On Viney's Mountain

The smart and sometimes ornery heroine of this engrossing book, Lavinia "Viney" Walker, is growing into womanhood (sometimes against her will!) in the Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee in the later 1870s. The action will be a bit slow for some readers (though I loved the passages about Viney's sewing and weaving, the barn dances and her treks through her beloved woods.) Various romances are key to the story, but both romance and occasional violence are handled in a muted, non-threatening way. I loved the authentic tone of the books -- fellars come to call, people "light out" for the woods at top speed and people "reckon that they best be off" afore dark. This book brought to mind A GIRL OF THE LIMBERLOST and A CURSE AS DARK AS GOLD -- both favorites of mine. For thoughtful teens, or anyone wanting a rest from zombies, vampires and explosions, I suggest you have a look.

Joan Donaldson's On Viney's Mountain offers a compelling perspective on Tennessee mountain life in the late 19th century. The title is apt, because it is a story about the land (and all that lives there), told in wonderful detail by the 16-year-old Viney Walker who is not an objective observer. Viney loves the mountains and resents those who threaten upheaval of traditional ways. She is the youngest of 3 siblings who have effectively raised themselves after the death of their mother and the disappearance of their grieving troubled father. Viney's brother Jacob works to hold the farm together, and her sister Lizzie dreams of the day she will escape from the dreary mountain life and live in high society. Viney's biggest frustration is the continuing family pressure she feels summed up by her Aunt Alta's admonitions to "be shut of your unseemly ways and wed." Viney's response is "Send me a man who will treat me like I'm worth more than a mule, and I might pay him some mind." Viney loves the mountain life, especially her weaving. She declares that the loom is a more satisfying companion than a husband or children. The weaving itself becomes a metaphor for the emotional storyline. She takes her frustrations out on the loom. Her colors and cloth come from the local land and animals. She weaves gifts for apologies. Her options are greatly increased as others purchase her work. She learns from her mother's carefully preserved weaving instructions. She develops new weaving patterns that reflect new life insights. The magic of this narrative which has its historic center the establishment of the utopian community of Rugby in the Cumberland Mountains in Tennessee, is that the story and the time/place are intrinsically dependent upon each other, and both are well developed by the author. The world that she paints is not a simplistic mural of history, full of either/or choices and good guys and bad guys. The tale is complex, and the relationships are rich and authentic. At first Viney rejects all of the new settlers, but she soon learns that they aren't all the same, that they, too can learn, and that she is not the only person with dreams. Viney learns that that life is complicated, full of difficult choices, and holds promise beyond her first impressions. While the personal relationships and interpersonal struggles provide a compelling storyline, the author does a remarkable job of helping us understand the larger systems at play in the story. There are forces that are acknowledged and demonstrated skillfully by Donaldson. She seamlessly provides examples of the economic, social, religious and ethnic realities of the late 19th century. And she includes ecological and geographical detail that never seems superfluous. On Viney's Mountain is a compelling, illuminating and enormously satisfying novel. It opens the mind and the heart. It is a wonderful addition to this reader's bookshelf.

Ms. Donaldson has portrayed a young woman in early America who many women may connect with today. Strong, independent, vibrant, and gifted, Viney at 16 isn't thinking about marriage or even looking at young men. She loves to weave, where she excells. Having been raised by relatives since her mother died and her father deserted the family after going to war, Viney has no parents to teach her how to become a young lady. She rejects the ways of her sister, Lizzie, who flirts with the young Englishmen and is always trying to catch a rich husband. But a young man, George, slowly, ever so slowly, begins to warm her heart as they work together and face difficulties in the growing community. Viney faces choices that many young women face today-love, marriage, work or a combination of all. We, too, can choose to receive love offered or travel down another road. See [...] for more information about this community.

I felt as though I had lived in those times and experienced the wonder of a virgin forest and felt the devastation of its demise as civilization began to encroach - I loved the spunk of Viney and how she grew to understand change and love.

Viney despised the young British men who had come to her beloved mountain to clear the trees for their new utopian settlement. In her eyes, their soft hands, lack of farming skills, meager knowledge of animal husbandry, and poor work ethic were no match for the rugged demands of Tennessee's Cumberland Mountains. Even worse, they did not respect the ways of the mountain people and made no effort to harvest new trees or transplant the herbs and plants that they so rudely trampled. She would do everything in her power, even if it involved pranks that her conscience told her were wrong, to sabotage their efforts and make these foolhardy immigrants return back home. Strong-headed in all ways, Viney also rebelled against the traditional expectations that she marry young, have lots of children, and spend the rest of her life working hard to serve her family. Instead, she lived for the splendor of the mountain and longed for the freedom to work her loom and make the beautiful weavings that she was so skilled at making. Little did she realize that the plot she drummed up to fool her pesky relatives into thinking she was romantically involved with one of the Englishmen would backfire in an unexpected way, and that the initial growth of the settlement would lead to new opportunities to sell her handicrafts for cash. On Viney's Mountain offers an old-fashioned love story wrapped around a plot based on some fundamental economic principles. The protection of natural resources, the development of farming and herding skills, the requirements for establishing a lumber industry, and conflicts over the distribution of property rights are all important economic ideas that the author uses to motivate the storyline. A fiercely independent and incredibly stubborn lead female character further contributes to the potency of this richly-satisfying work of historical fiction.