by Leah Weiss
Expected publication August 8 2017 by Sourcebooks Landmark
I just can't resist sharing some of my favorite passages, minus quotation marks since they are from a pre-publication copy I obtained from the publisher via NetGalley.
I don't smile. No sir. Life's too shitty. For a old woman, it's more shit than I can shovel. I can't remember if I ever had a choice but to put one foot in front of the other and walk the line on a rocky road to nowhere.
The first thing that struck me about this debut, aside from writing that is an absolute delight, was that this Appalachian tale tells mostly of the resident women folk and the smattering of simply good people who live in Baines Creek, a remote mountain community. It seems most stories that are set in Appalachia have only mean, nasty, law-breaking men as the main characters. Here Sadie stands out among the crowd of narrators, beaten beyond recognition and redemption; beaten down but stronger and wiser for it, as was her grandmother before her. These women aren't perfect by any means, but the mood of the story is such that we forgive them and understand. Even the three darkest characters have their backgrounds revealed so that we understand them too. Don't like them, but understand them, to an extent.
It is 1970 on the mountain, and the entire gamut of emotions is felt both there and in your heart as you read about this small town.
Sometimes I feel this old mountain breathing weary. The high thin air gets sucked deep into her lungs, all the way back to the start of time. I know her secrets and sins. This high place is hard on folks who give in or give up. For those who stay, Baines Creek is enough.
It really was enough for me these past few days to take a short trip there and spend time getting to know everyone. A real treat.
No comments:
Post a Comment