The Years of the Locust

This novel, published in 1947, is set in the author's native Missouri. The central character, Dade Kenzie, the family patriarch has died and the novel covers just three days in the aftermath of his death. It documents the response of seven characters to Old Dade's death and traces the influence he had on each of their lives. The title of the novel refers to part of God's promise revealed to the prophet Joel:
“And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten.”


The author tells how a preacher
explained this:

“He said that it meant that the Lord would give people a chance to straighten things out, even after they had made the worst kind of a mess. He said that, since the Lord had to work through people, he had to give them lots of chances to make good, just like a mother had to give her child more than one chance to learn a thing.”






The author, Loula Grace Erdman (born 8 June 1898), grew up in rural Missouri. She submitted her first story for publication at the age of 14 and wasn't deterred by it being rejected. She went to college and then began a career as a teacher in Amarillo, Texas. The pinnacle of her teaching career was at West Texas State College where from 1945, as an assistant professor, she taught creative writing. Later she was promoted to the role of novelist in residence. Her first novel was published in 1944 and had plenty of autobiographical content, being about a teacher fresh out of college. Her third novel (this one) was awarded the biennial Dodd-Mead-Redbook Award and with it a prize of $10,000. She went on to write a total of 17 novels as well as short stories and works of non-fiction.

Taking into account that the novel is ultimately about bereavement, the novel contains some positive perspectives on death:
“There was no telling how many lives he had helped to shape, lives that maybe got his influence only indirectly, themselves scarcely knowing of his existence. So goodness and strength and force are spread as ripples spread when the stone is thrown into the water. His destiny, enlarged and multiplied, was passed on and on. Death did not finish such an influence as that.”