The Coal Region of Northeastern Pennsylvania was a magic place for teenagers in the 1950s. The close-knit, ethnic communities of coal miners and their families enjoyed a safe environment where doors were left unlocked and a major crime was disturbing the peace. Teenagers lived in a restricted but safe world with a social life of high school sports and dancing to rock and roll. But time has been hard on The Region, as native son Steve Zajac learns when he returns to deal with his elderly mother’s problems. The nostalgic memories he has long treasured fade rapidly as he is drawn into the dangerous realities of a community overwhelmed by crime, where old mine workings are now drug factories, and former childhood friends are now deadly enemies. Regretfully, he realizes the world he knew in his youth is gone forever, never to return.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A BITTER-SWEET JOURNEY,
By Aurelia Smeltz (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Coal Cracker Blues (Paperback)
I believe anyone who lived in a small town in the Eastern United States during the 1950's will be able to identify with this nostalgic, bitter-sweet journey. It is told in the form of a mystery that unlocks a yearning for an innocent time when Rock and Roll was naughty and swimming nude in the juggy hole was quite daring and it reveals a present which makes one shudder. It has a universality that transcends the Coal Regions, but if are lucky enough to be from the strong stock this region produced, you will identify with the story even more. Above all, I liked the flow of the narrative and the sharp dialogue that kept the story moving between past and present. It is a page turner and it is not boring. I liked the bits of nostalgia, especially the description of the cars in the 50's. I would have liked to see more subtle treatments to underscore negative aspects of his characters and of the town, but I think the gift of subtely will come as Stevens matures as a novelist. If he sticks to the themes of the joys and sorrows of small-town life, he may well be our next John O'Hara. ...
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bravo!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Coal Cracker Blues (Paperback)
Bravo! It was a great reading adventure and I enjoyed every page. Ilaughed, shed a few tears and also was scared. You opened avenues of many feelings! Such great detail in the mine tunnel scene! I have never been down in a coal mine. I did have the opportunity to tour a gold mine in CA. ........was happy to come back to the earth's surface. Congratulations on the novel. Page 227 says it all.......starts out... "I still have the memories"........we do have all the wonderful memories of the wonderful place we call home and they will remain with us always. It was a special place and a very special time
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
the good ole days,
By KRISTEN (dallas, tx) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Coal Cracker Blues (Paperback)
I only wish I were alive when the fabulous 50's were in full swing, luckily this book takes me right there and lets the reader appreciate what used to be and realize, sadly how much things have changed. You can actually hear the greatest music coming through the words and the emotional swings the characters go through looking on the town they cherished changing right in front of them. Anyone who knows the term "coal cracker" will appreciate Mr. Stevens love and admiration for these incredible people, the love of the town and the hope for its renewal. So grab a Ying Ling beer, some kiebasa and your favorite 50's memories for a story of friendship, coal talk (which thousands from this sacred region will recognize),laughter, mystery and reminicising. This author will truly put you right in the middle and your hope for these times will grow with every page. Enjoy and pass on!!
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