A TALE OF TWO COLORS
Appalachia native Sharyn McCrumb writes respectfully mystical tales of the often maligned mountain people. No
dumb-as-dirt hillbillies and just a few hell-bent rednecks dwell in her Appalachia,
though the newcomer yuppies looking for a scenic escape take some
knocks. A cast of recurring characters give
continuity to McCrumb’s novels, and her abiding love for the mountain
range and its people gives them credence.
In Ghost Riders, well-meaning Civil War re-enactors come to the hills with their old-time muskets and blue and gray uniforms. A local man who calls himself Rattler keeps a close eye on them. Blessed with the Sight, he knows better than most that the war isn’t really over. Not really.
We
all learned in history class that the Civil War pitted neighbor against
neighbor, and tore families apart with conflicting loyalties. McCrumb
recounts true stories of those neighbors and families, interweaving the
horrifying tales of deprivation and atrocities with chapters of her
modern-day characters’ actions.
The past, we learn from Rattler, lurks closer than we think. The
ghosts of the Civil War still come around, unable to let go of the
blood hatred, and drawn by the new conflicts that emulate it. “I
don’t hold with talking to dead people,” Rattler tells the re-enactors
after a suspiciously authentic looking soldier stops to ask directions
to his unit.
Here in the U.S. in the 21st century, we have the luxury of conducting our wars elsewhere. The Yankees sent south to clobber the Rebels went on home after the war and never looked back. But
the mountain people on the dividing line, some conscripted into the
Confederate army, some taking up arms for one side or the other,
couldn’t leave it behind. When they returned to their farms, the enemy often lived next door.
When
our war with Iraq ends (please, let it end), our soldiers, the ones who
made it through, will come home to the loving arms of their families
and the welcome of their communities. How will the Iraqis ever get over it? The ghosts will haunt the desert just as surely as they still traipse about the Appalachian mountains.
My only quibble with Ghost Riders is a certain linguistic randomness. A character might go on for pages speaking perfectly standard English but will suddenly say “afeared.” I mostly didn’t mind, though, as the story contains much to be afeared of. Read it if the Civil War interests you or even if it doesn’t. McCrumb
didn’t write about the Union and the Confederacy, but about the people
forced to choose sides, and the ongoing consequences.
I heard some very interesting and funny comments during the genealogy class I took here. Of course, everyone there but me was a southerner, and everyone had a GGGGrandfather that fought in the War Between the States (not the Civil War) on the Confederate side. Some call it, only half jokingly, the War of Northern Agression.
Very insightful and it’s true.
Oooh, if the book is half as interesting as your review, it would be great. Do you think my library would have it (or is it VERY new)?
LOL, yeah actually there IS a Bourne Tax Return! No, just kidding. Yeah, Ultimatum was firts published in 1990, so it’s been out for a while. The movie is coming out this year, I think. But the books are in no way like the movies. Only loosely the 1st one. Very interesting High Court entry down there. I’m going to ask my friend about that one.
Sounds like I have a book to read.
hey thanks for hopping by. i like literate bunnies.
Maybe I will check it out. As long as the stories are human and not a lot fo backround boring crap. I hate that.
It’s been a while since i’ve read anything worthwhile… i’m thinking a trip to the liberry is in order
Oh! That’s not my cat – that cat owns Aloysius_son! LOL!
sounds fantastic. I am always on the lookout for a new book. Civil war is my new interest.
Thanks so much for visiting me today and leaving a comment. I appreciate it!
What a great review you have written! I LOVE to read and write reviews, too. This book sounds very interesting.
Thanks for letting me stop by.
HAHA! what are we ever to do!?! 😛
RYC: But they don’t wear the diapers in their normal lives do they? Like to just go to the grocery store? I still think my idea is a good one, we could all be astronauts were you old enough to get space food and tang as a treat?
ryc: believe me, that will be the cleanest it will ever be! lol…I did cringe as I started adding my food to it, knowing it would never be the same! lol..
RYC and subscribed to your interesting site…(My husband would love the book…) Yes, and my roommate never did figure out what it was that smelled like formaldehyde and old bar-B-Q! HAHAHA.
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