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mclellan's review against another edition
4.0
I have heard that song/ballad for years but had no idea it was based on an actual person/event.
elwoodnharvey's review against another edition
2.0
The danger with writing a book of this magnitude is that reader expectations are high even before the book has been opened. Unfortunately, this book doesn't meet those expectations. It's rich with color and details but short on character depth, which should have been central to this project. I only felt compelled to finish the book because I wanted to know the author's opinion about what happened. I wasn't interested in the character's personal story.
Sharyn McCrumb is a great writer, and I wish she could do this story all over again. The format it was written in doesn't lend itself well to this type of story.
Sharyn McCrumb is a great writer, and I wish she could do this story all over again. The format it was written in doesn't lend itself well to this type of story.
cmwilso3's review against another edition
3.0
Spins a great story, but I'm not entirely sure that the people in Wilkes County, NC will appreciate the book because it is so different than the original legend.
trashley_dawn's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
real_life_reading's review against another edition
2.0
I was really hoping that this book would be as great as the title made it seem, but I was disappointed. It's hard for me to get into a book where the narrator is so past feeling, cruel, and conniving. The book is set in the post Civil War South, and people are living in hard times. So it stands to reason that the 20-something narrator, having had to take care of herself through the war by prostitution, is hardened to others and their situations. However, she purposefully wants to make other people suffer as she has suffered, and her primary target in the novel is her beautiful cousin Ann.
Then there's these strange inserts written in the voice of Zebulon Vance, the man who is a lawyer for Ann and her lover, Tom Dula, after they are accused of murder. His piece in the novel doesn't really add anything to the story line, other than the very last bit when he gives us more information than the narrator Pauline gives in her story. It's pretty ineffective and distracting to the story line.
Then there's these strange inserts written in the voice of Zebulon Vance, the man who is a lawyer for Ann and her lover, Tom Dula, after they are accused of murder. His piece in the novel doesn't really add anything to the story line, other than the very last bit when he gives us more information than the narrator Pauline gives in her story. It's pretty ineffective and distracting to the story line.
krobart's review against another edition
1.0
Although McCrumb's "ballad series" of mystery novels is usually atmospheric and sometimes ghostly, this novel is bogged down by the narration of Nebulon Vance, which is repetitive and boring. Although I read that McCrumb found him interesting and wanted to document his life, this part detracts from rather than adds to the story. I think that McCrumb was hampered in this novel by the fact that it is based on a true case.
See my complete review here:
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/the-ballad-of-tom-dooley/
See my complete review here:
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/the-ballad-of-tom-dooley/
sjgrodsky's review against another edition
4.0
The backstory behind the ballad, told by an illiterate, abused bystander who has her own agenda. Desperation breeds evil.
vorpalblad's review against another edition
4.0
If you are a big fan of historical fiction...this novel may not be for you, but the afterword may.
McCrumb did some serious digging into the story behind the The Ballad of Tom Dooley, tracing it to a Civil War veteran, Tom Dula; and his married lover, Ann Melton. Melton's cousin, Laura Foster was murdered and Tom hangs for it. What McCrumb uncovers will interest history buffs, but if you're not a fan of reading unlikable narrators, this probably isn't for you. Despite that, I found this to be an entertaining story. McCrumb tells the story from the point of view of a minor witness in the trial, Ann Melton's cousin, Pauline Foster. McCrumb makes Pauline the catalyst for the actions, and a complete psychopath, possibly sociopath. Honestly, I still liked her better than Rachel from Girl on the Train; at least Pauline was openly manipulative and unfeeling.
While I didn't really get the Wuthering Heights thing (Tom was certainly no Heathcliff), I did really enjoy the counterpoint of Tom's defense attorney, Zebulon Vance. While his sections could be repetitive, the more he revealed about himself, the more he showed himself to be more like Pauline Foster than he would ever like to admit. It was a nice little twist.
This book could have easily been called American Psycho if the name hadn't already been taken.
McCrumb did some serious digging into the story behind the The Ballad of Tom Dooley, tracing it to a Civil War veteran, Tom Dula; and his married lover, Ann Melton. Melton's cousin, Laura Foster was murdered and Tom hangs for it. What McCrumb uncovers will interest history buffs, but if you're not a fan of reading unlikable narrators, this probably isn't for you. Despite that, I found this to be an entertaining story. McCrumb tells the story from the point of view of a minor witness in the trial, Ann Melton's cousin, Pauline Foster. McCrumb makes Pauline the catalyst for the actions, and a complete psychopath, possibly sociopath. Honestly, I still liked her better than Rachel from Girl on the Train; at least Pauline was openly manipulative and unfeeling.
While I didn't really get the Wuthering Heights thing (Tom was certainly no Heathcliff), I did really enjoy the counterpoint of Tom's defense attorney, Zebulon Vance. While his sections could be repetitive, the more he revealed about himself, the more he showed himself to be more like Pauline Foster than he would ever like to admit. It was a nice little twist.
This book could have easily been called American Psycho if the name hadn't already been taken.
ridgewaygirl's review against another edition
3.0
Hang your head, Tom Dooley,
Hang your head and cry;
You killed poor Laurie Foster,
And you know you're bound to die.
Sharon McCrumb bases her newest novel on the known facts of that famous murder. The Ballad of Tom Dooley is set in Wilkes county, North Carolina, a hardscrabble area near Asheville, during the years just after the Civil War. Tom Dooley was a Confederate veteran who returns to his Appalachian home determined to work as little as possible. His childhood sweetheart, Ann Melton, married a more dependable man with a farm and willingness to work it, but she and Tom pick up their relationship soon after he returns. Her husband seems resigned to her infidelity, but local gossip has Ann nervous. Into this volatile mix comes Pauline Foster, a young woman who will do just about anything to survive and who nurses grievance and resentment. She comes to live with the Meltons as a servant and she sets a string of unfortunate events into motion.
There's not a likable character in this bleak story of survival. The hills and hollers of the Appalachians have always been a difficult place to get by in, but the years of war and their aftermath made things even worse. McCrumb draws an evocative picture of a beautiful, harsh place that created harsh, insular people with their own sense of morality. It's not a pretty story, but it is a compelling one.
Hang your head and cry;
You killed poor Laurie Foster,
And you know you're bound to die.
Sharon McCrumb bases her newest novel on the known facts of that famous murder. The Ballad of Tom Dooley is set in Wilkes county, North Carolina, a hardscrabble area near Asheville, during the years just after the Civil War. Tom Dooley was a Confederate veteran who returns to his Appalachian home determined to work as little as possible. His childhood sweetheart, Ann Melton, married a more dependable man with a farm and willingness to work it, but she and Tom pick up their relationship soon after he returns. Her husband seems resigned to her infidelity, but local gossip has Ann nervous. Into this volatile mix comes Pauline Foster, a young woman who will do just about anything to survive and who nurses grievance and resentment. She comes to live with the Meltons as a servant and she sets a string of unfortunate events into motion.
There's not a likable character in this bleak story of survival. The hills and hollers of the Appalachians have always been a difficult place to get by in, but the years of war and their aftermath made things even worse. McCrumb draws an evocative picture of a beautiful, harsh place that created harsh, insular people with their own sense of morality. It's not a pretty story, but it is a compelling one.
retiredlibrarylady's review against another edition
2.0
McCrumb tells the sordid story of Tom Dula, later corrupted to Dooley in the folk song. Interspersed with that story is the account of Zebulon Vance, the governor and senator who was one of his attorneys. Much of the Vance story is repetitious of his account in Ghost Riders, which really lessened the enjoyment of the book for me. Not her best.