11/9/19

Review of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michelle Richardson

Cover of the book from Amazon.com


This heart wrenching story is wonderfully written and shares the story of Cussy Mary a Pack Horse Librarian in Kentucky. However, she is no regular library Cussy is one of the last of the Kentucky Blues. Richardson details the difficult life Cussy leads in a beautiful and intriguing way. While I originally picked up this book because of the news stories surrounding it and how it was similar to The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes, I was pleasantly surprised and happy. It is similar to reads that I do enjoy and found the style exciting and descriptive. The only downside is that it is very realistic in many aspects of Cussy's life and is not for those who find mention of rape, death, and the like traumatic or difficult. However, I would recommend this book to those who want to see a realistic view of life in the South for “coloreds.”

Summary
The story details Cussy's life, her forced/arranged marriage, and her love for reading.

Characters
Cussy is a Pack Horse Librarian for her small section of the Kentucky Hills. Each of her patrons has a tragic story to tell. Lorretta a blind old woman living alone, Angeline a child/bride with child, Winnie & her students many of whom are starving. Little Henry who dies of starvation, and RC a young man who wants to become a forest Ranger instead of just a fire watcher. The women Eula & Harriet that run the library are prejudiced against her, However Cussy finds a friend in Qeenie an African American.

Queenie faces similar prejudice because of her color. Raising her children alone is tough. Queenie accepts a job in Philadelphia and goes on to become a librarian, with a degree.

Jackson Lovett is new in town and well off. (spoilers) He falls for Cussy, dispite her color. Each encounter of the two from the first to the final is sweet and endearing, seeing beyond the color of Cussy & Jackson. Eventually they “marry” despite it causing trouble in the end as Jim crow laws rear their ugly head and the Sheriff's need to seek “revenge” cause Jackson to go to prison & only for 'secret' meetings of Cussy & him for years to come.

Opinion of the Story
A delightfully well written story of a difficult time in the South. The backdrop is the Great Depression and the rise of Jim Crow laws. This have a huge impact on Cussy, her father, and neighbors. Richardson writes an fast paced story that drew me in and I found difficult to put down, that is until the traumatic moments at which I was about ready to say “no more!”

[SPOILER ALERT-don't read this next paragraph if you haven't read the book] I was disappointed in the ending of the book. While yes the ending is realistic, I was hoping to see a town/group that would actually see past their prejudice & hate to welcome the happy couple. It seemed that no one else cared, but the Sheriff (yes, Cussy was his cousin's widow) but why Ms. Richardson, WHY did you do it. It felt that the time for Cussy to be happy was finally there, she had fell for Jackson and he was in love with her. The community had come to celebrate the wedding and simply because of one or two prejudice people Jackson nearly dies and Cussy is sent home scared and alone! Why, so this book makes you love the characters but yet I hate the ending.

In Conclusion

I enjoyed the book, with the above exception. It is well written, easy to read, and well researched. While some scenes are dark and traumatic there are scatterings of happiness through out. If you enjoy realistic historic fiction you might try reading this.

References
Richardson, K. M. (2019). The book woman of Troublesome Creek. Naperville, Illinois: Sourcebooks.

Image from Amazon.com (2019)

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