To the Bright and Shining Sun

Rating:
Summary: Gritty tale of a young Kentucky miner
Review: One of Burke's earlier novels, is stark and unrelenting in it's honest depiction of the plight of a young Kentucky miner. I did not feel the story quite as fully realized as the later Dave Robicheaux detective novels, but it was haunting and evocative all the same.

The young miner, age 17, has been reared in the Cumberland Gap area of Kentucky. Raised in stark beauty and crushing poverty, he yearns for something more. I won't ruin the story by giving away too much, but there is alot of heartache then ultimate triumph.

Nothing candy-coated with Burke. We are made to feel the loss of loved ones, the terrible violence of the mines, the hard-scrabble existance and the brief, happy moments in an otherwise dark tale. Not light reading, this slim volume will make you pause and reflect.

Rating:
Summary: Gritty tale of a young Kentucky miner
Review: One of Burke's earlier novels, is stark and unrelenting in it's honest depiction of the plight of a young Kentucky miner. I did not feel the story quite as fully realized as the later Dave Robicheaux detective novels, but it was haunting and evocative all the same.

The young miner, age 17, has been reared in the Cumberland Gap area of Kentucky. Raised in stark beauty and crushing poverty, he yearns for something more. I won't ruin the story by giving away too much, but there is alot of heartache then ultimate triumph.

Nothing candy-coated with Burke. We are made to feel the loss of loved ones, the terrible violence of the mines, the hard-scrabble existance and the brief, happy moments in an otherwise dark tale. Not light reading, this slim volume will make you pause and reflect.