The Prohibited
By Matt Goldman
A family, their liquor store, and the clash of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Amendments in 1920s St. Paul
The Kaner brothers were getting by well enough running Kaner's Fine Wine and Spirits in St. Paul, Minnesota, until Prohibition took effect in January 1920. With their liquor store shuttered, Red, Isaac, and Lewis are left to forge new livelihoods, their paths taking turns distinct as their personalities. All of the Kaners have secrets--from a clandestine lover to a joyless marriage to an entanglement with the mob--but when it comes down to it, the family will do just about anything for each other, and they're going to have to prove it.
The Prohibited follows the Kaner family in the wake of the Eighteenth Amendment. Isaac finds unlikely means to stay close to the family trade, becoming a rabbi (or someone the Feds believe is a rabbi) to exploit a loophole that allows men of the cloth to sell sacramental wine. Lewis takes the opportunity to pursue his dream of being a playwright, managing to secure the funds to produce a staged reading of his new play, albeit from an unlikely source. And Red is happy to work in a haberdashery, though he resents his wife's suffragist allegiance and resulting support of Prohibition. Meanwhile, Red's children bring challenges of their own: tough, quick-thinking Rose is working odd jobs to send herself to medical school and trying to fix her brother's mess with the mob, something carefree Willie can't seem to grasp is deadly serious. Tangled up in the Kaners' story is Pearl Holgersen. After a tragic event up north, she has finally found community in the Rondo neighborhood in St. Paul, but she has a score to settle with Red's son, Willie, who was recently murdered. Or was he?
Based loosely on Matt Goldman's family history, The Prohibited brings to life 1920s St. Paul, a haven for bootleggers, gangsters, and bank robbers, but also home to many ordinary folks navigating a remarkable new social order. With his signature wry wit, Goldman presents an engrossing character study of a family testing their bonds--and irrevocably changing their lives.
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These discussion questions were provided by the publisher, University of Minnesota Press.
Book club questions for The Prohibited by Matt Goldman
Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.
The 19th Amendment gave women equality in the voting booth. How did achieving that equality lag in the home? Does it exist today?
How does the book portray examples of Americans who would otherwise be law-abiding if not for Prohibition? Do you believe you would abide by the law if the prohibition of alcohol were reestablished today? What laws and regulations do the US government currently enforce that may breed criminal activity?
The title The Prohibited refers to the prohibition of alcohol. It also refers to different prohibitions that some of the characters experience. Discuss who those characters are and what obstacles they face in early twentieth century American society and why. If those characters were alive today, would things have changed much for them in the last century?
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Create My ClubThe 18th and 19th Amendments created unique clashes among their supporters. How are those clashes portrayed in The Prohibited? Who would you have sided with on the question of prohibition?
The book raises questions about assimilation in early twentieth century US. How are those issues portrayed for immigrants, their descendants, and American society at large?
Rondo is an example of a place that offered and created opportunity that did not exist widely in society. Do we still have those opportunity oases today? What are some examples?
Individuals cutting across the grain of societal convention can, over time, lead to widespread change. Which characters do you think, by following their hearts, internal moral code, or ambition, changed society for the better? Or for the worse?
There are a number of outright scoundrels in the book. Liam Reddick and the Chicago gangsters are a few. Other characters fall into a more gray area. Who are those characters? Did they redeem themselves and, if so, how?
The Prohibited Book Club Questions PDF
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