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A review by angielisle
The Coffin Quilt: The Feud Between the Hatfields and the McCoys by Ann Rinaldi
2.0
I gave this book two stars because the topic interests me.
I'm from WV. The author relies on cliches and stereotypes for her characters. I did feel offended at times and I'm not a person who feels that way often.
Rinaldi failed to grasp a good understanding of "Mountainese" - or that there are several dialects of it. The few times she did attempt a dialect, it was one that could've came from anywhere. Her use of this false Appalachian dialect was also inconsistent. Needless to say, this made it very difficult to believe her authority on the subject.
I will give her credit for packing the book with tons of information about the feud, but there was so much information that this read like a history book. I didn't feel as though the author gave enough emotional development to the story - and emotion should have been present, as this is essentially a story about murder, justice, and love in an area that was far removed from the rest of America (a plot not too distant from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet - but I doubt the author made this connection).
This brings me to another point: Romeo and Juliet would have been a good play for Rinaldi to have studied before writing this book, as those same attitudes and sentiments, as well as speech patterns, would have been prevalent in this period of Appalachian history - and anyone seriously dedicated to Appalachian study would have known that and not needed stereotypes for the basis of her characters.
I'm from WV. The author relies on cliches and stereotypes for her characters. I did feel offended at times and I'm not a person who feels that way often.
Rinaldi failed to grasp a good understanding of "Mountainese" - or that there are several dialects of it. The few times she did attempt a dialect, it was one that could've came from anywhere. Her use of this false Appalachian dialect was also inconsistent. Needless to say, this made it very difficult to believe her authority on the subject.
I will give her credit for packing the book with tons of information about the feud, but there was so much information that this read like a history book. I didn't feel as though the author gave enough emotional development to the story - and emotion should have been present, as this is essentially a story about murder, justice, and love in an area that was far removed from the rest of America (a plot not too distant from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet - but I doubt the author made this connection).
This brings me to another point: Romeo and Juliet would have been a good play for Rinaldi to have studied before writing this book, as those same attitudes and sentiments, as well as speech patterns, would have been prevalent in this period of Appalachian history - and anyone seriously dedicated to Appalachian study would have known that and not needed stereotypes for the basis of her characters.