The True-Life Adventures of Genie and Janny
An American Original and his Faithful Corporal at Arms
by Janny Vaughan
Vaughan’s debut memoir recalls her and her brother’s childhoods.
In this memoir of growing up during the Depression and World War II in Indiana, Vaughan explores her relationships with family members. Her bedrock was her older brother, Genie. Together they navigated their complex school-year lives in Marion, Ind., with two hardworking, stressed parents who couldn’t make ends meet despite their three jobs. Vaughan and Genie spent summers on a 40-acre farm with their loving maternal grandparents and the “Old Ones,” their grandmother’s problematic, not-so-loving parents. Their summers were not bucolic adventures. The near 100-year-old great-grandfather suffered from dementia, occasionally shooting at his great-grandchildren for sport. Their great-grandmother was a mean-spirited harpy who took delight in hurling verbal abuse at her daughter, Florrie. The farm provided the setting for most of Genie and Vaughan’s adventures with a rotating cast of badly behaved animals—mainly acquired by Grandpa in ill-advised trades—that added challenges and hilarity to the children’s summers. Particularly memorable is Big Red, the raping rooster, who was ultimately executed. Genie’s imagination further sustained them; he treated Vaughan as his corporal as they carried out missions around the house to keep it safe from Nazi invaders. Meanwhile, Genie also kept his sister safe from bullies at home. A realistic snapshot of troubled family life 60 years ago, this is book is appropriate for YA and adult readers. The author and Genie garner sympathy as they deal with far weightier matters—abuse, death, deprivation—than children their ages should encounter. Genie was not just his younger sister’s protector and caretaker but a young man admired by his peers, who was able to transcend poverty and self-consciousness. Vaughan’s novel is a tribute to her beloved brother, as well as her loving grandparents.
A bleak, often heart-wrenching account of two children who made their own way during a difficult time with difficult people.