The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek

The first thing that struck me in reading this book is that violence begets violence, and dehumanization is a form of violence. This was a gripping novel, and often beautiful. Cussy Mary’s devotion to the people on her book route is beautiful. Her father’s flawed devotion is painful at the beginning, because of what it costs Cussy Mary–I wasn’t sure I could harbor any good feelings toward his character. But one of the beauties of this book is the way Richardson makes characters believably complex. Good people do bad things. Bad people do good things. It’s like, well, real life.

Cussy Mary’s struggles with her image of herself, given the skin color that makes her a pariah, and her fierce, stubborn, even bull-headed determination not to accept help from others, made me long to take her by the shoulders and shake her, even as I loved her fiercely for her goodness.

It also struck me that there’s a lesson to be learned in this book by all of us today. I think it’s safe to say that virtually everyone who might read this book now can recognize bigotry in the actions of many of the characters. Hindsight makes us all experts. But recognizing it here and now is something many of us are unwilling to do. The thing that stuck out to me was that all of those bigoted characters thought they were being totally rational and Godly, too. They clung to their self-righteousness just as many among us do today, and refused to recognize that they were perpetrating injustices. If we in the present can recognize it where they in the past could not, that should tell us that we are probably harboring similar blind spots. It should invite us all, in these divided, vitriolic times, to self-reflect a little less defensively and with an attempt at open-heartedness.

I love historical fiction and this book gives readers a chance to experience a world most of us know little about. Thank you for the experience.

I just finished reading this book and I’m completely blown away by the story, the excellent writing, the massive amount of research required to write it, and the content of each part of the story. Based on true American history and real people, I felt so close to Cussy Mary and to many of these delightful, wonderful and hardworking folks. I hope every single book lover will read this book. I have so much respect for the Book Women, for the folks who live in the back woods of Kentucky and all over our nation and the world. I am so grateful for the ease of being able to get books – at libraries, book stores and online. I know many people still find it difficult to get books today. That’s so sad – and just plain WRONG!
Thank you, Kim Michele Richardson, for a wonderful read and for many more days of thinking about all the things I learned in your fabulous book!

Thank you Kim Michele Richardson for your story about the first women who felt that education and books were an important item for family’s to have. I have read books before on the women who traveled in Tennessee on horses, mules etc and were the precursors to the bookmobiles of the later years and find it absolutely fascinating how these woman lived. These women don’t get written as much about as the pioneer woman but they were pioneers in their own ways. They traveled to homes and places they were sometimes not wanted. They faced adverse conditions and danger from men in the mountains that thought they were fair game. The developed relationships with families and had to face the same hardships with those families…death, illness, hunger, abuse, bad hygiene and excessive children because that was the way of life. They made sure to take care of these families the best they could and many time brought them so much more than just a new story or a new visit. They would read to families who could not read, teach and comfort as they did their rounds.
I found it totally fascinating and wonder how many women of today would be willing to take on a job like that? You brought these woman to life for me…..

I was hooked from page one. The careful research and realistically drawn characters of the era were exceptional. I even loved Junia, the mule, for her protective loyalty to Cussy. I would have been heartbroken if this story ended any other way.

It illuminated a bit of history I had never heard of before — a group of people who had a genetic condition that tinted their skin blue. They were discriminated against in much the same way that black people were discriminated against at that time in the South. The “book woman” dealt with such treatment with formidable strength,

Loved this piece of historical fiction. I learned a lot from it and found it very enjoyable.

Interesting new knowledge of the Appalachia’s people. Their enduring strength and cultures that racism still exists.

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is a poignant, moving story, one that will forever live in my memory. After reading Catherine Marshall’s Christy as a teenager, I’ve always been drawn to Appalachian settings. This atmospheric story has it all – emotional storyline, complex characters, evocative writing, fascinating historical detail. Serious issues play an integral part in the story – poverty, hunger, mine safety, hatred, prejudice, bigotry, racism. It’s gritty and raw at times, heartbreakingly real, yet spiritual, heartwarming and hopeful at the same time.

Cussy Carter, an employee of the government’s Pack Horse Library Project, is a strong, relatable leading lady. But instead of on horseback, Cussy traverses the mountainous terrain of eastern Kentucky on the back of her intuitive mule, Junia, who saves her from harm more than once. Cussy has a heart for books and a heart for the people on her weekly book route. We are privileged to get a glimpse into their lives, a glimpse that tugs at the heartstrings.

But Cussy’s life wasn’t easy due to a genetic condition that made her skin blue. The prejudice and fear of these blue-skinned people was strong and they were treated like all people of color in 1936. “Forever I’d let the darkness and brokenness live inside – let others keep it there…. accepting for so long what other folks thought of me” (Cussy). The author’s words at the end give insight into this condition, as well as other historical detail in the book.

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek goes on my favorites shelf. Highly recommended.

Note: There’s a little mild profanity, but not much.

I read this book before I read JoJo Moyes book “The Giver of Stars” because of the charges of Moyes’ plagiarism. Then I read the Moyes book. It was a faster read but definitely derivative of the Book Woman. When I handed out the recent list of the top 40 book club readers’ choices, one of the members of my group was incensed that the readers’ had chosen Moyes book for the list since it was so clearly borrowed without all the research and information included in Richardson’s book.