Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful sense of place, but .....
Review: This coming of age story is set in Appalachia. It has a wonderful sense of place, both in terms of the people and, especially, the environment. Unfortunately, the characters are not well developed, and the plot is of little interest. I did not finish the book, much as I enjoyed it for awhile. Yes, I have read other people's 5 star reviews.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful sense of place, but .....
Review: This coming of age story is set in Appalachia. It has a wonderful sense of place, both in terms of the people and, especially, the environment. Unfortunately, the characters are not well developed, and the plot is of little interest. I did not finish the book, much as I enjoyed it for awhile. Yes, I have read other people's 5 star reviews.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful Story!
Review: This is truely an excellent book. It left me feeling as though I was part of the friendly, down-home Sizemore family. The author impressed upon me an appreciation for life in the Appalachians.
Rating:
Summary: beauiful and heart-warming
Review: This novel is an amazing start for new author Silas House. As a Kentucky girl, growing up in the same times as Clay Sizemore, I can relate to much of the story; going to the honky tonks, living next door to family members. I loved the story. I was assigned to read it for a class at UK, and fell in love with it as soon as i opened the book. I would recommend it to any one who wonders what growing up in Kentucky in my life time is really like.
Rating:
Summary: A stunning debut by a young writer with enormous talent
Review: This Silas House is uncanny. His handling of the language is deft and sure and his characters are folks that one wishes were actual people and not just characters in a book. In fact, one would like to sit down at the table with the whole lot of them. For they are endearing--even in their shortcomings. Silas House doesn't mince words. He is "right on" when it comes to telling a riveting story--and he is "right on" in his sensitivity and his willingness to do that rare thing: write with compelling, even torturous honesty! And the reader, having sat by the fire of Silas House's immense talent, comes away feeling as if the warmth will never subside. He is on his way--and I can think of no obstacle (short of one that would be considered an "act of God") that is going to slow him down, much less stop him. Bravo, Silas House! You are the real thing!Charles Semones (wordlover@copper.net) in Harrodsburg, Kentucky
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Summary: Real Appalachian Fiction
Review: Too much so-called Appalachian fiction reads as though the author became acquainted with the region by quickly driving through it on Interstate 75. I am happy to report that "Clay's Quilt" does not fall into this category. Silas House perfectly captures the speech, spirit, and soul of rural Southeastern Kentucky. At one point in the novel, a woman is described picking a sun-warmed tomato from a garden vine, biting into it, and letting the juice dribble down her chin. House's novel has much in common with a fresh, vine-ripe tomoato: It's a warm, juicy pleasure.
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Summary: New author sews the fabric of Appalachian life
Review: Vividly poetic in its description of Appalachian natural resources, heartwarming and honest in its portrayal of people linked by their love for their environs and family, Clay's Quilt is in the top three on my "re-read often" list. In this debut novel, Silas House deftly stitches a search for understanding and love with picturesque Appalachia. Clay Sizemore is a character any reader will quickly befriend, not only because of the tragedy of losing his mother, but because Clay is a loveable young man. House's prose places the reader, like a close friend, beside Clay. Whether Clay is at work in the coal mine, walking the mountainside, or partying at the local honky-tonk, we are there with him, feeling the grit of coal dust in our eyes, smelling the air on Free Mountain, or throwing down a whiskey with a beer chaser on a Saturday night. There is something to be said when a reader can feel for a story's rogues. Even the villains and the socially challenged characters in Clay's Quilt are people with whom a reader will identify. House takes us into their hearts, to the places that hurt, to those hidden areas where malice and evil ferment, torment and eventually explode with terrible consequences. Life, human and natural, pulsates through the veins of this story. Long after its first reading, "Clay's Quilt" will warm the reader.
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Summary: the future of southern writing
Review: What a beautiful and heart-felt story! I loved this book and I'm excited to see new young writers like this man who can carry the torch for southern fiction. If you love Eudora Welty, Lee Smith, and Robert Morgan then you'll like this book. It stays with you.
Rating:
Summary: A Voice for a new Generation
Review: When one reads House's first novel, CLAY'S QUILT, there is that moment of wonder as you watch a new generation start to feel its own power, find its own voice. CLAY'S QUILT is filled with this stretching, this pushing, this growing and learning from experience and leaps of faith. One is reminded of Jayne Anne Phillips novel MACHINE DREAMS, which told the story of young people coming of age in the Appalachian Mountains during the Vietnam War. CLAY'S QUILT, set in Kentucky, moves us to the next chapter of our history, the next generation -- those born during or just after 1970. Readers under thirty five will catch glimpses of themselves in this novel, while readers older will be given a moment of illumination of a world that they may not always understand. But not matter what your age, no matter where you live, this is a novel that will strike a chord with the way we live and die and have our being.
Rating:
Summary: A Great, Beautiful Read
Review: Without a doubt, one of my favorite books of the year. The story of Clay Sizemore coming to terms with himself and his family history is a small, intimate story, but somehow it's also very big and encompassing...like a real family, I suppose. Once I started reading it, I just could not put it down and feel as if I know each of the characters personally. In fact, I wish I could really spend time with Easter, Clay, Alma, Cake (especially Cake!), Dreama, Anneth, Gabe, Lolie, and all of the others. I really liked the use of music in the book (this was the reason I first bought it, because I had heard it was bursting to the seams with music, and I wanted to see how a writer could pull that off); it was expertly done and really added to the scenes, making them even more cinematic than House's beautiful descriptions. I'm glad it's finally out in paperback so my book club will FINALLY buy it for our April selection. This edition has a great interview in the back and questions for book clubs. This novel is poetic and haunting but never heavy-handed or long-winded. I felt like I knew the people within this book, even though I was raised in a much different place (Maryland) than its setting (Kentucky). This book is, in a word, beautiful.
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