October 25, 2021
Loudin Thomas (The Right Kind of Fool) introduces a multifaceted cast desperately trying to survive the Great Depression in 1930s West Virginia, in this strong historical. Gainey Floyd acts as postmistress at the general store in Mount Lookout. When Sullivan “Sulley” Harris comes to town full of slick talk of his “unique abilities” to douse for water, Gainey has her doubts, but makes him a deal: find a well for a poor family in need, and only then will she refer him to folks who can shell out for his services. When Sulley sources water, even he’s surprised. Hot on Sulley’s heels is Jeremiah Weber, sent from the last town Sulley bilked out of their savings. But with Sully’s recent success, the townsfolk begin to wonder if he might be able to find other things, such as lost family members. The small-town plot’s set against the real-life Hawks Nest Tunnel disaster, and the folksy ensemble soon become entrenched in the ramifications of workers’ exposure to silica dust and the horrendous toll it took on the men digging the tunnel, giving Loudin Thomas impetus to underline the impact of acts of caring in a community. This one’s for readers who like a clear moral with their story. Agent: Wendy Lawton, Books & Such Literary Agency
Starred review from September 1, 2021
Times are desperate in Mount Lookout, WV, in 1932. Desperate enough that jobs digging the Hawks Nest Tunnel through the mountains seem like a blessing from God. The well-paying jobs come at a cost, though. The earnings can be spent only at the overpriced company store, and the dust is so thick that the only way to discern Black workers from white is the segregated camps in which they sleep. When postmistress Eugenia Floyd, who is white, checks on her neighbor's son, she discovers that once strapping young men have been reduced to wraiths by long hours digging in air full of silica dust with no protective equipment. She brings food and medicine but soon learns that many things are "not right this side of heaven," especially when it comes to the abuse of the Black workers. VERDICT In a hardscrabble 1930s setting, complex characters wrestle with justice, mercy, inequality, honesty, and the fact that they are all prodigals still searching for the way home. Loudin Thomas (The Right Kind of Fool) delivers a stunning tale of one of the worst industrial disasters in U.S. history, underlined with a moral imperative to love one's neighbor that still hits home today.--Christine Barth, Scott Cty. Lib. Syst., IA
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