The Marrowbone Marble Company by M. Glenn Taylor

The Marrowbone Marble Company
By M. Glenn Taylor
Published by Ecco/Harper Collins

Book Description

From the author of The Ballad of Trenchmouth Taggart, a finalist for the 2009 National Book Critics Circle Award, comes this sweeping novel of love and war, power and oppression, faith and deception, over the course of three defining American decades.

1941. Loyal Ledford works the swing shift tending furnace at the Mann Glass factory in Huntington, West Virginia. He courts Rachel, the boss's daughter, a company nurse with spike-straight posture and coal-black hair. But when Pearl Harbor is attacked, Ledford, like so many young men of his time, sets his life on a new course.

Upon his return from service in the war, Ledford starts a family with Rachel, but he chafes under the authority at Mann Glass. He is a lost man, disconnected from the present and haunted by his violent past, until he meets his cousins, the Bonecutter brothers. Their land, mysterious, elemental Marrowbone Cut, calls to Ledford, and it is there, with help from an unlikely bunch, that the Marrowbone Marble Company is slowly forged. Over the next two decades, the factory grounds become a vanguard of the civil rights movement and the war on poverty, a home for those intent on change. Such a home inevitably invites trouble, and Ledford must fight for his family.

Returning to the West Virginia territory of the critically acclaimed The Ballad of Trenchmouth Taggart, Glenn Taylor recounts the transformative journey of a man and his community. Told in clean and powerful prose in the tradition of Cormac McCarthy and John Irving, The Marrowbone Marble Company takes a harrowing look at the issues of race and class throughout the tumultuous 1950s and '60s. It is a story of struggle and loss, righteousness and redemption, and it can only be found in the hills of Marrowbone.

My review:

I just finished this book in the last few days... it's fresh in my mind and I may ramble. I received this book as Advanced Readers Edition. We all know the spiel... I am not being paid, bribed or coerced into giving a good review.

On to the book... my advise... read this book... it is wonderful. First of all I should tell you if I saw this book on a store shelf... more than likely I might not have picked it up.. sorry, the cover didn't really get me... and I would have missed one of the best books ever. I will be looking for more of his books on my next book buying adventure.

What can I say about this book.... again, historical in nature...and I lived and breathed this book for a few days and when not reading it I missed and longed for the time when I would have a moment to read more of Ledford and his family and friends.

The story line is very strong with details and substance. The characters ... I could picture these people... I could feel their pain, their fear, their joys and sorrows. Yes, I cried through some of this book; but, I also shared some laughter and joys, too. 368 pages... nice long book... but; still wanted more ... not that the ending left me hanging or that the story line wasn't tied up... I just wanted more and I wanted to be with them a little while longer.

Just a note... If I read a book that is great, you will know it by the words I write; however, don't let anyone judge a book for you... we all have our likes and dislikes and when I find myself re-reading a book that I didn't enjoy the first time; but, loved the second reading I ask myself what the difference was ... Is it my age?? My life experiences?? My perspective on issues?? I am not sure; but, please never let a bad review hinder you from reading a book that you think you might like; but, won't read because someone gave it a bad review. Just my thought... if someone takes the time to write and pours their heart and soul into a book... give them the chance... so often I surprise myself when I chance upon a book that just lights up my world for a while... this book was that book.

Do I recommend this... YES... read this and let me know if you don't walk away with a new perspective and a new outlook.

Oh, by the way... if you have read this far... you will remember I mentioned the cover of the book... well, it all came together and it all makes perfect sense now... so lesson for today... Never Judge a Book by it's Cover... words to live by.

2nd Decade -- the road continues

Well, if your still with me you'll know your in for some reading...

My second decade was much of the same... still lived in the little house in the country with the same people...

High school wasn't as much fun as elementary... can we say cliques, mean girls, puberty, teenage angst, hormonal upheaval, rebellion and that was just my own life ... you get the picture... it was a time in the 70's when a young woman did not have a college future.... either homemaker, factory worker or clerk in the local 5& 10... education was for the children of doctors, lawyers and chiefs of companies... not for a coal miner's daughter... and this was OK with me...

Married at 19 ... mother at 19 and in my little wee apartment living the life .... a son, Andy and all the glory... wonderful time to be young, in love and a new mother. Husband working full time at the local train station.... life was good.

I remember being so scared, first time mother's jitters... second guessing everything... colic and frustration... fear of not knowing .... loving the little guy with every ounce of my being... pictures taken at the local 5& 10.... his chubby little legs and his head of dark hair... working part time a few evenings a week... worrying if I was doing everything right for Andy... fretting about his sleep, his health, his feedings... a mothers worries... goodbye, teenage years ----- hello, adulthood....

Sisters and brothers entering new phases of their own lives... parents entering a calmer, empty nest and less stress with fewer people in the home.... economics changing, a different pace of life and responsibilities... children returning to the nest on major holidays and summer outings... different relationships forming between parent and child....

I remember the "Phone" being a life line to my mother... calling everyday and checking in... is she OK, am I OK, how is my grandson, my son is fine, just the little small talk over the distance of a few miles and to keep heart and apron strings from stretching too far....

Oops... my phone is ring ... it's my daughter Kimberly checking in ... only difference is now we are talking about my new grandson, Jayden, talking on a cell phone and all that high tech gadgetry... oh, my times change and change they do.....

to be continued

Contests

Please check out this new blog I found... and a wonderful contest, too. Also, check out their beautiful camera bags... if only I were lucky enough to win the camera to put in a bag...

http://www.haveanepiphanie.com/home/2010/2/28/epiphanie-give-away.html#comments


Good Luck

Fifty ... the first 10

Fifty.... Fifty.... oh, my where did the time go and how did I get here....

I've been thinking a lot about what to post at this momentous occasion... and things have passed through my mind and I've had to edit and have thought of some things that make me who I am and maybe help me through the day or days past.

So, Since this is my 5Th decade I think I will break it down in to decades:

The 1st decade of my life....

What's to say .... middle daughter of Bill and Juanita, younger sister of Teresa & Brenda; older sister of Scott and Mark. Little ol' family living on a dirt road out side of a small town in Central Pa. A small three bedroom home with one bathroom, one yellow wall phone that still hangs by the basement door. House, garage and assorted toys occupying 2 acres of green, green, green grass. Not a inch of pavement to be seen. There were neighbors within shouting distance; but, you wouldn't be able to throw a rock and hit the side of their barn. It wasn't a home of wealth (but, at that age I didn't realize we were on the poorer side of the track)

I remember being told I was born with a hole in my heart... no, don't fret it closed all on it's own... but; that's my claim to fame in the family...

I remember Mom with dark, dark hair, beautiful eyes and a yearning for her children to do better... I remember loaves of warm bread and rolls and cinnamon rolls hot and sweet... I remember my mother becoming a working mother in a local factory and her driving to work in a car without my father in it... I remember back rubs when sick and sitting on chairs when I was bad ..... I remember practising my writing and having pen and paper in hand... I remember her giving me hair cuts that resembled bowls and short, short bangs... I remember a sense of yearning coming from within her ... with 5 children... probably wishing for some peace and quiet... a lot less work and worry.... a little me time ...

I remember a Dad with dark, curly hair, small of stature, an intense nature to fix all things and to build.... a hard working man ... a heavy, yellow equipment operator in a strip coal mine, losing his hearing to the machine and having his lungs and soul coated in coal dust...a man that drank a little, a man that had a lot of friends in need of car and equipment repairs and who was willing to lend a hand.... a man who tried his best in spite of how he was raised.... a man of anger and rage and then a man full of remorse...

I remember being the middle .... my oldest sister and my youngest brother were a pair... my next next oldest sister and my oldest brother were a pair... I remember wishing I was a part of a "pair"....

I remember an outhouse in the back yard...(yeah, we lived in the country)

I remember a chicken coop with chickens.... I remember that chickens will scare snakes that dare to enter the back yard...

I remember holidays with gifts overflowing, baskets hid, birthdays....

I remember falling in the mud of the dirt driveway running to get on the bus... I remember running to my oldest sisters arms and crying in them... the bus driver waiting while I went and changed into a clean dress..

I remember a wonderful, neighbor lady (Mrs. Pifer) who was a saint in my eyes and offered a sanctuary of calm, peace and quiet when and if ever needed... I remember walks in the woods, playing domino's at the kitchen table, I remember pink candies, home made cream puffs, sleep overs at her house, her homemade quilts.. her taking my sisters and I to church each Sunday and sitting holding her hand while we listened to the "fire and brimstone"...

I remember Sunday drives with a stop at a local grocery store... to pick up 8oz cold bottles of pop in flavors that bring a smile now... grape, orange, red, root beer... Coca-Cola was only used when we were sick and we had to take those big nasty penicillin pills... it was an exotic drink not for children...

I remember my third grade teacher, Mrs. Ogden... at that time we had maybe 30 children in a class and an art teacher who traveled from room to room and school to school in our area. We were instructed to draw a bird... all the children drew a bird standing on the ground... except me... my bird was flying through the air... what would the shrinks of today say about that... hmmm...

I remember days of learning.... to read and loving the feel of a book in my hands, I loved my grade school I attended... I loved writing in the tablets, the smell of crayons and paint, never ate glue... don't understand why one would... loved the little yellow bus we rode to and from school each day...

Living was good in the 60's in a little ol' house, with a little family, with a dog in the back yard, indoor plumbing and a yellow phone with a party line... not bad... wouldn't know any other way...

Are you still with me?? Well, stay tuned for the 2nd Decade... share your thoughts and feelings... leave a note...