Emily Steiner is a young Mennonite woman living in my home county of Morgan County Kentucky, This is her first book and was printed by Haines Printing in North East, PA, and self-published by Ms. Steiner. I did not know Ms. Steiner or her family as I do many of the Mennonites in this county until after I had read her book. Shortly after reading this book, I was walking in Old Mill Park in my hometown of West Liberty, KY, and saw a young Mennonite woman carrying a laptop computer adn dressed in the typical Mennonite fashion of ankle length dress and head covering. I asked, "Are you Emily Steiner?" which was a good assumption since she matched the photo in the book and it is not customary for Mennonites to work on computers. She told me she was Emily Steiner and we struck up a conversation which lasted about thirty minutes and was entirely about literature, her writing, her next book now in progress, and many of the writers I have personally known. Ms. Steiner work briefly as a school teacher in the local Mennonite School. She has lived most her entire life in Morgan County. She is currently working two part time jobs and working on her third novel, which will be the second book in this series. This book is the first in that series of books about a young Appalachian woman named Lilly Burchett. It is labeled on the cover as Historical Christian Fiction. But in reality, it is presented as a historical novel about a young native Appalachian woman with no connection to the Mennonite religion but does describe her and her family as church goers to a church without mention of the denomination.
The story is set in Harlan County Kentucky in the period from circa 1918-1922 or so. The story is also labeled on the cover as "Well researched and rich with detail; the author's first-hand knowledge of life in rural Kentucky shines through in the vivid and sensitive telling of this classic tale of love, loss, hope, and dreams." It is an attempt to portray the native Appalachians of Harlan County from a period a century distant by a writer who lives a very different lifestyle not only from those natives of the early twentieth century but also quite different from the local native Appalachians of today in this community. I bought the book at a local bulk food store which is run by another unmarried Mennonite woman whose extended family I know quite well. Until I saw the book on a counter, I had no idea that any Mennonite in the area was writing fiction. However, Rod & Staff Publishing, one of the largest Mennonite publishers in the country is located in the county in Crockett, KY, and Ms. Steiner's father works there in the editorial department. Since no conservative Mennonite author or publisher uses the internet or modern marketing practices, you cannot find further information about the books of Ms. Steiner on the internet. The printer, Haines Printing Company, does maintain a minimally informative website about their services but does not directly market this book or any other they might have printed. Their ownership may or may not be Mennonite. Ms. Steiner is directly marketing the book via her personal phone number and address. I will provide that address at the end of this review.
Despite the information listed on the back cover claiming first-hand knowledge and positive research, the book misses the facts on numerous occasions in dealing with Appalachian life in the early twentieth century. However, based on my numerous contacts with the local Mennonite community and my overwhelmingly positive opinion of the Mennonite people in the area, I am willing to say that I do not believe any of these errors were committed with negative intentions. Since that first accidental meeting in the park, Emily Steiner and I have talked face to face three more times, once at the last day of school at the Faith Hills Mennonite Church School and twice at her part time employment in a Mennonite owned fabric and sewing store. We also converse fairly regularly via e-mail which, due to the Mennonite religious beliefs and mores, is on an e-mail address which actually belongs to her brother who is a local construction contractor. The book does perpetuate several of the prevalent myths about Appalachian people of the early twentieth century and of Appalachian people and culture in general. However, since Emily Steiner and I have known each other, I have provided her with some guidance about Appalachian Culture and Literature and given her a long list of mainstream Appalachian books which she is reading diligently and working to make the next novel much more culturally accurate.
The protagonist in the story is Lilly Burchett, a thirteen year old Appalachian girl who is a member of a large family living in "a cabin" in a hollow near a coal camp and a coal mine in which her father, Bernie Burchett, works. Lilly is described as having "...calloused feet that rarely felt shoes" on the first page and so begins the trail of myths and errors about Appalachia and Appalachian life. The family is composed of the parents, Lilly, and several other of her siblings. The story begins in early 1918 as World War I is ending and the surviving soldiers are returning from the battlefields. Lilly is nearing the time when, as she has already been told by her mother, "...'a woman's place is getting married and raising a family'...and then having babies, having them one after another as fast as all the other mountain women." Lilly is described as a good student in some areas but not in math. She wants to grow up to leave the mountains and become a writer. The title of the story arises from the fact that Lilly frequently stops to think, write, and hide her writings under a bridge over the creek on her way home from school where she dreams about the future. I suspect that several aspects of the character are fictionalized versions of thoughts which Ms. Steiner has had growing up as a young, intelligent woman in a strictly conservative Mennonite family and community. To some degree, she has corroborated that belief and disputed it in others. Another former Mennonite school teacher in the community who actually taught the same year Ms. Steiner did, whom I have known since childhood, has also stated that he agrees with my assessment that many of the cultural errors in the story are rooted not in any prejudice on the part of Emily Steiner but in the fact that the average young Mennonite woman has little contact with the greater non-Mennonite community. The character of Lilly is much more fully developed than the other characters in the story. The writing is above average for a first book but not exceptional by any means. But it shows a great deal of talent and is good enough that I am willing to spend time helping Emily Steiner improve both her knowledge of Appalachian Culture and her base of knowledge about writing and literature in general. The book is readable and for the naive individual who knows little or nothing about Appalachia of the early twentieth century it could be assumed to be accurate in its depictions of the area and its people. Therein lies the potential damage to be done by this book and all other books like it which are written about Appalachia without sufficient knowledge of the people and culture.
The errors in depiction of Appalachian Culture, life, and language continue throughout the book and range from simple errors in language to full blown but unintentional misrepresentations. Later in that first chapter in a description of the local school teacher's opposition to the coal mining companies she has a minor character state "He don't like the mines because he had two brothers killed in a collapse." No one in Eastern Kentucky would have used the word "collapse" to describe a roof fall. The generally used word all over Appalachian coal mining country was then and still remains "roof fall" or could have been a use of the word "kettle bottom" to describe a particular type of roof fall. It is also interesting that in a book about a coal mining town in Harlan County in 1918 there is no mention of the ongoing effort to unionize the mines. The United Mine Workers of America was organized in 1890. Kentucky coal production reached a million tons in 1879 and a major producer at that time was already Harlan County and both the United Mine Workers of America and the International Workers of The World (The Wobblies) were attempting to organize miners in Harlan County by about 1905 or 1910. Ms. Steiner is currently working on the second book of the series with a working title of "Under Fire", the manuscript of which I have read and offered suggestions about improving it both from a cultural and a writing viewpoint. Ms. Steniner's intentions are to write a book which does address the union efforts in Harlan County Kentucky but to promote the Mennonite views of non-violence and, therefore, to not promote unionism. She and I have mutually agreed to amicably disagree on that position and to remain friends.
Chapter Five of "Under The Bridge" begins with a particularly telling paragraph in terms of its depiction of life in Eastern Kentucky in 1918 as Lilly begins working as a housekeeper for the wife of the local mine manager. "...Lilly grew accustomed to turning a knob for water, dragging heavy rugs up and down stairs, and cooking multitudes of things beyond cornbread, beans, and fried potatoes." It is quite interesting that this was written by a young woman who grew up in a family, religious community, and subculture which depends strongly on gardening as a major means of sustenance and who knows quite well that anyone who raises a garden in Appalachia eats far more than "cornbread, beans, and fried potatoes".
Later in the book as Lilly is working as a housekeeper in the home of the mine superintendent and meets a couple who are friends of her employer and his wife and is offered the opportunity to return with them to Louisville to live in their home and further her education. Because of her father Bernie's objections, Lilly turns down that opportunity and begins anticipating life as a young married woman in the footsteps of all the other women in her life. It is interesting that across many areas in Appalachia such as Knott, Jackson, and surrounding counties in Kentucky, and several counties in North Carolina schools were being founded such as The Caney Creek Community Center and the Annville Institute which were assisting numerous students in admission to and attendance at colleges outside the region. Ms. Steiner seems to have not known about any of this history at the time she wrote "Under The Bridge". But she is working diligently to remedy the shortcomings in her knowledge of Appalachia and Appalachian Culture and Literature. "Under The Bridge" can be bought directly from Emily Steiner by calling or writing her at Emil Steiner, 155 Memorial Gardens Road, West Liberty, KY, 41472, or by calling her at 606-495-8090. The price is $10.00. The book can also be found at Caney Grocery in Cannel City, KY, at the intersection of KY 1000 and KY 191 between Cannel City and West Liberty. Despite the negative comments in this review, the book is worth reading and buying. Her second book, "What Money Can't Buy", a purely Mennonite novel is now released and available at Rod and Staff Publishing in Crockett, KY.
The protagonist in the story is Lilly Burchett, a thirteen year old Appalachian girl who is a member of a large family living in "a cabin" in a hollow near a coal camp and a coal mine in which her father, Bernie Burchett, works. Lilly is described as having "...calloused feet that rarely felt shoes" on the first page and so begins the trail of myths and errors about Appalachia and Appalachian life. The family is composed of the parents, Lilly, and several other of her siblings. The story begins in early 1918 as World War I is ending and the surviving soldiers are returning from the battlefields. Lilly is nearing the time when, as she has already been told by her mother, "...'a woman's place is getting married and raising a family'...and then having babies, having them one after another as fast as all the other mountain women." Lilly is described as a good student in some areas but not in math. She wants to grow up to leave the mountains and become a writer. The title of the story arises from the fact that Lilly frequently stops to think, write, and hide her writings under a bridge over the creek on her way home from school where she dreams about the future. I suspect that several aspects of the character are fictionalized versions of thoughts which Ms. Steiner has had growing up as a young, intelligent woman in a strictly conservative Mennonite family and community. To some degree, she has corroborated that belief and disputed it in others. Another former Mennonite school teacher in the community who actually taught the same year Ms. Steiner did, whom I have known since childhood, has also stated that he agrees with my assessment that many of the cultural errors in the story are rooted not in any prejudice on the part of Emily Steiner but in the fact that the average young Mennonite woman has little contact with the greater non-Mennonite community. The character of Lilly is much more fully developed than the other characters in the story. The writing is above average for a first book but not exceptional by any means. But it shows a great deal of talent and is good enough that I am willing to spend time helping Emily Steiner improve both her knowledge of Appalachian Culture and her base of knowledge about writing and literature in general. The book is readable and for the naive individual who knows little or nothing about Appalachia of the early twentieth century it could be assumed to be accurate in its depictions of the area and its people. Therein lies the potential damage to be done by this book and all other books like it which are written about Appalachia without sufficient knowledge of the people and culture.
The errors in depiction of Appalachian Culture, life, and language continue throughout the book and range from simple errors in language to full blown but unintentional misrepresentations. Later in that first chapter in a description of the local school teacher's opposition to the coal mining companies she has a minor character state "He don't like the mines because he had two brothers killed in a collapse." No one in Eastern Kentucky would have used the word "collapse" to describe a roof fall. The generally used word all over Appalachian coal mining country was then and still remains "roof fall" or could have been a use of the word "kettle bottom" to describe a particular type of roof fall. It is also interesting that in a book about a coal mining town in Harlan County in 1918 there is no mention of the ongoing effort to unionize the mines. The United Mine Workers of America was organized in 1890. Kentucky coal production reached a million tons in 1879 and a major producer at that time was already Harlan County and both the United Mine Workers of America and the International Workers of The World (The Wobblies) were attempting to organize miners in Harlan County by about 1905 or 1910. Ms. Steiner is currently working on the second book of the series with a working title of "Under Fire", the manuscript of which I have read and offered suggestions about improving it both from a cultural and a writing viewpoint. Ms. Steniner's intentions are to write a book which does address the union efforts in Harlan County Kentucky but to promote the Mennonite views of non-violence and, therefore, to not promote unionism. She and I have mutually agreed to amicably disagree on that position and to remain friends.
Chapter Five of "Under The Bridge" begins with a particularly telling paragraph in terms of its depiction of life in Eastern Kentucky in 1918 as Lilly begins working as a housekeeper for the wife of the local mine manager. "...Lilly grew accustomed to turning a knob for water, dragging heavy rugs up and down stairs, and cooking multitudes of things beyond cornbread, beans, and fried potatoes." It is quite interesting that this was written by a young woman who grew up in a family, religious community, and subculture which depends strongly on gardening as a major means of sustenance and who knows quite well that anyone who raises a garden in Appalachia eats far more than "cornbread, beans, and fried potatoes".
Later in the book as Lilly is working as a housekeeper in the home of the mine superintendent and meets a couple who are friends of her employer and his wife and is offered the opportunity to return with them to Louisville to live in their home and further her education. Because of her father Bernie's objections, Lilly turns down that opportunity and begins anticipating life as a young married woman in the footsteps of all the other women in her life. It is interesting that across many areas in Appalachia such as Knott, Jackson, and surrounding counties in Kentucky, and several counties in North Carolina schools were being founded such as The Caney Creek Community Center and the Annville Institute which were assisting numerous students in admission to and attendance at colleges outside the region. Ms. Steiner seems to have not known about any of this history at the time she wrote "Under The Bridge". But she is working diligently to remedy the shortcomings in her knowledge of Appalachia and Appalachian Culture and Literature. "Under The Bridge" can be bought directly from Emily Steiner by calling or writing her at Emil Steiner, 155 Memorial Gardens Road, West Liberty, KY, 41472, or by calling her at 606-495-8090. The price is $10.00. The book can also be found at Caney Grocery in Cannel City, KY, at the intersection of KY 1000 and KY 191 between Cannel City and West Liberty. Despite the negative comments in this review, the book is worth reading and buying. Her second book, "What Money Can't Buy", a purely Mennonite novel is now released and available at Rod and Staff Publishing in Crockett, KY.
1 comment:
A very good book and interesting read!
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