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Lights Out
240 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1945
About the author
Baynard H. Kendrick
58 books11 followersAlso wrote under the pseudonym Richard Hayward
Kendrick was an American lawyer and executive who became a full-time writer in 1932. His first mystery novel, Blood on Lake Louisa was published in 1934.
In 1914 Kendrick was the first American to enlist in the Canadian Army, one hour after that country declared war.
He married Edythe Stevens in 1919 and Jean Morris in 1971, and became an executive and manager of hotels and publishing companies. Kendrick was the organizer and only sighted member of the Blinded Veterans Association.
He was also a founding member of the Mystery Writers of America and held membership #1. In the 1960s he retired to Florida.
Kendrick was an American lawyer and executive who became a full-time writer in 1932. His first mystery novel, Blood on Lake Louisa was published in 1934.
In 1914 Kendrick was the first American to enlist in the Canadian Army, one hour after that country declared war.
He married Edythe Stevens in 1919 and Jean Morris in 1971, and became an executive and manager of hotels and publishing companies. Kendrick was the organizer and only sighted member of the Blinded Veterans Association.
He was also a founding member of the Mystery Writers of America and held membership #1. In the 1960s he retired to Florida.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 22, 2023
I am shocked that this book is as obscure as it seems to be. Drawing on his own experiences as a sighted instructor for veterans blinded in WWII, Baynard Kendrick has given us a captivating, realistic picture of the U.S. military’s rehabilitation program for blinded veterans, as well as great insight into the country’s attitudes toward blindness at the time, and a possible thought process of one of these young men returning from war without his sight. Sgt. Larry Nevin is a great character, precisely because he is so flawed. His narration is witty and full of feeling, without being unbelievable. The moralizing gets to be a bit much at times, but it’s a small price to pay for such gems as:
“The country seemed to be full of men like Mr. Somerset and Mr. Hines, men who refused to face the fact that if you washed a teenage kid for a long enough time in a porridge of blood and entrails you might turn out a cynical and realistic man.”
And another line that I can’t seem to find now, but that goes something like: “He didn’t want to do anything except possibly marry Corporal Flagg, who at least had a sense of humor and was skillful at leading him around!” That gives you a sense of the style of this book. You really feel like you’re experiencing Larry Nevin’s thought process with him — like you’re experiencing the whole book with him.
I picked up this book as part of my research for some fiction I’m working on, but I got a great novel that I’ll probably reread. I wish this book were more popular, because I believe it deserves it.
My advice if you want to read this is to not look up any synopses of the plot. There are a couple little twists that are delivered masterfully, and I received them so much better than I would have if I had gone in having read a summary.
My only real complaint was that I was rather uncomfortable reading Larry’s intense and sometimes rather violet internal monologues about feeling up various women in the book — and I don’t mean “brailling,” I mean actually feeling them up, or wanting to. But then again, I think the discomfort in these sections is kind of the point; Larry Nevin is very uncomfortable in many ways, and it’s uncomfortable for the reader too. There are times when he’s very depressed and isolated and sexually repressed, and it sometimes got disturbing. That said, my appreciation for this book remains, and I intend to seek out more by this author in the future.
“The country seemed to be full of men like Mr. Somerset and Mr. Hines, men who refused to face the fact that if you washed a teenage kid for a long enough time in a porridge of blood and entrails you might turn out a cynical and realistic man.”
And another line that I can’t seem to find now, but that goes something like: “He didn’t want to do anything except possibly marry Corporal Flagg, who at least had a sense of humor and was skillful at leading him around!” That gives you a sense of the style of this book. You really feel like you’re experiencing Larry Nevin’s thought process with him — like you’re experiencing the whole book with him.
I picked up this book as part of my research for some fiction I’m working on, but I got a great novel that I’ll probably reread. I wish this book were more popular, because I believe it deserves it.
My advice if you want to read this is to not look up any synopses of the plot. There are a couple little twists that are delivered masterfully, and I received them so much better than I would have if I had gone in having read a summary.
My only real complaint was that I was rather uncomfortable reading Larry’s intense and sometimes rather violet internal monologues about feeling up various women in the book — and I don’t mean “brailling,” I mean actually feeling them up, or wanting to. But then again, I think the discomfort in these sections is kind of the point; Larry Nevin is very uncomfortable in many ways, and it’s uncomfortable for the reader too. There are times when he’s very depressed and isolated and sexually repressed, and it sometimes got disturbing. That said, my appreciation for this book remains, and I intend to seek out more by this author in the future.
Displaying 1 of 1 review