How They Shine : Melungeon Characters in the Fiction of Appalachia (The Melungeons : History, Culture, Ethnicity, and Literature) (Hardcover)

by Katherine Vande Brake (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Mercer University Press (December 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0865547211
• ISBN-13: 978-0865547216
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,221,839 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The First of its Kind, March 8, 2002

By	Kimberley H. Kidd (Gray, Tennessee United States) - See all my reviews

Katherine Vande Brake's How They Shine is at once a scholarly examination of the depiction of Melungeons in Appalachian fiction and a readable overview of the topic. Though Melungeons have been characters in Appalachian fiction for many decades, no one has yet analyzed the way in which these misunderstood people have been presented. In this book, the first to address the issue of Melungeons in fiction, Vande Brake has filled that gap.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. While Vande Brake imparts a great deal of information, her style is quite conversational. Reading the book feels like sitting at a kitchen table in conversation with an old friend over a cup of coffee. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading a good book about books or anyone who seeks information about the Melungeon people.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Focusing on the wealth of Melungeon culture, April 12, 2002

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

How They Shine: Melungeon Characters In The Fiction Of Appalachia by Katherine Vande Brake (Associate Professor of English, King College, Bristol, Tennessee) is the first critical study of Melungeon characters in written fiction. Focusing on the wealth of Melungeon culture and how the Melungeon people have been viewed through the ages, particularly through the eyes of writers who identify them with the virgin Appalachian ridges before European colonization, How They Shine is an ground breaking, seminal, scholarly analysis that takes apart stereotypes and delves into the heart of human perception. How They Shine is a remarkable, informative, superbly presented and persuasive literary account.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How they shine, January 29, 2002

By	John Viskant (Chicago,Il) - See all my reviews

The book brought me into a new world,in which people don't know their heritage. I had never heard the word Melungeon before. The author made it easy, interesting reading.