Picture TITLE: Grave (Object Lessons) AUTHOR: Allison C. Meier PUBLISHER: Bloomsbury IMy review of this book is available at The Folklore Podcast website.
Picture TITLE: Grave (Object Lessons) AUTHOR: Allison C. Meier PUBLISHER: Bloomsbury ISBN: 9781501383656 PODCAST EPISODE: None REVIEWER: Hilary Wilson
Bloomsbury Academic’s Object Lesson series is a wondrous collection that teaches its readers how to appreciate the ordinary. Each of these concise books seeks to thoroughly analyze a singular aspect of day-to-day life. Previous publications within this series look at subjects such as Traffic or the High Heel. The latest addition to the series, released in February 2023, is Grave by Allison C. Meier.
Meier has worked as a cemetery tour guide in New York City since 2011. An accomplished writer, her previous credits include publications within National Geographic, Mental Floss, and the Order of the Good Death. She is also the senior editor of Atlas Obscura. Her passion for bringing attention to little-known people and bits of history serves her well in Grave, as so much of what surrounds the topic of death and dying is often forgotten.
Grave is a concise book, coming in at under 200 pages even including the ample citations. The short essays begin with Meier explaining her own fascination with the historic cemetery near where she lived and how she found herself as one of its guides. Throughout the book, she explains how society has changed its view of death and dying. Once, people were buried in graveyards and burial grounds, full of reminders of one’s own mortality. But now, we are buried in cemeteries, the progenitors of the more common community park. Less hidden from view, especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 Pandemic, she makes the argument that our views of death are once more changing.
Meier pays careful attention to how death is dealt with among the poor, indigent, and minority communities, affording a broader view of history than many other texts. She also takes care to explain why practices such as cremation and embalming, both of which have been and still remain controversial among certain subsets of the population, can be viewed as positive things to others. There is no wrong way to die and to grieve, and this book covers some of the wide variety of ways people have gone about both.
This book is an interesting, contemplative read. Of particular interest is Meier’s attention to how funeral practices of the future might look. Recomposition, mushroom suits, and water cremation are all intriguing answers to problems that few want to seriously consider. Our cemeteries are filling up, and we are more nomadic now as a race than we have been in some time. Treks to visit our familial dead are less feasible in this globalized society, nor is it any more feasible to transport everybody back to their ancestral plots. Mausoleums are the way of the past – but the future is moving towards new options, many of which are friendlier to the environment. Meier forces the reader to consider their own mortality and what they might wish to happen to their body after they pass.
My review of this book will be forthcoming on The Folklore Podcast website. I'll update with the link once it is live.My review of this book will be forthcoming on The Folklore Podcast website. I'll update with the link once it is live....more
Shepherd Siegel is a former rock musician and a current activist. He's one of the most interesting thinkers that you are liable to come across, and h Shepherd Siegel is a former rock musician and a current activist. He's one of the most interesting thinkers that you are liable to come across, and his writing conveys it well. This book is full of wit and and keen sense of wonder at the world at large. Yes, some of the stories he's telling you you already likely know - the section on Bugs Bunny and Andy Kaufman come to mind - but have you heard it from this perspective before? Have you ever sat and considered Andy Kaufman a Holy Fool, or Bugs Bunny the quintessential modern American Trickster? No, I didn't think so....
Siegel presents the Trickster as not just an archetype sequestered into Jungian analysis or literary tropes, but instead a vibrant figure upon the worldwide stage as a catalyst for change. Often tragic, but always impossible to look away from, he chases the Tricksters of politics and art through modern history from the dadas to the Burning Man Festival. In true Trickster fashion, he sets the world atop its head and forces you to consider whether or not this image is perhaps a bit more true to life than the way you've been looking at it all along.
Siegel considers true play something society needs more of. (It's difficult, after all, to war while laughing.) By the end of the book most readers are liable to agree with him. The difficulty, of course, is how to access that original notion of play in a society that has become so deeply regimented that by the age of 4 most children are being taught to keep score rather than just play in an open-ended non-competitive fashion. Yet Siegel sees examples of such open-ended play, and offers possibilities for more of it within our own lives. Burning Man and the Fremont Solstice Parade - the latter of which a brilliant interview elaborates upon - are paragons of possibility for further adaptive open-ended play.
In short - this book is great, and Siegel is a figure more of us should be listening to. I look forward to reading more of him. ...more
This was one of the books that got me through my bout with COVID earlier this year. This was one of those Sheesh, I took too long to review this book.
This was one of the books that got me through my bout with COVID earlier this year. This was one of those instances where I judged a book by the cover immediately. In this case, it was a positive judgment. The cover, the title, it was all too delicious to pass by. While I didn't fall head-over-heels for Cumberbatch the way so many did, I was a massive fan of Sherlock for the first two series. I have a signed and numbered print of Mr. Blue Skull hanging in my kitchen to prove it. This is the first instance of a traditionally published book I've seen about this sort of fandom - I hope it isn't the last. It sets the bar high.
While this isn't a book about Benedict Cumberbatch exactly, it is a book about what it feels like to become obsessed with something. Obsession, though, tends to carry a negative connotation. This is more the sort of obsession that, while some may look at you funny for it, it makes you happy. If you spend your free time watching a particular actor, reading particular things, or writing fanfiction with wordcounts in the millions... is it harming anyone? Is it detrimental to your health, if you continue to look after other things?
This book has a very positive spin on this sort of quirky fandom, and it's nice to see such a thing when so much ink has been spilled about the less savory aspects of it. Carvan goes further and looks into why she became so fascinated by Cumberbatch. What drives someone into this, and is it okay? The answers will likely surprise a lot of readers, although they rung very true for me and what I've seen happen to others.
This is a really fascinating book. If anyone knows other books tackling similar topics - please send them my way. In the interim, I really would love to see Carvan write more about this....more
My review of this book was written for The Folklore Podcast and can be found there as well.
Reaktion Books is a publisher well-known for delivering accMy review of this book was written for The Folklore Podcast and can be found there as well.
Reaktion Books is a publisher well-known for delivering accessible, scholarly books on a wide variety of complex subjects. I have always been impressed with their output, and this title did not disappoint. Hope and Fear: Modern Myths, Conspiracy Theories, and Pseudo-History, out in the UK on February 14th, 2022, provides a nuanced look into the difficult topic of conspiracy theories. It tackles both why people believe in those theories and how they continue to thrive up into the modern day when it is widely-known that their very foundations are false.
Ronald H. Fritze, a professor of both history and religion at Athens State University, is uniquely suited to write about this topic considering how far back in history conspiracy theories have thrived and their tendency to be wrapped up in the vagaries of religious belief. Fritze’s history expertise allows him to enlighten the reader with the reasons how and why the theories have continued to grow and change within modern day.
From the start, Fritze takes care to define a variety of terms used by conspiracy theorists and academics alike. Additionally, he also highlights the common hallmarks of conspiracism to allow the reader to then separate fact from fiction within their own life. Fritze then dissects three conspiracy theories that have had massive impacts on history over the ages: the Lost Tribes of Israel, occult beliefs’ influences on Nazi policy, and the Roswell Incident.
While Fritze writes from a place of disdain for all conspiratorial thinking, he is upfront about that perspective, making a compelling case for how entertaining “Junk Knowledge” can often become a slippery slope. Nevertheless, Fritze does a wonderful job sharing how such knowledge proliferates and what belief in it offers to believers. For instance, the Roswell Incident section illuminates the original story of the crash and how disinterested the UFO community was in it until decades later. Promoting the idea that the crash was extraterrestrial in nature benefited the inhabitants of Roswell financially and socially, while reinforcing those more inclined towards conspiracy thinking inherent distrust in authority.
Hope and Fear is a worthwhile book that will allow readers to view the world through a more skeptical lens. Fritze adroitly outlines the ways in which the stories communities tell about themselves and others can be used for ill. It is only through recognizing these mechanisms that Junk Knowledge can be avoided so that the future won’t continue to echo the past....more
I heard about this book through Leigh Cowart's interview regarding it on NPR. While many have referred to this as simply "that sadomasochism book" thI heard about this book through Leigh Cowart's interview regarding it on NPR. While many have referred to this as simply "that sadomasochism book" that is ignoring many of the deeper things happening within it. This is a study of masochism, yes, and sexual behavior does come into play. But... why do people enjoy pain on purpose? And what of the far more prevalent non-sexual pain?
Cowart studiously digs into just how the brain processes pain, and what pain it is that we engage in often without thinking about it. Why is it that we are drawn to rub our sore muscles, or exercise to the point of exhaustion? Why is it that we eat food so spicy it makes our eyes water, or pursue hobbies like kickboxing and ballet? What of people who run ultramarathons or participate in polar plunges? What about hot saunas? All of these are uncomfortable, often to the point of pain, but still we do them and we love them - why?
In search of an answer to these questions Cowart either participates in or witnesses these events herself. She attends an ultramarathon as an observer - a last man standing race with no actual finish line and jeerleaders. She participates in an NYE polar plunge, eats the spiciest pepper in the world, and watches people get suspended through piercings in their spine. She delves into her own experiences with masochism, and how the word came to be used. How long as has this been going on? Why?
At the end of the book there are inklings of answers - at the very least to the why of it. She interviews top scientists looking at pain research, and professional dommes. It's a fascinating read, and look at just what our bodies go through. Nature or nurture? Both likely draw those who participate in high-sensation seeking behaviors to do what they do. There are benefits from it, when engaged in properly, and Cowart is exceptionally careful to designate between masochism and self-harm.
I picked this book up from the library not knowing very much about it. It was a new release and looked interesting, so I dove right on in...
The Quiet I picked this book up from the library not knowing very much about it. It was a new release and looked interesting, so I dove right on in...
The Quiet Zone itself exists very close to where a friend of mine lives. She's been to it a number of times, and when the pandemic is through we're planning on visiting the Road Kill Cook-Off together. The book began to be a study of the Quiet Zone itself, the Green Banks Observatory and its impact upon the town. It ended up being a kind of... gossipy look into the people living in the town itself before going pretty far off the rails.
The author interviews a white supremacist organization on its last legs and electrosensitives, people frustrated with the restrictions put upon WIFI in the town itself, and those who have grown up there and aren't terribly interested in it. Very quickly he begins to lose interest in the people working at the observatory, and he begins to dig into some old murders that took place in the town. He even interviews Patch Adams, who started to build a hospital there before he just... never... finished...
The book is interesting in a gawking kind of way, and I can't say that it really comes off as being poverty porn at any point. I also just didn't fully understand the why of him getting into the town's business. It seemed more like snooping than him wanting to settle into the town, and it seemed disrespectful with him talking about being concerned about getting killed by one member of the town he was talking to, or his fear of the White Supremacists that he had spent so much time getting to know. It just seemed false. Especially with his boasting about not owning a cell phone peppered throughout.
I will say that I finished the book and didn't hate it. I enjoyed learning about the town. It was just the... tone that I took issue with. Better organized, and with another leafing through the draft and a bit less casual a tone, I think it could've been a good book. It just rubbed me a bit the wrong way in its current state....more
I got this book after listening to an interview with Mike Rothschild on the podcast Maintenance Phase. The podcast delved into how QAnon and other coI got this book after listening to an interview with Mike Rothschild on the podcast Maintenance Phase. The podcast delved into how QAnon and other conspiracy movements had begun to infiltrate wellness spaces over the course of the pandemic, something that I witnessed from the sidelines courtesy of generally being interested in conspiracy theories. The book, well, that digs a bit deeper.
The Storm is Upon Us is an excellent primer for those unfamiliar - or only vaguely familiar - with QAnon. The book is good at emphasizing the fact that the person, or people, behind Q are less important than the people who believe in Q and what they are doing as a result of the belief. The book does not waste a ton of space debunking individual "proofs" as that would take volumes, but instead takes a wide swipe at the more familiar ones to allow people to think critically about the remainder of the drops. Similarly, there are interviews with people formerly in the movement about how they came to leave it and why.
Personally, I really appreciated how much this book did to explain why people believe in QAnon and what they get out of the belief. I didn't feel that the book demeaned people for their belief as a lot of media has been doing lately, but instead sought to arrive at a compassionate space with them. As dangerous as QAnon is, and it is insanely dangerous, berating people for believing in it is only going to further the divisions that already exist between us all.
The book offers a good starting off point for better understanding the psychology behind cults and failed prophecy, for coming at people in a more understanding way and leaving them with a way to begin thinking for themselves rather than digging deeper into the hole. QAnon is frightening, it is dangerous, but if we just try to ignore it it is only going to get worse over time and turn into something more deadly still and I don't feel we talk about that enough. ...more
The Body Fantastic, Frank Gonzalez-Crussi’s new book from MIT Press, implores the reader to move away from Cartesian Dualism to an understanding of the body through the concept of Valery’s Fourth, or quantum, body. Our conception of our bodies, Gonzalez-Crussi argues, is not solely informed by its mechanical functions or how others see us. Our corporeality instead is partially moulded by our native folklores, history, and myriad other influences we encounter and absorb throughout our lives.
Every chapter is dedicated to a different part of the human body, although not necessarily the parts one might expect. Reams of paper have been dedicated to the heart and the brain, after all, but what of the stomach? What of saliva and urine, hair and feet? And in spite of us all having once spent time in the uterus, it seems to be a distressingly underexplored subject of folkloric study - but this book delves deep into the past where it was once considered a sentient animal and the source of all female thought.
Gonzalez-Crussi intersperses his medical history with fascinating asides, and uses the many varied parts of our bodies to better understand ourselves and our place in the universe. While one might expect a discussion on the uterus to devolve into sexism in medical practice, one would less expect it to reveal Casanova to be outed as an early champion of women’s rights. Similarly, discussions of disordered eating end up showing the excesses of American culture. The feet pave the way for discussions on death, foot fetishes in the 1500s, and the development of literary fairy tales. Through a discussion of orality Gonzalez-Crussi examines why we are drawn to eat food that hurts us and what that might say about both our psychology and our cultural conceptions of masculinity.
As a long time reader of books on both medical history and folklore I was both delighted and surprised by how much of this book was completely new to me. Gonzalez-Crussi draws from unique and numerous primary sources -- most would know about the man who ate a plane over the course of two years and the gluttinos Tarrare, but how many would know about Madame D’Aulnoy’s travels in Spain in the 1500s and the Spanish court’s manifold rituals surrounding feet? Likewise, people are fairly familiar with the practice of urine therapy these days - but how many are familiar with the Roman’s obsession with saliva as a healing salve and its connections to early Christianity?
I cannot recommend this book enough. While the book is a treasure trove of information, it is not a difficult one to read unless you are particularly squeamish. I guarantee that the book will contain information you’ve not read before, and that it will fascinate and delight any new reader. It is impossible to come away from it without a new curiosity about the most familiar thing to all of us: our own body....more
Carl Hoffman is an author that I truly admire and respect. I devoured his previous book Savage Harvest and have been looking forward to reading Man.
Carl Hoffman is an author that I truly admire and respect. I devoured his previous book Savage Harvest and have been looking forward to reading more of his since then. His travels bring him into contact with the fringes of society. The Asmat of Papua New Guinea, former headhunters now searching for a new role in the world. The indigenous peoples of Borneo, adapting to a changing world themselves. Hoffman has traveled across the globe, always seeking out the stranger sides to push himself, and I'd say he's managed fairly well over the years. Only now, he's pushing himself to a fringe of American society that isn't really fringe. The people who attend Trump rallies in the period leading up to the stay at home orders being put into place due to COVID-19. It's a controversial topic, to put it mildly.
Carl Hoffman approached the topic of these divisive political times with the same amount of respect that he affords all the groups that he talks about. He delved into the history of the places each of the rallies were held, and the histories of the people that he met at the rallies. He traces the Republican Party itself to a certain degree, and how it turned into the radical form of Trumpism that it currently now just... is. He seeks to understand how people are drawn to Trump, how he attracts people to them and continues to retain the respect and admiration of different segments of the population.
This book, while not the easiest read, is an important one. Throughout it Hoffman decries the way that now it is difficult to have a conversation with anyone about something like policy without it dissolving into attacks and accusations. He calls for civility, for a celebration of different ideas and people rather than the barbs that are now so constantly thrown. He observes how the rise of Trump has coincided with the erosion of more traditional American masculinity, how Trump might be the last vestiges of that type of manhood and what has caused that erosion.
It's a fascinating read. It's an important read. It's a book that I'm glad I had in my hands. I wish more people were doing more to heal the divisions that exist, but I have no idea how we will come back from them. I can only hope someday that we will....more
While I've not read Aubrey Gordon's well-known blog, I do listen to Maintenance Phase a frightening amount. I was interested in her book after listenWhile I've not read Aubrey Gordon's well-known blog, I do listen to Maintenance Phase a frightening amount. I was interested in her book after listening to the podcast for a while, since I found the topics interesting and Gordon a delightful person to listen to. I eagerly grabbed up the book, started reading it... put it down for months... and then picked it up and read it in a couple of days.
What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat is not a particularly easy book to read. It's an accurate breakdown of what fat people deal with in day to day life in society. The restrictions, the judgment, and the expectations placed upon people is... harrowing, and only getting worse. The more the population gets fat, the worse fat people are treated. What gives?
Gordon doesn't exactly have answers as to the why, but she does chart the how of it all quite well. She goes into why diets tend to fail, and how the way society is treating fat people only make the problems worse. She goes into the myths surrounding what fat people go through when it comes to health outcomes, and how commonly prescribed methods of weight loss don't work.
You'll get a lot of this if you listen to Maintenance Phase, but the book is honestly worth reading for the final section about how society can better accommodate both fat people and people with disabilities. A more inclusive society is possible, we just need to do the work to get there - mentally, physically, and emotionally....more
Jim Kristofic, although not of Native American descent, grew up on the Navajo Nation reservation. Over the course of the book he writes about his exp Jim Kristofic, although not of Native American descent, grew up on the Navajo Nation reservation. Over the course of the book he writes about his experiences there - how he viewed the Navajos, and how they viewed him. How he fit in, and how he didn't. How he now views his place in the world, and what the experiences meant to him and molded him into being. It's a fascinating story, and a compelling explanation of what it's like to walk in two different worlds.
Kristofic doesn't shy away from elaborating on both the beauty and the violence of his upbringing, and of the problems that plague Indian Country then and even today. He offers the history that confined the people to a Reservation, and how Navajo rights continue to be infringed upon. He also talks about how the racism that many experience go both ways - and how that experience stretches into border towns, into more complex disputes.
Kristofic is a compelling storyteller. His stories follow a beautiful rhythm that I've come to expect from Native American writing. He weaves in and out of experiences, paints full pictures that challenge some of the more beautiful nature writing I've read over the years. This is a person who has walked the walk more than talking the talk, so to speak. He's a compelling writer, and his life is more interesting than the stereotypes people hold towards Rez living might suppose.
So? A good read. I'd definitely be happy to read more of his writing.
Also, a beautiful integration of Navajo language into the story, and a great respect towards the taboos of the people. ...more
I reserve five star ratings for books that are either especially well written and intriguing, or books tThis is an odd five star book from me, I know.
I reserve five star ratings for books that are either especially well written and intriguing, or books that manage to significantly affect my perspective of the world around me. Invisible Women did an incredibly good job of highlighting the problems that face women within the modern world around us. Whether medical, social, political, or simply practical - this book manages to address them all in concise and compelling ways.
This book managed to explain not only the problems that women face, but why particular problems exist and how to best combat them. While the changes that need to happen are widespread and not exactly easy, at the very least there is a good path forward. It was interesting to see how even things such as public transport and snow-clearing schedules can impact women more than man, not to mention problems like luxury taxes upon female sanitation products - the fact those are still not given away for free as condoms are is terrible.
This book made me think, and I appreciate it for that. I'll likely be picking up some long overdue Roxane Gay in the coming months to further fill in this blindspot in my reading patterns. I appreciate Tori for recommending this title to me....more
Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz is best known for An Indigenous History of the United States, a book which by all accounts is the bummer that it's expected to Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz is best known for An Indigenous History of the United States, a book which by all accounts is the bummer that it's expected to be but is universally praised for its good history and explanation of Native American issues and where they stand today. This book, on the other hand, is a joint effort of hers to dispel the commonly held myths about Native Americans - history, culture, and religions. It's an interesting examination into how the beliefs came about as well, and the book is a treasure trove of other book recommendations in addition to being an eye-opening read.
Unfortunately, the book suffers a bit for being a difficult read. While the subject matter can be difficult, the actual writing shifts somewhat radically in town from chapter to chapter and the transitions can be a bit jarring. Some of the chapters didn't seem terribly necessary, and some of the stances were a little bit confusing to read about. I think that some of the Myths could have been condensed into single chapters rather than multiple ones (views on science, for instance, and the sports mascot issues and cultural appropriation could have been condensed neatly.)
All of that having been said, this still was a very interesting and valuable read that I'm glad I picked up. I'm curious how other, similar books might read and if they'll prove to be a bit more accessible than this one. I'm also curious how Dunbar-Ortiz's more famous work will read once I get around to reading it....more
This book is touted as a collection of essays, but that isn't entirely right. It's classified as a humorous memoir about weight-loss and body positiviThis book is touted as a collection of essays, but that isn't entirely right. It's classified as a humorous memoir about weight-loss and body positivity, but that also isn't entirely right. This book is all of those things, don't get me wrong, but it is also a history and examination of why Americans are fat and how to change it. It's a look at things we can do in our own lives to improve our health, and how to do so without doing more harm than good.
Seriously.
What a book.
I had no idea what I was really getting into when I grabbed this book from the library, but I'm so happy I did. I ended up devouring this book, laughing out loud, and learning all the while. Chloe Hilliard writes in an easily digestible way that kept catching me off guard with her clever observations. She touched me at times, her insights things that I've dealt with myself as a fat girl trying to fit in. I felt she knew me, though that's certainly not the case. I wasn't a black girl growing up in Brooklyn after all. But hey, some of those fat girl experiences are universal anyway.
I loved this book, and I feel like it would be a great read for anyone. Fellow fat girls or fat boys would likely relate to a lot of what Hilliard went through. People who never struggled with weight? This would be a great look into the ways weight affects more than just your health. It affects your feelings of self-worth, of fitting into the world. It affects the way that others think of you. Weight is a huge thing in more ways than just pounds. Hell, I'm only figuring that out now, really.
This book is eye-opening, man, and funny to boot. Get it. Read it. Give your fat friends a hug when it's safe to do so....more
The final collection of The Boondocks that my library system carries...
This collection was even better than the last. The jokes are more cutting, the The final collection of The Boondocks that my library system carries...
This collection was even better than the last. The jokes are more cutting, the satire more real. Aaron McGruder has as sharp a pen as ever as he turns his attention to the war in Iraq, the elections, UPN, Michael Jackson and R. Kelly. The humor is laugh out loud funny, and it just doesn't get old. Anyone who lived through that era will likely find something to laugh about over the course of reading these strips.
The Boondocks is a cultural force, both in comic strips and in television. While I initially got into it thanks to the show, I have to say that the comics carry a charm that was lost in translation to television. Both are good, but man do I wish the strips were still happening. I can't imagine what Aaron McGruder would have to say about the state of things now.
Though I guess I won't need to imagine since the show is coming back this year. Well. It's about damn time....more
Another classic bunch of strips from Aaron McGruder that include a number of classic Boondocks moments. Why not repay George Lucas with"Read, Dummy!"
Another classic bunch of strips from Aaron McGruder that include a number of classic Boondocks moments. Why not repay George Lucas with a kick to the butt for what he did in The Phantom Menace? How exactly do you take the presidential debates seriously when everyone is essentially saying the same thing? If you're a revolutionary, can you really be a census taker or is that working for The Man? All of this and more mixed together with the commentary that makes these strips so unique.
This is a great collection and is truly where the strip begins to become the entity that has made it such a classic and long-lasting contribution to the papers it ran in. McGruder has truly found his voice and a comfortable tone with which to lambaste everyone who comes his way with his right to be hostile. The Boondocks is an incredible strip, one everyone should read at least once in their lives. The census series alone is a great starting point if I do say so myself. Or maybe Huey's battle against procrastination when it comes to lawn mowing... Hmm......more
This is one of the first collections of bawdy folklore ever collected.
You might ask yourself why anyone should collect dirty jokes. They're commonplacThis is one of the first collections of bawdy folklore ever collected.
You might ask yourself why anyone should collect dirty jokes. They're commonplace enough, after all, and often the lowest form of humor. What sort of purpose does collecting them serve? The truth of the matter is that more is revealed in this sort of common humor than in sanitized stories and legends. Dirty jokes reveal information about the morals and social mores of a group of people, what they find important and what they don't. Even the erstwhile morals of stories reveal more than we might care to admit about what we find important and value.
This collection is further unique in that a good deal of the stories were told by women - something distressingly rare in 50s anthropology. What is revealed by the women's tales are what women focus on in that society - what they think, how they feel. That having been said, these stories are surprisingly progressive in and of themselves. Women are valued, and viewed as savvy if not savvier than men. Women are in control more often than not, and are able to manipulate their partners to get what they want in often non-malicious ways.
Ultimately these stories are revealing values common across America, across people. It humanizes the Appalachian population in a way that is rarely done. I'm looking forward to passing this book along to a friend of mine to see what she makes of it. ...more
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