River Of Earth [Paperback]

James Still (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 31, 1978

" First published in 1940, James Still's masterful novel has become a classic. It is the story, seen through the eyes of a boy, of three years in the life of his family and their kin. He sees his parents pulled between the meager farm with its sense of independence and the mining camp with its uncertain promise of material prosperity. In his world privation, violence, and death are part of everyday life, accepted and endured. Yet it is a world of dignity, love, and humor, of natural beauty which Still evokes in sharp, poetic images. No writer has caught more effectively the vividness of mountain speech or shown more honestly the trials and joys of mountain life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Lincoln Herald Times" -- Mr. Still's local language is true and good. His happiest moments with the langu

"A tenderly written and well-sustained story." -- New York Times

"His characters are endowed with vigor and stature. Its achievement as an artisic creation of a people and a locale is as sound as its pretensions are modest." -- Saturday Review of Books its pure beauty and rhythm.

"Still tells of [his people's] japes and sorrows and near starvation, the rich archaic poetry of their talk and customs in a clear, dry style as unsentimental as his seven-year-old's eyes. He has produced a work of art." -- Time Magazine

"As you read you can hear the redbirds in the plum thickets and smell the pawpaws at first frost; you know, too, what it means to scrape the bottom of the meat box with a plow blade, hunting for a rind of pork amid the salt when the mines are closed." -- Washington Post

"There is hunger and suffering and death in this child's experience but there is also laughter, riddles and tales told from the past, and the surrounding natural landscape moving from one season to the next. The reappearance of River of Earth is a welcome literary event." -- Wilma Dykeman, South Atlantic Bulletin

From the Publisher

"As you read you can hear the redbirds in the plum thickets and smell the pawpaws at first frost; you know, too, what it means to scrape the bottom of the meat box with a plow blade, hunting for a rind of pork amid the salt when the mines are closed."-Washington Post

"James Still tells of [his people's] japes and sorrows and near starvation, the rich archaic poetry of their talk and customs, in a clear, dry style as unsentimental as his seven-year-old's eyes...he has produced a work of art."-TIME

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky; 1st Edition in this form edition (December 31, 1978)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813113725
• ISBN-13: 978-0813113722
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #65,751 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply wonderful..., October 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: River Of Earth (Paperback)

In my opinion, River of Earth deserves to be celebrated among the best works of 20th century fiction. James Still not only evokes the setting in depression era Kentucky, but he also captures the spirit of the people and the point of view of his young narrator. This is not a sentimental rendering of an idealized past but rather a pure slice of life cut down to the bone with a real sharp knife. The story is full of humor and hard times, and the language is akin to poetry. "Where ARE we bound on this river of earth?"

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars River of Earth realistically chronicles Appalachian poverty., January 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: River Of Earth (Paperback)

A book that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. I read this as a college student and have recently re-read it to 7th graders who found the mother especially fascinating. River of Earth chronicles the poverty of early 20th century Appalachian coal miners and their struggle to care for their families, make ends meet, and maintain their humanity in an industry that provides only obstacles. It is a universal theme in a very unique setting. A very good read!

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The heart and soul of Appalachia, December 16, 1999

By 

Josh Akers - See all my reviews

This review is from: River Of Earth (Paperback)

James Still has exquisitely and intricately chronicled what it is like to be born, live, and die in the hills of eastern Kentucky. Natives of the region will read the book and feel attached to the book if by nothing else but the geography. Others will be drawn into the book by the sincerity and realism of the characters. Still, the poet laureate of Kentucky, beautifully relates the attachment of eastern Kentuckians to the mountain soil in spite of the poverty and hard living that they must endure. More than that, however, it is a story of inspiration and coming of age. I highly recommend it to anyone.