The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek - Kim Michele Richardson

Author: Kim Michele Richardson

Series: Book Woman of Troublesome Creek #1

Genre: Historical Fiction

Rating: 3.75 stars.

In a Nutshell: Pretty good. Was expecting a greater focus on the packhorse librarians, but this is the story of just one packhorse librarian. That she is blue-skinned adds to the novelty of the plot.

Story Synposis:

Kentucky 1936. Nineteen-year-old Cussy is a packhorse librarian who serves some people in the mountainous areas of Kentucky. Her task is to deliver books and other reading material to those families assigned to her route. The story deals with the challenges of this journey, with a focus on the region, the people, and the packhorse librarians.

Cussy also happens to be a blue-skinned girl, one of the ‘Blues’ of the region and the last one of her generation. The book thus covers the discrimination Cussy faces as a ‘colored’.

The story comes to us in the first person perspective of Cussy.

Where the book worked for me:

👍 Excellent use of the location. The story breathes life into the mountains of Kentucky.

👍 The portrayal of Cussy as a blue-skinned girl. I had heard of the Fugates in Kentucky as having this rare genetic disorder but I never considered how they would be perceived by the locals.

👍 A character-driven story all the way. Some of the characters are memorable.

👍 The highlight on the difficulties of life in the post-depression era.

👍 The challenges of being a packhorse librarian.

👍 A true historical feel to the story, in terms of writing, setting and language.

👍 Junia the mule – loved her!

Where the book could have worked better for me:

👎 Uni-dimensional characters. Easy to love or hate as they aren’t too complicated.

👎 A paper-thin and mostly predictable plot. Better if you read it for the characters than the plot.

👎 Some needlessly dramatic scenes, especially the ending.

A comparison with the Jojo Moyes book:

Some of you might have heard of the controversy this book was inadvertently a part of. ARCs readers of Jojo Moyes’ ‘The Giver of Stars’ connected with the author of this book over the surprising number of similarities between the two. This is a long story, available online - I won’t delve into the murky details.

However, as both books deal with the packhorse librarians, which one should you read?

If you want to know more about the Packhorse Librarian project, understand how the routes were planned, know what the librarians did, and see their connect with the customers, all this with an easy-going plot, simple language, and quick pace, opt for ‘The Giver of Stars’.

If you want to see the life of one packhorse librarian (without going into the details of the project itself) who also deals with discrimination by virtue of her skin colour, and you don’t mind the medium-paced writing, historical language and character-driven storyline, choose ‘The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek.’

Both the books are decent. Both have OTT endings. The main difference is that this book dumps you at the deep end, whereby you learn about the role of the packhorse librarians only as the story progresses. The Jojo Moyes book is more linear in its narrative.

‘The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek’ sets up the scene nicely for its sequel ‘The Book Woman’s Daughter’, but it can be read safely as a standalone as there are no cliffhangers. I am still undecided about whether to go for the sequel or not.

Overall, I liked it more for its revelations about the blue-skinned people of Kentucky but the ‘book woman’ elements are also nice.

Definitely recommended if you want to read an unusual historical fiction. Plenty of triggers though – not revealing any as they are spoilers. But if you are sensitive about any kind of abuse/death, proceed with care.