Synopses & Reviews
Review
"These stories from the age before TV range across more than 75 years of Letcher County, of Kentucky history and life, and are Dickens-like in nature. Caudill's Appalachia is a cruel place of coal fields, mill towns, and hard-scrabble farms where people work at 'trades that consume lives as avidly as hungry Americans devour hamburgers.' The setting has bred a host of characters. There are 'fee grabbing' constables who, since they were paid upon defendants' convictions, sought out adulterous couples who were willing to pay their fines quickly in return for official silence. On the other hand, there is the defendant in a murder trial who refused to admit before the courtroom crowd that he was afraid when the man he killed attacked him. His pride led to his conviction. These finely Grafted pieces, like well-aged Kentucky bourbon, are smooth and potent and well worth a taste." Reviewed by Daniel Weiss, Virginia Quarterly Review (Copyright 2006 Virginia Quarterly Review)
Synopsis
In a supplement to his The American Language, H.L. Mencken encapsulated the early history of Kentucky: "What is now Kentucky was the first region beyond the mountains to be settled. Pioneers began to invade it before the Revolution, and by 1782 it had more than 30,000 population. It was originally a part of Virginia, and the effort to organize it as an independent state took a great deal of politicking."
Kentuckian and lawyer Harry M. Caudill grew up in the coal fields of Letcher County. His book Slender is the Thread reflects the history of a state whose citizens had to labor for their sustenance. Caudill's chapters reflect the mighty story of poor European immigrants struggling on primitive land and in wild mountains to survive, reproduce, and find sustenance for themselves and their households. Their frontier experience attuned the people to weak governments, self-help, quick wrath, and long memories, and revealed the influences that gave the state and its people their reputation for contented ignorance, colorful individualism, crankiness, self-reliance, contempt for court decisions, deadliness with gun and knife, and quirky and corrupt politics.
Spun from the experiences of his law office, Caudill was one of the great storytellers with a keen eye for the unexpected detail and ear for the unique turn of phrase. He denounced scoundrels, praised courage and justice wherever he found it, and celebrated the frailty of the human condition. Time goes on and stories of Kentucky and its people accumulate, and Caudill's stories help shape the thoughts and inspire the actions of the Kentuckians of tomorrow.
Synopsis
Reading the tales spun out of Harry Caudill's Letcher County law office, I can close my eyes and see the man, even hear his rich mountain voice-measured, distinctly accented, engaging, etched with wit and anger and compassion. He denounced scoundrels of high and low station, praised courage and justice wherever he found it, and celebrated the ridiculous frailty of the human condition.