Bell Hammers

Delightful as an audiobook, this novel on the life of a prankster from "Little Egypt" in Southern Illinois follows him from the depression through to today, as he grows and experiences the world, while raising a family and growing a business in a town divided into "oil people" and "sharecroppers". His goal to have his own band of Merry Men and a Camelot to share with them culminates in the biggest prank of all - targeting his neighbor and rival, and oil company employee he has know since childhood. The narration is spot on and lends a twangy voice to our protagonist which rings so true and makes the jokes even funnier!1111

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced audio book in exchange for my honest review.

In this novel we follow the life of Wilson Remus (Remmy) from 6 to 80 years old. Written as a retelling of mischievous, hilarious, and fantastic stories told to his grandson (the author).

I have always enjoyed hearing stories about the "good ol' days" from the elders in my life and thus thoroughly enjoyed the author sharing his grandfather's gems. It was narrated well and written with a genuine voice that had me laughing out loud on multiple occasions.

Salt of the Earth polished up like a diamond, or maybe the other way around.
It's like the show Big City Greens, crossed with a grow-up Tom Sawyer., but uncensored and roughed up a bit, for grown-ups that have lived a little.
Bell Hammers is a wonderfully told story of how a good man lives his life which highlights the extraordinary in the ordinary. The stories of real life can be so crazy, it's not worth making up another one. They can be so unbelievable, but so relatable. This book shows that a tough life can be an easy life, that the that a rich man can have nothing, that a poor man in jail can still have it all. It's about everyone's relatable struggle of just wanting to be seen, and to do the right thing. This story was very enjoyable to get though,

This is a partially fictional biography of Wilson “Remmy” Remus’ eight decades of life. Remmy lived in southern Illinois and is resourceful and a prankster. He views his world similar to that of Camelot. Some of the antics in the book include trying to get a mail order bride from Sears & Roebuck, interaction with a locked outhouse, peeing on a frozen car, a chicken in a bed, and a prank that turns criminal.

Some people may be offended by the mild language sporadically through the book. I would also warn people who are sensitive to attempted rape to know there is one short scene in the book where an attempted rape happens but it has a positive outcome.

While I was listening to the beginning of the book it reminded me a bit of Jean Shepperd’s “Wanda Hickey’s Night of Golden Memories: And Other Disasters.” I enjoyed the book and the narrator played a large part in it.
The narration was engaging with a great storytelling voice. I started listening at normal speed to get a sense of how the narration was. I sped it up to 1.5 with a little distraction from the story.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys life stories with hilarious outcomes.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced electronic audio review copy of this delightful book. These well-written, charming, and humorous stories recall the well lived, full of all kinds of pranks and shenanigans life of the author’s grandfathers in Southern Illinois. I liked that the author kept the vernacular, it made the story sound more authentic. Definitely recommend this book.

I loved this audiobook. Not at first because I needed to tune my ear into the accents and the stories are a little whacky to say the least.

But anyway, Bell Hammers tells the story of Wilson Remus (Remy) who has led a somewhat unconventional life. Remember is an entrepreneur from an early age but with one goal in mind - to get together his band of Merry Men, build Camelot, live mainly in peace and pull pranks on those who he feels deserve it. Also God keeps him on the right track - or tries to.

As he goes through his life the pranks become wilder but through it all he's still looking to find the perfect home for his family and friends.

It sounds innocuous enough but the storytelling is wonderful and the narration is superb. Remy is a character you won't forget in a hurry and I'd happily read more of Lancelot Schaubert's work on the back of this novel.

A fun but inspirational piece of work.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the audiobook ARC!

Bell Hammers is certainly an entertaining read. From the author's tone and interpretation of his characters to the madcap hijinks that abound, there's something here for everyone. A little reminiscent of A Confederacy of Dunces, which is high praise!

A strong narrative voice propels this wacky fable of American entrepreneurship and prankster joy. Although this book wasn't really for me, I appreciate its cohesion of story and style.

Big hearted tale with important messages told humorously through vignettes. Each year starting in 1941 until his death in the later 2000's, we read a story of pranks both funny and those gone awry based on the life of Remmy and co-conspirators in mayhem who reside in Bellhammer, IL. It feels like Tom Sawyer would approve.
I listened on audiobook which was narrated by the author. I can't say I enjoyed his voicing of the main character, it became grating. I would recommend the book over the audiobook format.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing access to my copy. All opinions are my own.

This book was written as many short stories interwoven together about life growing up in the backwoods of southern Illinois. There were so many funny antics in this novel that actually made me laugh out loud while I listened to this book. The writing was so descriptive, it was easy to envision early life during the oil boom times for the hardworking men and the disparity between classes. Even though the main character of the book was one of the hardworking guys, it never felt like a pity party, but rather a “we will overcome” novel! I enjoyed this book!
Thanks #NetGalley for the #BellHammers audiobook to review!

When I listen to this book I feel as though I am listening to a friend's stories and they make me laugh. What a light easy read this book is. It is simple to pick up and put down at any time of the day.

This book is not an "edge of your seat thriller" but more of a casual book that you could read during some down time while waiting at an appointment or on a lazy Sunday afternoon. As I mentioned, I had the audio version of this book and I loved the narrator - who is actually also the author. His accent is great, his tone was wonderful, and the stories made me feel warm and fuzzy - like listening to my own family stories.

#BellHammers #NetGalley

Bell Hammers is the story of Wilson Remus from 1941 (6 years old) until his death in 2015. Wilson Remus reminds me of one of the characters from Hew Haw or the old westerns my dads always watching. He’s always trying to get a laugh, ens up in trouble but loves his family above all! I miss the days when people put God and family first. I so enjoyed this book I listed to it twice. I definitely recommend this book to anyone!

Thank you to Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A delightful story, especially if you enjoyed Olive Kitteridge. The exploits of Remmy and Beth (who was fondly reminiscent of Lucy from Charlie Brown) kept me enthralled for hours. Contrary to my prior experience, the author's reading of his own work was phenomenal and he breathed actual life into all of the disparate and often dysfunctional characters that inhabit the Illinois small town all but governed by the Texarco oil company, Remmy's bete noir. The audiobook was extremely well read, though Shaubert's twangy accent did jar at first, making the story a bit difficult to follow. However, perseverance paid dividends, and delivered a most enjoyable listen, Heartily recommended.

This book was suuuuper fun!

I chose to listen to this book to entertain myself when I couldn’t actually read…and that, my friends, it did.

As we follow Remmy from childhood to adulthood, we get a nice clean picture of what life was like for him because the descriptions are so colorful. At times, I could clearly see how Remmy was moving though his day, what he was wearing, even how he looked when he was faced with a situation. The story itself was interesting and kept me engaged, wondering where all of this was going. I really enjoyed following Remmy as he grew up, he’s quite the scoundrel!

The humor, oh my word, the humor! I found myself smiling a ton and chuckling often. It’s mostly clean humor with some course language (a little too much for my liking but if curse words don’t bother you, this’ll be just fine) and totally relatable. I thought the narrator did a decent job changing his voice and really getting into the story. There were a few times he seemed a little too hasty and I wished he would have slowed down a titch but it was still good narration overall.

I enjoyed this audiobook narrated by the author.
It is a bit of a love story, with quite a bit of humor, songs, religion, and the little guy fighting back against the big corporate oil company.
Remmy learns from his grandfather how to prank the corporations, telling them a lie to get free cigarettes. From there, Remmy begins pranking his neighbors and finally pulls a huge prank on the company. This doesn't go so well! However, Remmy keeps his good nature and never lets up on pranks. It eventually works out for him, and his love, Beth.
Humorous story and you definitely root for Remmy, while following his life from the 1940s to the 2010s.
I especially enjoyed hearing the songs sung by the author, it gave the book a real voice!

Bell Hammers is a wonderful recreation of a family story based on reminiscing grandpas and their folk tales. It just begs to be listened to as the author did his own narration which was ripe with local southern Illinois accents, fabulous voices, and even singing. The cadence is absolutely perfect and the stories ripe with down-home sometimes crass humor (think grandpa's pull my finger jokes) which made me pee my pants laughing. It's a good thing I didn't padlock my outhouse though!

The author has done an amazing job of capturing his family's history and showcasing nostalgic Americana in the best of ways. If only I could have recorded by grandparents before they passed, but the technology just wasn't as accessible as it is today. At least I have all our family recipes though!

Thank you to Vale Audiobook and #NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this ARC.

BELL HAMMERS by Lancelot Schaubert and read by the author, was an absolute riot!

I had no real idea what this folksy sounding tale would be, and after listening, I am still unable to fully articulate just what traveling through the antics of Remmy for 80 years was like except that it was hysterical with some poignant moments sprinkled in.

We meet Remmy as a kid in Bellhammer Illinois where the oil and gas companies are taking over and the tension builds between the need for jobs and the reality of what is happening to the landscape. When Grandad teaches him how to prank, Remmy finds his calling, though it doesn't always go according to plan and the consequences can be dire as the years add to the intensity of pranks.

A delightful listen that felt reminiscent of Twain and his ROUGHING IT, I highly recommend listening to this audio. The author delivers all the characters with such flair! I fell in love with these characters through all the highs and lows.

Thank you to @NetGalley for this ALC that is out the 13th of March by Vale Publishers. My opinion is all my own. Any lovers of humorist writing should enjoy this rollicking tale of Remmy, his wife Beth, and his "merry men!"

Let me preface this by saying, this isnt the type of book I normally would pick up. I generally lean towards horror but everyone needs a little humor in their life and I needed an audiobook to fill some travel time I had coming up. Im glad I grabbed this one. The book is a bunch of anecdotes that span the entire lifetime of our main character, Remy. Filled with both humor and heartbreak, this book faces some harsh realities about the working lower class. I highly suggest going with the audio version because the narration added so much to the story that reading it wont give you. Four Stars from me!

Lancelot Schaubert is an entertaining author and performer. I ordinarily avoid books where the author reads their own work, but I could not imagine anyone else doing a better job delivering it than him!

Full of antics and pranks, this book is just plain fun.

Bell Hammers Written and read by Lancelot Schaubert

Synopsis

Remmy grows up with Beth in Bellhammer, Illinois as oil and coal companies rob the land of everything that made it paradise. Under his Grandad, he learns how to properly prank his neighbours, friends, and foes. Beth tries to fix Remmy by taking him to church. Under his Daddy, Remmy starts the Bell Hammer Construction Company, which depends on contracts from Texarco Oil. And Beth argues with him about how to build a better business. Together, Remmy and Beth start to build a great neighborhood of "merry men" carpenters: a paradise of s’mores, porch furniture, newborn babies, and summer trips to Branson where their boys pop the tops of off the neighbourhood’s two hundred soda bottles. Their witty banter builds a kind of castle among a growing nostalgia.
Then one of Jim Johnstone’s faulty Texarco oil derricks falls down on their house and poisons their neighbourhood's well.

I listened to this as an Audiobook written and narrated by Lancelot Schaubert
The narrative was entertaining and Lancelot really brought the family to life

The story follows one family living in Little Egypt and fighting against the oil companies
The book was warm and spoke of love friendship and family I loved Remmy as a character and was so content reading about his escapades in both high and low times
This is one I would probably not have chosen but am so glad I listened to it and would highly recommend it

I think this will either be a love it or hate it book. Take the storytelling of Grandpa Simpson, combine it with the wackiness of Betty White's hometown on The Golden Girls, and you've got yourself a recipe for how this book feels. I'd definitely recommend getting the audiobook, since the story is written so conversationally that you miss out on a lot of nuance just trying to read it. It's a fun, quick read.

Remmy grows up with Beth in Bellhammer, Illinois as oil and coal companies rob the land of everything that made it paradise. Under his Grandad, he learns how to properly prank his neighbors, friends, and foes. Beth tries to fix Remmy by taking him to church. Under his Daddy, Remmy starts the Bell Hammer Construction Company, which depends on contracts from Texarco Oil. And Beth argues with him about how to build a better business. Together, Remmy and Beth start to build a great neighborhood of "merry men" carpenters: a paradise of s’mores, porch furniture, newborn babies, and summer trips to Branson where their boys pop the tops of off the neighborhood’s two hundred soda bottles. Their witty banter builds a kind of castle among a growing nostalgia.

—
I love when an author narrates their own book, I think it adds so much more character and life. For me, a narrator can really make or break an audiobook and Schaubert really made this audio for me. I wasn’t too sure what I was getting into with this story, but 5 minutes into listening I was laughing.

The way the story is told reminded me so much of how my grandpa used to tell stories, without holding back and with some crass language to boot.

We follow Remy and Beth throughout this story but we’re also told the story of the town and the time period and all that people were facing during this time and that for me really created a well fleshed out story. It felt like I was part of a conversation rather than an outsider looking in.

Schaubert successfully made what could have been a depressing story, one of hope and humor instead, while still shedding light on the misfortunes of Little Egypt, Illinois.

This was not my normal read/listen but I am glad I gave it a chance!

This gave A Prairie Home Companion vibes. Hilarious, (mostly) wholesome, and fun.

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for early access to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Written as a string of short stories that span eighty years, we get the story of Remmy, from his grandson - the author.

These stories are entertaining, and regale the reader with fun pranks, some not so fun areas, and go through the time that Remmy spends in prison for some sabotage, just so they can get the company to admit to their wrongdoings - all of which will come out during the court case.

This book will keep you engaged throughout, and might cause you to giggle a few times out loud as you are reading.

I read the book at an earlier date and have now listened to the audiobook. The author did a great job narrating. Fans of “Sean ofThe South” will love this!
Many thanks to Vale and to NetGalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This one was tricky to follow. If you are listening to this audiobook while doing something else, this isn't going to work. You have to be paying attention, as it is read at a clip and you'll miss details you need. I almost felt like I was at an auction and the book was being read by an auctioneer. Not necessarily in a bad way, but whew it goes quick!
I did enjoy the hi-jinks of Remmy and his crew, but I didn't find it laugh-out-loud funny. It was fun to rocket through his life, same little kid, even after 80 years, and see how he ends up.

I received an audiobook for my honest review. If you can keep up with the narration, read on!!

Audio
I liked this audiobook.
The narration was really entertaining. This novel, which is based on the life of the author's grandfather. The storytelling was very funny. I laughed out loud many times and enjoyed the author's overall sense of humor throughout the story. It is full of amusing metaphors and pearls of wisdom.
I enjoyed the little tidbits of humor more than I followed the underlying story. At certain points during the book, I didn't know exactly what was going on, but it didn't matter. It basically follows the arc of this person's life.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

The Good Ole Days

A story told of the life of Remmy (Wilson Remus) throughout his lifetime. The story of Remmy and his wife Beth is a humorous journey through the Little Egypt community in Illinois.

Remmy starts a construction company called Bell Hammers. Their construction company builds houses for the Texaco Oil company. There is a rivalry between Jim Johnstone who runs the local oil company as well as a feud with the Texaco company and Remmy.

The humorous stories about the pranks and funny happenings along the way in the life of this one couple and their friends will keep you entertained. If you like stories about the "Good Ole Days" that your grandparents tell you then you will love this book.

I listened to the audio book and it was entertaining, kept me chuckling as I was on my daily walk. I enjoyed the narrator who did a fantastic job.

I loved hearing about Joplin, Mo, Sikeston Mo, and just the friendly banter that reminds me so much of my father and my late husband and their families from Missouri.

Thanks to Lancelot Scaubert for writing down his grandfather's stories and sharing them with us in his book, to Vale, IBPA for publishing the book and to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the audio book to listen to and review.

Hilarious, down-to-earth, and nostalgic. I recommend picking up the audiobook if possible, as Schaubert as narrator is both animated and engaging.

This was an excellent strange little story - telling the full life of Remmy and his continual conflicts with the local faces for the oil company that is milking his community dry, We see tales of buck-naked young Remmy going to school and arguing with the son of an oilman, adolescent highjinks involving a race across a lake with the same oilman's son etc. But this book then takes frequent 180s and we are suddenly in the throes of a corporate scandal, environmental disasters and local politics.
The story is all told from the same PoV, one of Remmy's descendants retelling his lifestory as told to him in his final days.
This is at times heartwarming, at times funny, at other times anger-inducing as we side more and more with the down-at-heel likeable local entrepreneur and less and less with the nasty oil corporation. While a work of fiction, and no real oil company is used (I mean the name Texarco is 100% made-up!), I think it closely resembles so many stories of corporations ruining and dividing local communities and not taking any responsibility for the fallout from their actions. Remmy and family/friends are wonderfully crafted characters and the events unfold in a lovely informal campfire way.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Really enjoyed the book from start to finish. Author wrote this with great pace. This book is now one of my top books of the year for sure. Loved every second of this book.