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A Novel
by Kim Michele Richardson
Book Reviewed by:Inspired by the true blue-skinned people of Kentucky and the brave and dedicated Kentucky Pack Horse library service of the 1930s, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is a story of raw courage, fierce strength, and one woman's belief that books can carry us anywhere―even back home.
The hardscrabble folks of Troublesome Creek have to scrap for everything -- everything except books, that is. Thanks to Roosevelt's Kentucky Pack Horse Library Project, Troublesome's got its very own traveling librarian, Cussy Mary Carter.
Cussy's not only a book woman, however, she's also the last of her kind, her skin a shade of blue unlike most anyone else. Not everyone is keen on Cussy's family or the Library Project, and a Blue is often blamed for any whiff of trouble. If Cussy wants to bring the joy of books to the hill folks, she's going to have to confront prejudice as old as the Appalachias and suspicion as deep as the holler.
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek puts its own offbeat spin not just on classic romance but also crime, action and adventure, suspense and, of course, historical fiction—all with a flawed but sympathetic lead at its center. In addition to spotlighting a fascinating phenomenon in book history, it is itself a book lover's book, a celebration of stories and genres, an exercise in reading nostalgia...continued
Full Review
(775 words)
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(Reviewed by Elisabeth Cook).
The WPA (Works Progress Administration) established the Pack Horse Library Project in Eastern Kentucky during the Great Depression. The program, which was championed by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, employed librarians who delivered books and other reading materials to patrons on horseback, working to both create employment and improve literacy in the remote area. The Pack Horse Library Project ran from the mid-1930s through 1943.
Eastern Kentucky had been hit hard by the Depression along with other areas of the U.S., and by the early '30s was struggling with a number of additional disadvantages: It lacked the basic infrastructure and resources available elsewhere, such as adequate roads and electricity. Around one-third of the ...
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Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Almost Sisters
Emotionally resonant and unforgettable, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is a lush love letter to the redemptive power of books.
