Make That: Should Have Waited Two Days…

…Because yet another review of Midnight Sun has appeared on those crazy internets. This time it’s actually an early (December 24^th) review of the book from—presumably—the print edition of Publishers Weekly (!), which is just now making it to the online archive. Scroll way down-the comics section is the very last. It’s a quite positive review and really the only complaint is that the book is “too short,” which as Jennifer de Guzman points out on the SLG news blog, is really about the best criticism one can ask for.

I’m glad to see the reviewer here has taken the lead character, H.R.’s, drinking in stride, referencing him thus: “….a gin-soaked New York reporter (was there any other kind?)” The different level of emphasis various reviewers have given to the character’s drinking brings up an important consideration to anyone setting a story in the past: how to balance technical accuracy of the time period with the how the social morays and practices of a particular time are going to be seen through modern eyes.

In the specific case of Midnight Sun, I did a fair amount of reading on general world history in the 1920s and particularly, for the first chapter of the book, on America in the 20s. As a lover of spirits, I took particular interest in prohibition, which was in full effect in the United States during the time period in which Midnight Sun takes place.

The first thing I was struck by in reading about prohibition was just how prevalent drinking was before prohibition was enacted. The second thing I was stuck by was how much more prevalent it became after prohibition was enacted.

Pre-prohibition, folks apparently drank with Deadwood-like frequency, but rarely in the home. People went out to drink. During the prohibition years, though, with alcohol illegal, it—really for the first time in the U.S.—entered the home. There, much to the delight of frat-boys for generations afterwards, it gained an avid fan base it had never had before: women. Men might have gone out for a night of boozing on the town when it was legal, but now it had become much safer to consume in the privacy of one’s home… and with it there for the taking, the ladies inevitably had to see what it was all about.

With similar irony, the prohibition years saw the rise of hard liquor as a common drink, and the parallel development of the cocktail. With all forms of alcohol now illegal, liquor had a huge advantage over beer and wine in its compact size and high alcohol content per volume. And with liquor now being produced “unofficially” in stead of legitimate distilleries, the quality and flavor of booze was sometimes less than optimal. The solution: mix the liquor with other, legal liquids to change the taste. Hence, the cocktail.