Accordion Crimes

Accordion Crimes is a 1996 novel by American writer E. Annie Proulx. It followed her Pulitzer Prize-winning 1993 work The Shipping News and was shortlisted for the 1997 Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction.

Plot details

The novel begins in the nineteenth century, as a Sicilian accordion-maker comes to the United States in search of better opportunities. He is shot by an anti-Italian lynch mob, and his accordion falls into the hands of several other owners, many of whom meet painful ends themselves. The accordion traverses a continent, traveling to Louisiana, Iowa, Texas, Maine, Illinois, Montana, and Mississippi.

Theater

Accordion Crimes inspired a play called Vaarallinen Harmonikka in Finland. Writer Seppo Parkkinen and director Fiikka Forsman adapted the novel for the Turku City Theatre. The play premiered on September 9, 2011.