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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
So much research has gone in to this well told story about the efforts to form a copper miners' union in the early 1910s. I liked that this book sings the seldom sung struggles of the men and women who fought for workers' rights with a cast of vivid characters, but it tended to drag and feel slower than it needed to.
Historical fiction, particularly of interest to Michiganders. I didn't know anything about the Copper Country strike or Annie Clemenc and Russell did an excellent job of bringing the time and characters to life.
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
It wasn’t perfect, but I really enjoyed reading this. I learned a lot. It was a bit boring in parts because it was so detail heavy. Big Annie was so good and I wanted to learn more about this period of history in Michigan.
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
Mary Doria Russell is a wonderful writer/story teller and I enjoyed this work of historical fiction very much. I've lived in Michigan for 36 years now and I've even toured a copper mine in the UP but I'd never heard of the things that went down in Calumet, MI. Russell tells the story of Big Annie (so nicknamed because she was 6' 2" tall) who had a heart for the immigrant miners and their families. The job was terribly difficult and dangerous - almost every family had lost someone to the mines - and the pay was pitiful. Annie was instrumental in organizing the women, and therefore the community, in their attempt to unionize. A well told, tragic, yet redemptive story.
inspiring
reflective
adventurous
challenging
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
As far as the story, I absolutely wish it could have turned out better for the union. I hate that they "lost". This book helped solidify my belief in the necessity of unions.
It just stinks that so many people died. Obviously the Italian Hall disaster is a horror. I can not imagine the lifelong nightmares anyone who was there felt. The author did a beautiful job painting that horrible day.
In addition, the lives that were lost during the skirmishes and by being abused by the goons.
My only hope is that the many families who lift found better circumstances. But many went without a child, so that's unknown.
What a powerful novel for a story many don't know about.
