Column by Chris McGinley
I’ll start with one of my favorite Appalachian novelists, Janice Holt Giles, who wrote in the 50's, 60's, and 70's. She has a few “series” sets (which meant something different then than it does now) and some other stand-alone novels. The Piney Ridge Trilogy takes place in the 40's-60's in eastern Kentucky, about different family members and their struggles. Non-violent, interior drama stuff. THE ENDURING HILLS, MISS WILLIE, and TARA’S HEALING.
Giles also wrote historical pot boilers, like THE KENTUCKIANS and HANNAH FOWLER. These cover the Fowler family, but you can begin with any title. Later some of the family members move out west and the novels take place there. The best of those, for me, is SAVANNA. Anyway, there are several others. Try one of these three first, I’d say.
Other novelists from earlier eras are John Ehle, whose most famous novel is THE LAND BREAKERS, set in the 18th century, I think, or early 19th. About hill pioneers in North Carolina and their trials and tribulations. Crazy good, exciting page-turners. He wrote lots of others that follow the King family (from THE LAND BREAKERS) but again, you can start anywhere with these. Start with TLB, though.
Everyone talks about Hariette Arnow’s THE DOLLMAKER, about an Appalachian family displaced, living in depression era Detroit. It’s bleak as hell, and gloriously long. A fantastic, dark novel. But don’t forget about MOUNTAIN PATH, about a teacher from the city who comes to the hills to “do good.” (Btw, this almost seems like a sub-genre! There’s also MISS WILLIE, above, and famously, Catherine Marshall’s CHRISTY, which is way darker than its cover would suggest—almost a cult novel nowadays, sort of.)
Another older one, probably my singular favorite Appalachian novel, is Wilma Dykeman’s THE TALL WOMAN, a Civil War era book set in North Carolina, about the wife/mother of a family who move away from the valley up onto the Devil’s Brow (I think it’s called), a rough mountainside area where they eke out a living. Her husband has profound PTSD, though it’s not termed such, from his time in a Civil War POW camp. Dark and beautiful. I wrote an article on it for CrimeReads.
Hubert Skidmore was a West Virgina novelist who most famously wrote a novel about corporate exploitation of workers, called HAWK’S NEST, a real place in West Virgina where men dug a depression era tunnel through a mountain of silica, and contracted silicosis. Fantastic. I wrote an article about all of his stuff in Deep South Magazine.
Of course, there is James Still’s RIVER OF EARTH, about which so much has been written that I won’t add anything. People love the stories of Breece D’J Pancake, but I’m not a fan. Decide for yourself. Elizabeth Maddox Roberts was like a true Modern novelist, capital M. Like Joyce, Faulkner, Woolf, etc. She wrote TIME OF MAN.
More modern practitioners are David Joy, of course, Chris Offutt (read his new Mick Hardin series novels), Sharyn McCrumb, whose Ballad novels are page turners, Dorothy Allison (BASTARD OUT OF CAROLINA), Robert Gipe, and a ton of others. There's also Crystal Wilkinson's THE BIRDS OF OPULENCE, about family relationships across the generations and psychological struggle.
Some singular novels that are big with me are Sheila Kay Adams Civil War era book called, MY OLD TRUE LOVE. I still think about this novel regularly. Denise Giardina wrote two novels, one a sequel to the other. These are Depression era-set pieces, coal miner versus coal owner novels, West Virgina labor history stuff. Page turners. STORMING HEAVEN and THE UNQUIET EARTH.
Obviously, Silas House’s Kentucky novels are fantastic. Try the trilogy, A PARCHMENT OF LEAVES, THE COAL TATTOO, and CLAY’S QUILT. Chris Holbrook wrote my favorite collection set in Appalachia, UPHEAVAL. Charles Dodd White's LAMBS OF MEN is a towering historical novel about the psychological ravages of war and so much more.
This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Appalachian fiction, but a good start. As with any list this is not meant to be exhaustive, just a short list of notables and favorites.
We here at Paper Cuts had the honor of revealing the cover for Chris McGinley's novel ONCE THESE HILLS, episode 58. During our conversation he mentioned a few Appalachian novels and writers that have influenced him in one way or another. Later, after the show Chris was kind enough to send us a more comprehensive, though not exhaustive, list of Appalachian novels and writers which I, Brad, am staggering late in posting and for that you have my apologies.
Guest Contributor Chris McGinley
Chris McGinley is author of the collection Coal Black and the novel Once These Hills. He teaches middle school in Kentucky, where he lives with his wife. Learn more about Chris and his writings here.
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