issue goes to the courts, and the jury finds the nine accused Italians not guilty of the murder. This ruling ignites an uprising among the Americans, who then call for a meeting at the statue of Clay to rectify this error in judgment. The meeting organizes a mob of people who throng the jailhouse and murder the arrested Italians. The accordion maker is one of the many Italians killed by the mob of people.

In chapter 1 of Accordion Crimes, the reader is introduced to the green accordion by its creator, a middle-aged Italian man who works as an accordion maker in a small village in Sicily. The green accordion is one of the accordion maker’s prized creations, and he aims to use it to make a fortune in La Merica.

According to the green accordion, the journey to La Merica suffers a setback when the master’s wife becomes paralyzed from an unknown disease; because of this, only Silvano, the master’s eldest son, accompanies them to La Merica. Originally, they were destined for New York. However, the master is convinced to travel to New Orleans instead by a young man he meets in a train.

New Orleans does not enthrall the green accordion. It is mostly filthy and busy, especially Little Palermo, the part of New Orleans that accommodates Italians from all walks of life and where the master finds them lodging. Initially, the master does not take it with him to the parties outside, because most of these parties are wild. However, the master plays it in their rented room, and it is happy to soothe him with its beautiful music. Afterward, the master takes it to one of the barrelhouses, and many of the Sicilians are enraptured by its music. It especially captures the attention of a Black man called Pollo, who plays it and likens its sound to that of his woman.

In fact, it is Pollo who, in a bizarre twist of events, finally separates the accordion from its master. Pollo requests the master to make him an accordion as elegant as the green accordion at a cost of thirty dollars. This task makes the master so busy that he even stops going out to the night parties. However, one night, their landlord, Cannamele, convinces the master to accompany him to the Golden Dagger for an hour or so of relaxation.

What happens next is something that the green accordion can never forget: a group of policemen suddenly enters the bar, and in the melee that ensues, it falls out of the master’s hands to the ground. It is rescued from being trampled on by Pollo, who picks it up from the ground. Later, the green accordion hears that the master is one of the many Italians rounded up for questioning following the murder of the police chief. It never sees the master again.

In the second chapter, the accordion witnesses the lives of German immigrant families in North Dakota. Beuttle finds the accordion gathering dust in the office of a lumber yard and eventually buys it for one dollar. The instrument has a transformative effect on the lives of the German settlers, who find themselves reminded of their culture by the music Beuttle makes. The accordion transforms the three German farms into an actual community.

It's the "German-ness" the accordion brings that, ironically, also brings trouble onto the community. After the beginning of the first World War, the Germans are persecuted and assaulted for being "Heines," even though the are original settlers and their children have lived all their lives in the town. While the music of the accordion serves to bring people together, it also is a marker of cultural difference and prejudice.

It's hard to put all this into the perspective of the accordion. One interesting detail is how Beuttle is both delighted to find the accordion and instantly in want of a proper German instrument. Eventually, he is able to buy a new Hohner accordion and gives the green one away. In a sense, his desire for a better accordion is like the desire of the immigrants to grow and prosper. In another sense, this desire comes from a recognition that without music, the life of the Germans on the prairie would be one of endless, backbreaking toil.

In “Spider, Bite Me,” the third chapter or section in Annie Proulx’s novel, you could think about how the accordion might attest to the various crimes from a variety of angles.

If the accordion had progressive, feminist beliefs, perhaps it would be upset about the role it played in the fight between Felida and her father. Perhaps it would push back against the father’s contention that the accordion is for males, not females. Conversely, perhaps the accordion would have seen such a flare-up and tried to stop Felida from taking it to her teacher’s house in the first place. Maybe it would have tried to spare her the likely tumult by resisting. As for what happens at the teacher’s house, maybe the accordion would have been proactive and tried to stop the sexual assault.

As for Chris and Baby, perhaps the accordion would blame itself for the role that it played in provoking them to cultivate a life of crime. Of course, it might not be fair for the accordion to blame itself. After all, it’s not the accordion’s fault that the brothers couldn’t make enough money by performing with it. Yet perhaps there was something that the accordion could have done to encourage the brothers to use it differently to bring in more money.

Then again, maybe there was nothing the accordion could have done about its roles in the crimes. Its role was predestined. As the sister says, the accordion favored by her dad and brothers is an instrument for “poor immigrants and failures.” In Felida/Betty’s view, it seems the accordion’s role symbolizes the criminal and tragic end to her brothers and father.

In chapter four, “Hitchhiking in a Wheelchair,” it might be perplexing to articulate how the accordion would explain its side of the story and its role in the belligerent life of Charles. The accordion can’t talk. It’s an object, not a human. Of course, sometimes objects are infused with the ability to communicate as if they were humans, like in The Brave Little Toaster movie and the Toy Story films. Yet that’s not the case with Accordion Crimes. It looks like you’ll have to use your imagination about what it would say and how it might feel.

You might imagine the accordion would be distressed at having to be out in the streets with Charles. Then again, perhaps the accordion would take honor in its role. The accordion allows Charles to earn some money, even if it’s only a handful of pennies.

Charles then ditches the street accordion for another accordion. This accordion brings Charles a tiny bit of success. It also leads to a major crime—a fire that killed two women that Charles had impregnated. If you’re inclined to supply the accordion with a conscience, you might argue that the accordion would blame itself for its role in the fire. If Charles had never moved on to this new accordion, perhaps he wouldn’t have met the women. Without Charles and his accordion, maybe Julie and Olive wouldn't have burned to death.

In chapter 5, “Don’t Let a Dead Man Shake You by the Hand,” the accordion might explain its side of the story with an initial modicum of hope and optimism. Perhaps the accordion sees a positive sign in the name of its new owner, Buddy. Maybe the accordion thinks it will finally have an owner who won’t implicate it in crimes or shady behavior.

Yet as the chapter unfolds, the accordion’s hope of a crime-free life might fade. As with the previous stories, the accordion is forced to bear witness to crimes, including a cat’s murder and the shooting of a photographer.

Although, perhaps the accordion doesn’t have to bear witness to these crimes or account for its role in them. After all, the boy who shot Olga isn’t the accordion’s owner and neither is Buddy’s wife. You could argue that these crimes don’t involve the accordion. Thus the accordion, for once, doesn’t have a lot of explaining to do.

In this section, it seems like the accordion itself is the one that is mistreated. From this angle, it might not make sense to ask the accordion to explain its role in the various endeavors of Octave. It might be more sensible to ask the accordion to explain how it feels to be dropped and pawned as if it didn’t possess monetary and historical value.