Family, Prohibition, and 1920's Saint Paul

Matt Goldman presents The Prohibited, a novel following a family, their liquor store, and the clash of the Prohibition in 1920s St. Paul
About this Event

Join Subtext Books at The University Club of Saint Paul on Wednesday, October 14th for an event with Matt Goldman, author of the recent release The Prohibited.

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.

Matt Goldman is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of the Nils Shapiro mystery series as well as the standalone novels A Good Family and Carolina Moonset, among many others. He is also a playwright and an Emmy Award–winning television writer on shows including Seinfeld and Ellen. He lives in Minneapolis.