If you’ve read Denise Giardina’s 1987 novel “Storming Heaven,” or seen John Sayles’ film “Matewan,” then you’re familiar with the facts of the 1920 coal strike in southern West Virginia, the Matewan Massacre, the murder of Sid Hatfield and the subsequent West Virginia Mine Wars culminating in the Battle of Blair Mountain.
Taylor Brown. Rednecks. St. Martin’s Press, 2024. 310 pp.
In his new novel, Taylor Brown tells these stories again, with characters both real (Smilin’ Sid Hatfield, Mother Jones and Sheriff Don Chafin) and created (Doc Moo and his son, Musa; valiant Big Frank; his grandmother, Miss Beulah).
The facts of the Battle of Blair Mountain are hard to forget. It was the largest battle fought in the U.S. since the Civil War, with 10,000 miners seeking to unionize against local and state law enforcement and, finally, the U.S. Army. A million rounds were fired. Bombs were dropped on the miners, who came from many countries and worked long hours in dangerous conditions for the benefit of mine owners.
What’s most notable in this book is Brown’s skill in making credible heroes of quiet men and women as they face the Baldwin-Felts guards and repeated military assaults. And he makes legendary figures like Mother Jones human, as she remembers the deaths of her four children and husband from yellow fever, and faces her own infirmities.
“Rednecks” is a book unafraid of emotion, which springs both from human kindness and unthinkable violence. It’s that balance that makes Brown’s novel true and unforgettable.
With a central character based on the author’s Lebanese great-grandfather, who emigrated at 14 to become a physician in rural Kentucky, this novel will leave you knowing that 100 years later, we’re fighting the same kinds of battles in the most fundamental ways.
Taylor Brown. Rednecks. St. Martin’s Press, 2024. 310 pp.
The story above first appeared in our November / December 2024 issue. For more like it subscribe today or log in with your active BRC+ Membership. Thank you for your support!