The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson

THE BOOK WOMAN OF TROUBLESOME CREEK by Kim Michele Richardson was chosen as the top LibraryReads recommendation for May 2019 and it is one of my own favorite books of the year so far, too. The main character in this historical fiction novel is a resourceful 19-year-old woman named Cussy Mary Carter, although she is more often called Bluet due to the color of her skin.  As the author explains, there is a recessive gene which can result in methemoglobinemia, a hereditary condition where the individual’s skin appears blue due to the lower oxygen levels.

Reminiscent of Catherine Marshall’s Christy (which is set in 1912 Tennessee), THE BOOK WOMAN OF TROUBLESOME CREEK takes place in rural 1936 Kentucky and deals with the extreme poverty and poor working conditions for miners in Appalachia.  Even though her coal miner father worries about her and seeks to marry her off, Cussy is fortunate in that she has a WPA job – being a pack-horse librarian which involves bringing donated books and reading materials to isolated, local residents. It is through those travels that readers meet her patrons such as an older seamstress struggling to see properly, a moon-shiner looking out for his family, a teenage mother-to-be, a lonely fire-watcher, and the school mistress and her charges, many of whom battle starvation.

Cussy Mary’s gender and color result in numerous slights and acts of prejudice, but she battles on, drawing strength from her work and her interactions with patrons. Richardson says, “In writing this novel, my hope was to humanize and bring understanding to the gracious blue-skinned people of Kentucky, to pay tribute to the fearsome Pack Horse Librarians – and to write a human story set in a unique landscape.”  She succeeded. If you are looking for more great books about libraries and librarians, try this list of 10 from BookRiot.

Appalachian Reckoning - a region responds to Hillbilly Elegy

APPALACHIAN RECKONING: A Region Responds to Hillbilly Elegy is edited by Anthony Harkins and Meredith McCarroll.  Describing this as a “book born out of frustration … a book born out of hope,” the editors set out to gather essays, images and poetry to respond to J. D. Vance’s bestselling (and soon to be movie) Hillbilly Elegy. Harkins is a professor of history at Western Kentucky University and McCarroll is the director of writing and rhetoric at Bowdoin College. Both have written extensively about Appalachia, but this collection is a bit uneven, ranging from overly scholarly responses to personal stories. Harkins and McCarroll split the book into two sections, with the first part offering selections “directly assessing or commenting on the words and impact of Vance’s influential work.”  Part II is titled “Beyond Hillbilly Elegy” and they say, “there is no singular focal point to part II other than the shared idea that there is no consensus about Appalachia.” 

Still, this collection deserves a look, especially as many of our students read and discuss Vance’s work for class assignments. For example, Robert Morgan (who teaches at Cornell and is a best-selling novelist and poet) is amongst the many contributors who are described in brief bios. This text strives to offer new perspective - like William H. Turner’s (Prairie View A & M) commentary on African American Appalachians – a group he says “Vance ignored.” Other writers contend that Vance reinforced stereotypes and, like Lisa Pruitt (UC, Davis), note that while his is “a tale that affirms our nation’s core values and aspirations,” it “does not foster understanding or empathy for those Vance left behind; rather it cultivates judgment.” Also thought-provoking is “public historian” Elizabeth Catte’s contribution exploring Hillbilly Elegy’s use as an instructional text.  APPALACHIAN RECKONING received a starred review from Kirkus.   

Christy by Catherine Marshall

CHRISTY by Catherine Marshall is one of my ALL time favorite books and I am excited to see that a new hardcover is being released due to its 50th anniversary. Based in part on experiences of Marshall’s mother, CHRISTY shares the very moving story of Christy Huddleston, a nineteen-year-old school teacher in Appalachia (Cutter Gap, Tennessee) beginning in 1912. She battles extreme poverty and entrenched traditions while struggling with her own faith in an inspiring manner. I remember asking for a copy when I was in high school – even though I had read it, I wanted to be able to re-read it again and again. I think current high school students will relate to her questioning and to her desire to make a difference. 

A small concern, frankly, is the cover of this new addition – while realistic, I did not find it as appealing as some of the images associated with earlier versions and the mid-1990s award-winning CBS series. If you know this title, consider reading it again and it you are not familiar with the character, CHRISTY is a must-read in the vein of Mrs. Mike by Benedict Freedman and Nancy Freedman or Adriana Trigiani’s Big Stone Gap novels.