade's teenage son, Jim.
A series of seemingly unrelated but closely spaced deaths rattles the town and provides impetus to the plot, while the racial elements of a Southern city in 1948 play out.
The things I love about Cady's novels are well represented in this one: His feel for the humanity of everyone and his sense that nevertheless real evil exists in the world (sometimes seen as supernatural but not in this book). But mainly, it's that voice: Cady writes vernacular dialogue that shows he has paid careful attention to how people speak. In fact, it's usually a little more elegant than most people speak. I don't mean flowery, I mean stripped down to its essentials. People speak in short, pithy sentence fragments that are fraught with meaning. People swear creatively (especially Wade). People sweat and suffer in the August heat, usually shown to us by what their clothing looks like.
You get a sense of a community that is just trying to get through another day, while coming to grips with strange doings around them. A lot of Cady's books are like that. You also learn a lot about the main profession in each book, and in this book the auction trade, at least how it used to be in the mid-20th century.
I have read most of Cady's work but was unfamiliar with this book until I spotted this reprint at Powell's in Portland. I'm happy to have found a Cady book I hadn't read yet, and one that deals directly with the racism of the South right after WWII, before things changed much but on the verge.
It's a true piece of Americana, perhaps truer than a lot of the histories will tell you.
If you've never read Cady before, this would be a good place to start.
Doig captured the voice of Montana in the early and middle 20th century, while Cady had a varied working life all over the country, including stints in the Coast Guard, driving a semi, and as an auctioneer.
It's that last bit of experience that Cady draws on in this book. We're in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1948. A Southern city (small city or big town depending on how you see it). Segregated to a great extent, but showing some changes after the turmoil of WWII. Here are the viewpoint characters: The veteran auctioneer Wade and the Black man who is an experienced auction assistant who comes to work for him, Lester; the Jewish pawnshop owner Lucky; and the semi-autobiographical character who represents Cady in the book, Wade's teenage son, Jim.
A series of seemingly unrelated but closely spaced deaths rattles the town and provides impetus to the plot, while the racial elements of a Southern city in 1948 play out.
The things I love about Cady's novels are well represented in this one: His feel for the humanity of everyone and his sense that nevertheless real evil exists in the world (sometimes seen as supernatural but not in this book). But mainly, it's that voice: Cady writes vernacular dialogue that shows he has paid careful attention to how people speak. In fact, it's usually a little more elegant than most people speak. I don't mean flowery, I mean stripped down to its essentials. People speak in short, pithy sentence fragments that are fraught with meaning. People swear creatively (especially Wade). People sweat and suffer in the August heat, usually shown to us by what their clothing looks like.
You get a sense of a community that is just trying to get through another day, while coming to grips with strange doings around them. A lot of Cady's books are like that. You also learn a lot about the main profession in each book, and in this book the auction trade, at least how it used to be in the mid-20th century.
I have read most of Cady's work but was unfamiliar with this book until I spotted this reprint at Powell's in Portland. I'm happy to have found a Cady book I hadn't read yet, and one that deals directly with the racism of the South right after WWII, before things changed much but on the verge.
It's a true piece of Americana, perhaps truer than a lot of the histories will tell you.
If you've never read Cady before, this would be a good place to start.
March 26, 2021
I really enjoyed this book which I just happened upon. the story takes place in Louisville, KY during a 7 week period in 1948. At the heart of the story is Lucky, a Jewish pawn shop owner-- whose shop is on Jackson St in the heart of black Louisville. Wade is the auctioner who employs Lester-- the only African American seen at the weekly auctions. What was so interesting about this book is the exploration of race relations-- black, white and Jewish. The overt racism and established norms for black-white interactions overlaid on how each of these groups interact with and feel about Jews-- certainly a minority population in Louisville. The horrors of WWII, and the shock and disbelief of the discovery of the death camps-- permeates the story. Lucky brought Lester, Wade, Howard and Jim, Wade's son, together and significantly influenced their lives. A microcosm of the good among all people regardless of race or ethnicity-- and the evil that segregation and bigotry foment. Highly recommend this book, especially to those interested in Jews in Jim Crow America
July 12, 2019
It's a brief seven weeks of summer when there seems to be an abundance of dead bodies showing up, during 1948 in Louisville. World War 2 is over and fresh in everyone's mind as so many are still dealing with the consequences. And attitudes are changing. This book shows a bit of how society starts to pivot. We see things like business and everyday activities happening on Sundays and how people of different backgrounds start to become accepted instead of separated. Although there certainly is plenty of racism of all kinds and anger towards the other in this book. How slowly things change, and they do.
The writing is very beautiful at times, wonderful sentences. Yet the whole book kept me somewhat at a distance. I'm not sure if it's just the time or feeling of the characters, or what exactly, but I wasn't fully involved.
The writing is very beautiful at times, wonderful sentences. Yet the whole book kept me somewhat at a distance. I'm not sure if it's just the time or feeling of the characters, or what exactly, but I wasn't fully involved.
December 3, 2017
Interesting and thought provoking
Written in a casual tone. The reader gets to know the characters who experience racism, bigotry and small town living as they go about their daily lives working, dreaming, and yearning for a better life. This is mystery, history, mystery, drama all rolled into one. Great book for a book club discussion not afraid to look at and admit their own prejudices. The book reminds me of bits of Black Like Me, and To Kill a Mockingbird. Highly recommend for mature teens on up.
Written in a casual tone. The reader gets to know the characters who experience racism, bigotry and small town living as they go about their daily lives working, dreaming, and yearning for a better life. This is mystery, history, mystery, drama all rolled into one. Great book for a book club discussion not afraid to look at and admit their own prejudices. The book reminds me of bits of Black Like Me, and To Kill a Mockingbird. Highly recommend for mature teens on up.
February 8, 2019
I found this to be just what the title says. Covering seven weeks in Louisville in 1948, this is an interesting story of the crossing of Black, Jewish, & White lives in a changing southern city. It is about the constraints of each group, and about the impact when the lines of lives connect and intersect. I liked this story and particularly enjoyed the last chapter where the author summarizes what happens to the lives of the characters and to Louisville itself; how some of the rules changed. A most fitting end.
April 10, 2019
This semi-autobiographical novel takes place in post-WWII Louisville, Kentucky. The main characters are an African-American veteran, a "country boy" auctioneer, a Jewish pawn shop owner, and two teenaged boys, one black and one white. The story takes place over one summer when several deaths occur in town, and tensions are high. When conflicts arise, I found myself worried over the safety of these "fictional" characters. (How much is from Cady's own life, and how much is fictitious?) Worth reading!
November 24, 2017
I found this book by accident on BookBub. It's the best $1.99 I've ever spent! I loved every page of this delightful account of 7 weeks in Louisville in 1948. I wish I had discovered Jack Cady sooner. He is a wonderful story-teller. I loved his characters and his dialog often had me laughing out loud. The characters possess a simple wisdom that hold timeless insights for all of us. A gem of a book!
August 15, 2019
This is the story of one short summer in a poor neighborhood of Louisville, KY shortly after WWII. Written in the vernacular, the narrator describes how the people living there are experiencing life on a daily basis, how the war has changed them in some ways, and how the different cultures work at getting along and coming together, seeing each other in new ways. An interesting read.
December 20, 2025
This was an outstanding book. Upon starting I didn't think the book was going anywhere but I was really enjoying the writing. As I went along the story started to appear and the writing continued to be outstanding. The author had tremendous observation skills and was able to put words to them that are envious. I can only dream about being able to write so well.
November 13, 2017
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September 12, 2017
Character development was poor. Could not get into the author's writing.
October 12, 2019
Interesting take on the history of Louisville. Fun read with references to the city and neighborhoods I know.
Read
August 8, 2021read
July 6, 2010
This was a good book set in Louisville, Ky, which is right across the river from the town I work in. It is a slice of life style book about the people who live on jackson St. and its vicinity. The characters are based on the population that lived in that area in the late 1940's and the book tells the story of interracial and inter-religious relationships in the neighborhood, which is a section where all kins of people live.
The main focus of the book is the relationships of the owners of the auction houses and pwnshops in the area. But there is also much told about the condition of the whites, blacks, jewish, catholic and other folks who come to the autions or work at the auctions.
I am sure the author did much historical research to write the book and I enjoyed learning about the area and its people.
The main focus of the book is the relationships of the owners of the auction houses and pwnshops in the area. But there is also much told about the condition of the whites, blacks, jewish, catholic and other folks who come to the autions or work at the auctions.
I am sure the author did much historical research to write the book and I enjoyed learning about the area and its people.
August 27, 2016
I bought this book for my brother -- the description made it seem like something he would enjoy and I was always trying to find things that would inspire more of his writing. But my brother died suddenly 12 days ago and the book arrived 10 days too late. So I had to read it for him. It's a good book but I don't think it would have been a great choice for him. Though it includes some fun language/idioms -- it's more serious than quirky. I think my biggest success with a book recommendation for Dennis was Assassination Vacation -- he did a phone interview with Sarah Vowell after reading it.
My apology to the author's family (as he has also left this world) that this review is not about the book but about my brother who will never read it.
My apology to the author's family (as he has also left this world) that this review is not about the book but about my brother who will never read it.
October 27, 2015
Rules of '48
Quotable:
Louisville, on Saturday nights in early August was a place for murders. Still is.
Must some men destroy so that other men learn?... Or is the root of all sorrow, simply hatred, the kind that stretches its long and vicious tongue across history? "Kill them, they are not like us."
[H]e watched a series of Presidents, so enamored of their love affairs with themselves, that they forgot to love their country.
And he watched the rise of Israel, and he mourned as Israel struggled against a religious right that became what it hated; a right wing with the rhetoric of Nazis.
Quotable:
Louisville, on Saturday nights in early August was a place for murders. Still is.
Must some men destroy so that other men learn?... Or is the root of all sorrow, simply hatred, the kind that stretches its long and vicious tongue across history? "Kill them, they are not like us."
[H]e watched a series of Presidents, so enamored of their love affairs with themselves, that they forgot to love their country.
And he watched the rise of Israel, and he mourned as Israel struggled against a religious right that became what it hated; a right wing with the rhetoric of Nazis.
August 20, 2016
This book was about the south in 1948. Blacks were not slaves but were afraid to speak out. Had the lowliest jobs, lived in slums. Two white guys, a cussing outspoken auctioneer who owned a auction house and a very caring Jew who owned a second hand store, and a outspoken young black man were the main parts of the story. It shows how life was in 48 for minorities. Wasn't smooth writing, I had to consentrate to get all of the story.
June 16, 2015
A Great Read
This is a great book! Set in Louisville in 1948 it describes an era long past. Integration was slow to come to Louisville but come it did because of men like Wade, Lester, and Lucky. It's also in some respects from the vantage point of a twelve year old coming to his teen years.
This is a great book! Set in Louisville in 1948 it describes an era long past. Integration was slow to come to Louisville but come it did because of men like Wade, Lester, and Lucky. It's also in some respects from the vantage point of a twelve year old coming to his teen years.
August 13, 2016
Great Historical Perspective
Great historical perspective that captures moods and actions of those years after WW2. Cady's writing style is captivating. He enters the minds of his characters from a philosophical viewpoint that reflects thoughts, hopes, dreams and desires each holds. Extremely enjoyable from a historical sociological viewpoint.
Great historical perspective that captures moods and actions of those years after WW2. Cady's writing style is captivating. He enters the minds of his characters from a philosophical viewpoint that reflects thoughts, hopes, dreams and desires each holds. Extremely enjoyable from a historical sociological viewpoint.
August 3, 2016
I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
This is the first book written by Jack Cady that I have read and I intend to read more books written by him. It's exciting to discover an author who is new to me and I look forward to read all his other books.
This is the first book written by Jack Cady that I have read and I intend to read more books written by him. It's exciting to discover an author who is new to me and I look forward to read all his other books.
December 8, 2017
I live in the Louisville, Kentucky region and this book enlightened me as to what it was like after the war back home. The characters are rich, the story telling is believable. I really appreciated getting what seemed like an honest male perspective via the thoughts of the characters.
May 13, 2012
Cady is best known for his short stuff, but was also a great novelist. A fictionalized memoir of the post war world in Kentucky. Rich details and character make it a stellar read.
JSR
JSR
July 3, 2015
We listened to the audio version. This book added more substance to my knowledge about how African Americans were (and still are in many instances) treated in the South--not good.
August 15, 2015
Good
I just wanna t to start this book. It will note .e get back to first page.
Please let me start at beginning
I just wanna t to start this book. It will note .e get back to first page.
Please let me start at beginning
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews