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PRODUCT
Light to the Hills: A Novel
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Product Description:
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Original price was: $14.95.$4.99Current price is: $4.99.
Detailed description:
A richly rewarding novel about family bonds, the power of words, and the resilience of mothers and daughters in 1930s Appalachia.
The folks in the Kentucky Appalachians are scraping by. Coal mining and hardscrabble know-how are a way of life for these isolated people. But when Amanda Rye, a young widowed mother and traveling packhorse librarian, comes through a mountain community hit hard by the nation’s economic collapse, she brings with her hope, courage, and apple pie. Along the way, Amanda takes a shine to the MacInteer family, especially to the gentle Rai; her quick-study daughter, Sass; and Finn, the eldest son who’s easy to warm to. They remind Amanda of her childhood and her parents with whom she longs to be reconciled.
Her connection with the MacInteers deepens, and Amanda shares with them a dangerous secret from her past. When that secret catches up with Amanda in the present, she, Rai, Sass, and Finn find their lives intersecting—and threatened—in the most unexpected ways. Now they must come together as the truth lights a path toward survival, mountain justice, forgiveness, and hope.
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Product group:
Categories: Women Writers
Product name:
Light to the Hills: A Novel
Price:
Original price was: $14.95.$4.99Current price is: $4.99.
Lynn A. D. –
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Much of the story is told around a young girl nicknamed Sass whose life begins to change the day she meets a book woman on the trail. The story gives the reader insight into Appalachian poverty and survival, and includes danger through mining and criminal activity, love and commitment of family and hard work, relationships, and more. The surprising decision made by two of the characters to revolve a serious situation is both satisfactory and morally questionable. Great story!
Jill Grainger –
My First Reads selection for November 22
A beautifully written piece bringing the hardships of The Depression and life before modern technology clearly into focus.
Wonderfully strong female characters and a glimpse into a part of the world that I’ll, sadly, never visit.
This novel depicts a hard way of life that made the simple pleasures all the more precious
professorsouth –
This story brought me pain and delight, heartache and joy! Hidden parts of me that had been broken were healed by finishing this book. Admittedly, I stopped reading it for about a week, and then decided to finish, and I’m so glad I did.
William de Rham –
This is a historical/literary novel set in Kentucky coal country during the Great Depression.
I am more than a quarter of the way through it and I still haven’t encountered a major conflict to hold my attention.
No one can deny that author Annie Blaylock writes well. Her prose is first-rate. Her dialogue is realistic and shows that she has a wonderful “ear.” She does a great job with her settings, giving readers a real feel of what rural life in 1930s Appalachia must have been like. Kudos to her for all that.
But for a story to work, at least for me, there must be a compelling conflict. Characters have to want or need things—preferably desperately–and there has to be a pretty serious obstacle standing in the way. Gatsby wanted Daisy, but his poverty and America’s class system blocked him. Ahab wanted to wreak vengeance upon Moby Dick and was prevented from doing so by the vagaries of the sea and by … well … Moby Dick.
Here, it’s difficult to tell what anyone wants. Indeed, it’s difficult to tell who the main protagonist is, since the novel’s focus shifts among characters. Yes, everyone must survive the Depression; and Ms. Blaylock does a credible job depicting various strategies for doing so. Yes, I’m seeing what it takes for people to live their lives in that time and place. But that’s all I’m seeing: a diffuse set of encounters that tell me what life was like but don’t tell me a compelling story. It’s not enough to make me want to continue.
Nevertheless, I’m giving this three stars because the quality of the writing is high and because there may be those who will enjoy it simply for that reason.
Judivii –
Took me two nights reading after a slow start. Well written, being British, I had to look up a few things like crawdads and junebugs. A story of strong women coping through the depression, in poverty and in remoteness. A great story well told.
Grace G. –
This book started off a little slow but that was okay with me, I was tired of reading books full of violence. It was such a sweet story of hillbilly life. About two thirds of the way through it picked up drastically and had a litter suspense and mystery. Give it a try I think you’ll love it like I did!
The Bump –
Bonnie’s descriptions of her characters are so full & detailed, you feel you know each of them, like close friend s & family. Her way of describing the homes, land and locations is so vivid, I felt I was there, experiencing everything myself.
Also, her voicing of the characters added so much to the telling of the story, giving the reader the impression that this story might be drawn from life, not just a fictional tale.
Looking forward to reading more by this talented author.
Shirley in Denver –
The author knew her subject material well and could spin an intriguing story that I had a hard time putting down once I started. I would recommend it to anyone who treasures the luxury of books from the library.
Angart –
This book is just ‘the best thing since pockets on a dress’. It was a joy to read. Wonderfully written in words that ‘travel like dandelion seeds. There’s no controlling where they’ll fly’.
A story set in the 1930’s in the Appalachian Mountains, in a ‘nook of the world that was like the small end of a telescope’. The author writes in such a way as to perfectly capture the mood and language of the place and times. Great characters and plenty of plot, that unwinds in ‘the spool of telling’.
This is a book that will catch you by the tail and ‘fill up your chest with air and a curious lightness’.
Highly recommended.
Pat Birdsell –
I enjoyed reading this book. It is difficult for me to imagine people living in these conditions in North America during my lifetime.
Jessica S –
This was a very moving story about two families whose past and present intertwine when a very wicked man comes to town. There was a lot of history involved. I found it very interesting to read about pack horse librarians! It must have been quite the adventure, for the librarian and the families receiving books, some for the first time. I felt that the writer did an amazing job in making the emotions of the characters real for the readers. I really felt like I could feel the pain of the miners’ families, worrying about their men. Or of Finn, needing and craving the light and the air. The strength of the characters she wove was inspiring, and I felt so involved in their lives. Towards the end I couldn’t put the book down. I would definitely read it again.
nckimt –
I was fortunate enough to be given an advance copy of Bonnie Blaylock’s debut novel, LIGHT TO THE HILLS, and I feel as though I time-traveled to the Kentucky Appalachian hills in the 1930’s. I have experienced that world through the author’s words.
With hauntingly lyrical language, Blaylock weaves a tale of mountain people who are poor in material possessions, but rich in family and friends; illiterate, but extraordinarily wise in the ways of nature. Appalachian culture is as much a main character in this story as Amanda Rye or Sass MacInteer.
Amanda is a 21-year-old woman who takes a job with the Works Progress Administration as a pack rider who delivers books throughout the area. It’s a risky job, but one Amanda undertakes to support her young son. Amanda finds she’s passionate about bringing books into homes where learning to read is a luxury that’s been overshadowed by the necessity to grow and gather food.
Sass is a smart adolescent who lives in one of those homes. She has a fond memory of sitting in a warm schoolhouse listening raptly to her teacher read a book about a girl detective named Nancy; unfortunately, Sass had to leave school before she found out how Nancy solved the mystery of the old clock. Now Sass spends her days roaming the woods foraging for edible greens, berries, and mushrooms. When Amanda brings books to the MacInteer household, she brings Sass the tools she needs to rekindle the magic of shaping letters into language.
Amanda grows close to Sass and her large, loving family. But no one is immune from the dangers that abound in the region: danger from mine cave-ins, danger from rattle snakes, danger from corrupt people who will steal what others have worked for. Both Sass and Amanda are cruelly threatened by a man from Amanda’s past, but a strong thread running through the story is the value of women supporting and standing up for each other. Mothers, sisters, and friends are fierce in protecting their loved ones.
LIGHT TO THE HILLS is a book that will resonate with me for a long time. It has already garnered one literary prize, and I predict there will be more. Kudos to Bonnie Blaylock for a powerfully eloquent historical novel.
Mindy M –
Nice story. Had a couple of situations that made me laugh out loud. Once I got a way into it I wanted to keep reading and had a hard time putting it down. I would definitely recommend.