Taps For Private Tussie

by Jesse Stuart, Ay Thomas Benton (Illustrator)

1943 hardcover novel. Has vintage colored illustrations. Looks like a first edition.

Genres: Humor, Fiction

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1943

About the author

Jesse Hilton Stuart was an American writer known for writing short stories, poetry, and novels about Southern Appalachia. Born and raised in Greenup County, Kentucky, Stuart relied heavily on the rural locale of Northeastern Kentucky for his writings. Stuart was named the Poet Laureate of Kentucky in 1954. He died at Jo-Lin nursing home in Ironton, Ohio, which is near his boyhood home.

Reviews

[Shirley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Taps for Private Tussie is a timeless book. The edition that I read was published in 1943, so I assumed that the story took place around World War II. Those who have read later editions of the book may have assumed it took place during more recent wars. Our society deals with the same issues of poverty today. Sid, the young boy who tells the story, silently questions the culture of poverty that enmeshes the Tussie clan. He asks the same questions that enter the reader's mind.

Jesse Stuart's writing style is extraordinary. The Kentucky dialect makes for delightful reading. The characters and settings are described with such exquisite detail that the reader feels less like an observer and more like a participant.

One of the descriptions that I will take with me from the story is this one. "I thought about my steel traps and each possum, mink, fox, coon and polecat that I had taken from them. And I thought about how wrong it was to kill little animals for their skins. And I thought about the way the pretty coons had fought to the last for their lives and how the cunning foxes had tried to hide from me with traps a-holdin their legs. I thought about the way the possums would lie down beside the traps and go to sleep with their numb legs still a-holdin them prisoners in the traps. Possums would lie down and wait to be rescued. And I thought about how many of the polecats had eaten their legs off and got away. I didn't like to think about these dead animals." (Pages 250-251)

The philosophy of the Tussie clan was shared by Grandpa. "Grandpa told them to 'dance and be merry for tomorrow they may die.' And they did dance and they were merry. They laughed, talked, drank, danced and loved until the dust came up from the polished dance-hall floors and down from the wallpapered ceilin. They danced until they kicked holes in the hardwood floor. And they bought good grub, rotgut licker and fine clothes. And no man would bother to work. Not one would go to the woods and chop kindlin. It was easier to burn the coalhouse, the fence posts and a locust shade tree than it was to walk a hundred yards to get a pole of wood for kindlin." (Pages 252-253)

Taps for Private Tussie is intended for an adult audience. In describing the plot to a student while in the process of reading the book, I thought how depressing this sounds. Jesse Stuart masterfully writes an engaging tale that describes a people and a time without judging. It is neither dark nor depressing. If I could give this book six stars, I would.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

The subject is fascinating: extreme poverty in the hills of eastern KY circa 1943 and the mindset of the lowest class (sociologically speaking) of people who refuse to work and do not value it.

[Angela Criswell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for my December book club meeting. I had some trouble adjusting to the dialect at first, but soon caught on. I had to consciously keep in mind the era in which it was written...Jesse Stuart meant it as a criticism of FDR's New Deal politics...or else I would get too irritated because it reminded me of Herman Cain and other supposed Tea Partiers criticizing today's unemployed. Read it as a good story, not a political statement. The characters may represent some truths about human nature, but certainly not universal truths.

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hadn't read this one since high school, I think. Illiterate, backwoods Kentucky hill family lands a windfall when Kim Tussie is killed in the war. They burn through the insurance money in three months. Rent a mansion and Tussies from all over the country come to demand their share of the good times. Eventually, 46 people are living in the house and they virtually destroy it. Then it's back to log shacks. none of the Tussie men will work. They want to be on the public dole. Great characters!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jesse Stuart's masterpiece! So funny I've gone back to parts, time and time again, to read and laugh so hard. I've heard of people who love sad movies cause they say they need to cry. Well, I love funny movies that make me laugh, and love the books that can follow suit. This book may not be for everyone, but it's one of the best words put on paper in my opinion. Stuart brings this story to live...I can almost feel the hot sun in some segments...a writer like no other...one of my favs.....Jesse Stuart.

[Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Over all this book made me angry. Stuart is well known to accurately describing the Eastern KY area. I'm sure there were plenty of people with the family values - or lack there of - like the people in this book, but the majority of the mountain folk in that time period did not act in this way. Stuart uses real place names, which makes it seem more like a real story, but he doesn't add in any information showing that this family is the exception, not the rule. Ignoring the social missinformation, the book is interesting and sometimes funny.

[Jake Van Hoorn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has the style of John Steinbeck but is lacking in substance. The main problem is the narrator Sid is by far the least interesting character in the book. It’s clear that the author wanted Sid to be an audience surrogate to view the ultra poor in Kentucky during World War 2 (much of the book is about the family’s attempts to stay on government relief) but when they try to do things with Sid’s character at the end of the story, it comes out of nowhere and is completely unearned. Read Grapes of Wrath instead.

[Jan Notzon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this to be a quite unusual novel. Set in Appalachia post WWII, it concerns a family totally unaccustomed to working for a living. It is told by a teenager member of the family, who's never been to school and who idolizes his kindly but lazy grandfather.
It's an interesting study in the dependent mindset. I liked it but it doesn't make me want to read others by Stuart. Chiefly because there are so many books by so many different authors.

[Mary]

I'm glad I've just started reading Jesse Stuart and have so many great reads to look forward to. He was a master storyteller with a gift for lyric phrasing. Mr. Stuart writes of his own hill folks of Kentucky with authenticity, humor, and poignancy. From the first page you'll love his "beardy" men and pipe-smoking Grandma.

[Sheila]

I remember reading this book when I was about 10 years old. At that time I remember it being very funny and I enjoyed every bit of it.

I want to re-read this one, just to see if it is as funny as I remember.

[Laurie D'ghent · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a really hard time rating this book because I still don't know whether or not I actually liked it. All I can say is this must have been the soap opera of the 1940s. The ending was awesome.

[Marilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I normally would not like this type of book. Do not know why I do.

[Becky Smith]

Did not like the characters.

[Mike Wigal · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Tobacco Road” by Erskine Caldwell is a classic novel of Depression Era Appalachia. But it pales in comparison to “Private Tussie.” Jesse Stuart was an American treasure.

[Paula Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had read this book about thirty years ago. I enjoyed it then and I enjoyed it now. What I didn't like was that the copy that I had contained a forward and in that forward parts of the storyline was given away.

[Kit★]

Yard sale pickup today, the cover art is what really got me, but the blurb sounded fun too, so I was like, what the heck, I’ll take it!

[Jill Minor · Rating 4 out of 5]

As fine a coming-of-age story as I've ever read, set in the Kentucky mountains in the early 20th century. Young Sid, the narrator, spends much more time in sober reflection than his huge, comic clan of Tussies, short-sighted hedonists who live on the dole awaiting the next "big time" of dancing and drinking. The magician among the Tussie family is Uncle George, a virtuoso on the fiddle. The first two thirds of the book are fairly predictable, with the Tussies all chasing "easy livin" as hard as they can, but as Sid grows, he starts using his long-term perspective to make some real changes in the final third of the novel as he morphs from mere observer to mover and shaker. The ending was a complete--and delightful--surprise.

[Kenyan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Talk about quirky and hillbilly heaven!!!!!