Trampoline. General, No Spoilers (Nov 2018)

[Whitney]

Hello, gentle readers. Your faithful moderator has had life get in the way a little. Sorry to be late starting this discussion. Here you can post first impressions of the book, reviews or articles of interest, or anything else that doesn't involve spoilers. I will add exciting things and open the entire book discussion this Sunday.

So, what did you think? What other writers, if any, would you compare Gipe to? Did Dawn's voice seem authentic and believable? How would the book have been different without the drawings?

[LindaJ^]

Two authors come to mind - Bonnie Jo Campbell and Ron Rash. They also write about Appalachia and its people, e.g., American Salvage and Burning Bright.


I thought Dawn's voice seemed authentic and I believed it. The drawings added dimension to Dawn.

[Whitney]

Here are some relevant links:

You can read about Robert Gipe on his website, here

An interview with Gipe from Cold Mountain Review.
https://www.coldmountainreview.org/is...

A review / essay that Gipe said was his favorite. From the Appalachian Journal. This is a fairly in-depth analysis of the entire book, so you may want to wait until you've finished it.
https://appjournal.appstate.edu/sites...

A short review from the Washington Independent Review of Books
http://www.washingtonindependentrevie...

Here's a rare negative review from the Southern Literary Review, which found the characters too stereotypical.
http://southernlitreview.com/reviews/...

[LindaJ^]

Thanks Whitney for the links, all of which were interesting.

[Hugh]

I will probably not participate in this one, since the book is rather expensive here in the UK.

[Whitney]

LindaJ^ wrote: "Two authors come to mind - Bonnie Jo Campbell and Ron Rash. They also write about Appalachia and its people, e.g., American Salvage and [book:Burning B..."

I haven't read either of these writers, Linda. Which of their books would you recommend? Is the Appalachia they present similar to Gipe's?

[Whitney]

Hugh wrote: "I will probably not participate in this one, since the book is rather expensive here in the UK."

I just checked Amazon UK, and good Lord, it is pricey! Sorry to non-US readers, I should have checked more carefully. It's not even available as an ebook there.

[LindaJ^]

Whitney wrote: "I haven't read either of these writers, Linda. Which of their books would you recommend? Is the Appalachia they present similar to Gipe's?"

I've read all Campbell's books. I'd recommend starting with American Salvage. It is a book of short stories. It is set in Michigan, which may not be what we think of geographically as Appalachia but the people she writes sound like they live in Appalachia. They are dark stories but there is redemption in them. I notice I did not write a review of the book, so may have to reread and do so. It is an amazing collection. I attended a book reading in Portland Maine that featured Campbell and Maine author Carolyn Chute. I shan't forget it anytime soon! For Rash, I'd recommendThe Night the New Jesus Fell to Earth and Other Stories from Cliffside, North Carolina or The World Made Straight.

[Whitney]

Thanks, Linda, these all look great. TBR'd, although these days I feel like tbring a book is like adding a drop to the Pacific Ocean. I largely blame GR.