Reviews

River of Earth by James Still

shyster's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

abbeyp's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

anecreads's review against another edition

It's good I'm just in a reading slump.

marilynsaul's review against another edition

5.0

Excellent read about coal mining and living in the camps. Superb writing.

guinness74's review against another edition

4.0

An incredible insight into life in the coal camps of Kentucky. I enjoyed this look at life because I assume this is how my early ancestors lived. My family (even named Middleton eerily enough) lived and worked and struggled in this manner, I'm certain, in Kentucky. And this was a really good novel.

The dialect is a little hard at first. And the ending is a little abrupt, but all in all, a really good read.

tschmitty's review against another edition

3.0

Not my favorite Appalacian story but I did enjoy the dialect and the characters. They are a tough people who have struggled and endured hard times. I liked the story. It reminded me of a more somber version of Little House books. I did like that we had decent parents in this story. I did not understand the ending.

chloewithoutanh's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

auntieg0412's review against another edition

3.0

I wanted to like it more. The story seemed to go nowhere, just rambled about. I skimmed through a lot of it.

I did enjoy reading the colorful Appalachian dialect that reminds me of my grandparents and other people that I knew as a child. It’s a way of speaking that is gone now, and I miss hearing it.

laneamagya's review against another edition

5.0

Still's seminal work, and one of the best entrance points for an exploration of Appalachian literature. This is a beautiful bildungsroman, with gorgeous reflections on landscape, family, and poverty.

the_student_of_story's review against another edition

3.0

There's a lot of great flavor to this story, but it lacks a significant through-line of plot. It could be argued that that is the point of the story, to just demonstrate life as it was in this time period, but I think it just makes the story stand out less.