A heartfelt historical fiction collection that finds endless richness in simple lives.
By the early part of the twentieth century, sawmills had given way to coal mines in Burfield County, Kentucky, and mining became the lifeblood of this rural Appalachian community. To support their families, generations of men shouldered their picks and shovels despite unhealthy conditions and the constant risk of cave-ins. Yet these folks had few options for feeding and clothing their families, so down into the dark, dusty mines they went. For Vergie Hicks, it wasn’t concern for her husband’s well-being that troubled her when he didn’t come home from work for a length of time. No, when Wiley Hicks was away, it was often because he had taken up with another woman. But resilient Vergie had little patience for a philandering husband. In a remote part of the same county, May and Zeke Owens struggled to keep food on the table for their children. Times were tough everywhere, and the Depression left few unscathed. So when May’s good-for-nothing brothers showed up expecting room and board, it only complicated the strained family dynamics. As more men lost their health or lives to the mines, one eighth-grade boy vowed he would do whatever it took to escape a similar fate, even if it meant abandoning those he loved the most. Decades passed, and coal mining steadily declined, but the coal dust lingered on the land, and in the hearts and minds of those who remembered everything the mines gave and took.
A book that inspires readers to cherish the stories of those who came before them, Jeffrey L. Carrier’s Coal Dust on Purple Asters is an unpretentious collection of three geographically and culturally related short stories. The first, Rain on Chinquapin Holler, draws readers into the early 20th-century Appalachian setting. Life in the hollers is hardscrabble, but the resilience of the people shines through. In A Sprig of Purple Asters, issues of justice and morality are never as simple as they seem on the surface. The final tale, Red Snow in the Kentucky Woods, spans decades, adds an element of mystery, and, most satisfyingly, ends where it began. Each story focuses on a different family group, but many locations, characters, and themes overlap, providing continuity and stability. Though the Appalachian dialect may challenge readers unfamiliar with its unique cadences, the author wields it with such sincerity that it becomes one of the collection’s greatest strengths. The time frame might be nearly a century ago, but Carrier’s grounded narration makes the difficulties feel as relevant as ever. “Men once making thirty dollars a week saw their pay shrivel as the coal boom faded,” captures a struggle that still exists. A generational drama that puts priorities into perspective and keeps contentment at the fore, Coal Dust on Purple Asters is a heartfelt historical fiction collection that finds endless richness in simple lives.
