Ghost Riders

I love Sharyn McCrumb in general and her books are always fun, but this one was especially grand. I love the way she weaves history into the present and throws in plenty of supernatural phenomena as well. Her books always inspire me to check out the historical facts and learn a bit more about the events she writes about. The characters are realistic, the events are perfectly interwoven and the ending is never predictable. Well worth reading.

I loved this book! Even though I'm a native Atlantan, I've never been interested in the Civil War (or The War Between The States) but I am very interested in Appalachian history. It is Sharyn McCrumb's talent that made me care about this particular chapter of the Civil War - Sharyn explained a lot about the complexities of the issues that led to the war and the people who lived through it. It's not black and white (no pun intended) and really made me think about what choices I would have made if I had lived then. The only drawback to the book as far as I am concerned is that I wish the Ghosts had been explored more. Why are they still riding? They knew the war was over during their lifetimes. Also, the character of Tom Gentry was unnecessary in my opinion -I don't really understand why his character was needed. But, all in all, I loved this book and I highly recommend it and all other Sharyn McCrumb books. If you're at all interested in Appalachian history - she's the best!

Sharyn McCrumb's latest Ballad novel, "Ghost Riders," introduces several Civil War-era spirits who aren't quite ready to give up the fight. The story links historical unrest of the region with the lives of modern-day mountain settlers. As usual with McCrumb's work, the book contains a great deal of well-researched local mountain history delivered in a strong and interesting narrative.The book incorporates real historical figures such as former North Carolina Gov. Zebulon Vance and the discorporate spirits of the "ghost riders" of the title. The Civil War comes alive in both not only its inglorious past but in its modern reenactment by thousands of hobbyist historians.McCrumb's ancestors settled in the Smoky Mountains in the 1790s and her great-grandfathers were among the region's early circuit preachers. McCrumb still has that "preachering" in her blood, though her sermons are delivered with wit, charm, and great doses of delight.Though her themes are broad in scope, the reader happily travels several different trails and time lines to end up in one location. From the slopes of Grandfather Mountain to the summer home of a misplaced Floridian, McCrumb paints a true picture of an Appalachian mountain region that has never had a single identity but rather harbores a large collection of individual identities.Unlike many writers who find a winning groove, McCrumb has consistently improved as a writer over her career and continues to challenge herself with intense research and complex plots. Also unlike some writers who manage to "improve," she doesn't outwrite the patience of her readers, remembering from her Appalachian roots that first and foremost a storyteller is obligated to tell a story. "Ghost Riders" may be the best book yet among her litany of successes.

Sharyn McCrumb's "Ghost Riders" is an account of the Civil War that is usually left out of the movies and the epic sagas of the war. This is the war in the southern mountains, where the conflict was personal, the atrocities were shocking, and the resentments lasted for generations. Using the device of magic realism in a style reminiscent of Garcia Marquez or of Nichols' "Milagro Beanfield War", McCrumb symbolizes the unresolved issues of the war with supernatural "Ghost Riders", restless spirits of dead soldiers who still ride the hills to remind the living that "wars are easier to start than they are to stop." The true stories of moutain governor Zeb Vance and woman soldier Malinda Blalock bring the past to life in memorable fashion, and with a fascinating twist: usually in war novels, the women tell of the sacrifices made by civilians on the home front, while the male characters describe what it was like to be shot at and suffer hardships in the wilderness. In "Ghost Riders" it is the other way around! Union bushwhacker Malinda is out hiding in caves and seeing combat, while Zeb is in the governor's mansion, enduring the privations of the war at home. "Ghost Riders" is an enthralling story, but its message and the evocative writing are the elements that make it not just a war story but a literary achievement.

I've been a longtime fan of McCrumb, reading almost all her books. For years I thought "She Walks These Hills" was the best. But "Ghost Riders" challenges that book's position! It's not only a wonderfully written page turner that kept me up way too late, but also gave new insight into the area's history. The Malinda character is especially well-drawn. (I grew up in, and one side of my family has lived in, the Smokies around Asheville, Tryon and Morganton for generations, and McCrumb's characters and terminology are on target. She has a great sense of place. And as a now-Floridian who often returns I know her accounts of the relationship between natives and Floridians are all too true, although a very minor part of the book. I was only sorry that it ended, and only wish there was more about her contemporary chracters. I totally and highly recommend this book.