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FIC WAL
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Publication
Scribner (2023), 368 pages
Description
Fiction. Literature. Historical Fiction. HTML:Named a LibraryReads Pick for March 2023 and a Most Anticipated Book of 2023 by Oprah Daily, Elle, and LitHub! From Jeannette Walls, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Glass Castle, comes a riveting new novel about an indomitable young woman in Virginia during Prohibition. Most folk thought Sallie Kincaid was a nobody who'd amount to nothing. Sallie had other plans. Sallie Kincaid is the daughter of the biggest man in a small town, the charismatic Duke Kincaid. Born at the turn of the 20th century into a life of comfort and privilege, Sallie remembers little about her mother who died in a violent argument with the Duke. By the time she is just eight years old, the Duke has remarried and had a son, Eddie. While Sallie is her father's daughter, sharp-witted and resourceful, Eddie is his mother's son, timid and cerebral. When Sallie tries to teach young Eddie to be more like their father, her daredevil coaching leads to an accident, and Sallie is cast out. Nine years later, she returns, determined to reclaim her place in the family. That's a lot more complicated than Sallie expected, and she enters a world of conflict and lawlessness. Sallie confronts the secrets and scandals that hide in the shadows of the Big House, navigates the factions in the family and town, and finally comes into her own as a bold, sometimes reckless bootlegger. You will fall in love with Sallie Kincaid, a feisty and fearless, terrified and damaged young woman who refuses to be corralled.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member jklugman
Walls' novel about a young woman (Sallie Kincaid) ascending the hierarchy of a bootlegging clan is fairly episodic, with Sallie dealing with a specific antagonist over a handful of chapters, and then moving on to the next one. Sallie is not especially smart or ruthless, and more often than not,
The novel is intermittently fascinating, but as I read more and more it became clear that Walls was not really successfully grappling with conveying the ideas and customs of the time, she basically had to have a protagonist informed by early 21st century liberalism tell the reader how fucked up everything is. I also found the family-parental drama of Sallie fairly cliched, and ultimately just serves to show how enlightened Sallie is, leading the women of her family into some kind of gender-egalitarian modernity.
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fate intervenes to give Sallie the upper hand. She is noble, and able to transcend 1930s Virgininian views about gender and revenge and to a lesser extent about race as well. As the episodes progress dramatic revelations give Sallie an incrementally more complete picture of her mother who died during her childhood. The novel is intermittently fascinating, but as I read more and more it became clear that Walls was not really successfully grappling with conveying the ideas and customs of the time, she basically had to have a protagonist informed by early 21st century liberalism tell the reader how fucked up everything is. I also found the family-parental drama of Sallie fairly cliched, and ultimately just serves to show how enlightened Sallie is, leading the women of her family into some kind of gender-egalitarian modernity.
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LibraryThing member Romonko
First, I should mention that I listened to this book on audiobook, and it was read by the author, Jeannette Walls, who, by the way, that’s a very good job of narrating her own books. This book is different from her other two that I have read because this is not biographical but it is fiction. I
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am not sure whether Jeanette walls is ever written fiction before but she did a pretty darn good job on this one. I fell in love with Sally Kincaid and her gutsy Ness in the face of all kinds of sorrow, sadness, fear and the unknown about her own family. Sally Kincaid is the second daughter of the Duke. She does not know her stepsister that is older than her, and she doesn’t much remember her mother as she died when she was young. She does very much remember her father, who was sort of the king of Kensington of Caywood, Virginia. The Dueck pretty much runs the town during this time at the story was set in, which was early 1900s. Prohibition has just been announced and all the good folks of Caywood are wondering how that is going to affect their main business which is whiskey making and running. Sally is sent away at the age of eight to go live with the sister of her mother, because the Dueck’s new wife thinks she’s a bad influence on her young son to experience much charging in their little hardscrabble area in the mountains, Sally doesn’t hear from her father Game very much at all after that, until she gets a summons to come home at the age of 17, because her stepmother has died. When she arrives back home into the Big House it is apparent that there are a whole lot of family secrets that have not come out yet, but are going to very soon. So between births and deaths an in amongst the few that’s going on with the bond boys, Sally grows up. She loses her father in a tragic accident, and must take over the business. She starts by whiskey, running to the nearest big town. Sally is very endearing and very gutsy. Nothing really seems to phase her until she starts finding out some well-buried family secrets and all family feuds. I really enjoyed this book. It moves along quickly and there’s never a dull moment. Listening to Jeannette Walls read her own book made it all the more interesting and real. Show Less
LibraryThing member sleahey
Prohibition is the perfect setting for the larger than life main characters and the community they live in. Walls has written a powerful story of a powerful family in the rural South of the 1920's. Sallie has always idolized her charismatic father, even after he exiled her for 9 years at his 3rd
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wife's demand. When Sallie is called back to run the household as an older teen, she has new eyes to see a bit below the surface of her father's power, but it takes a great deal of daring and danger for her to uncover some of the deepest family secrets. Many of the conflicts depicted have relevance today, and Sallie can serve as an admirable and spunky woman bucking the longheld traditions of the community and family. This is a fast-paced novel with lots of action and plenty to think about. Show Less
LibraryThing member nancyadair
What a wild ride! Sallie Kincaid’s colorful family offers one surprise after another. Her daddy, the Duke, was married three times, and was a ladies man. Sallie adored her father. She thought he had ‘hung the moon and scattered the stars.’ Her daddy taught her to be the “fastest woman on
The Duke runs the county. He owns the land and rents to farmers, taking the rent in trade, the products sold in his store. Mostly, that trade is moonshine whiskey, which is in great demand during Prohibition. The Duke is also into politics. His brother-in-law is sheriff. The Duke is coldly ruthless when he needs to be, and dispenses justice as he sees fit. After all, the federal government is a long way away. On the good side, he is fair, and helps those in need.
The book is a hoot, a page-turner, with a strong young woman at the center, learning her way in the world, taking it on headlong. As tragedy after tragedy rends the family, Sallie takes on her father’s work, standing up to a rival family with a long memory. She is fearless, a survivor, her daddy’s true heir. Doing what needs to be done takes her into a dark place, and she realizes that she must find a better path.
Sallie learns about love and the unreliability of men, both from the woman around her and through personal experience. She has a big heart, and incorporates abandoned women and children into her household.
There are two kinds of family, those you’re born into and those you put together from the pieces that don’t go anywhere else, and this is one of those families.
from Hang the Moon by Jeanette Walls
Walls’s story was inspired by actual people and events.
I previously read Jeanette Wall’s memoir The Glass Castle and her “true life novel” Half Broke Horses.
Thanks for the publisher for a free book through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review
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earth,” riding her wagon down the steep hill. When she takes her step-brother on a ride and he is hurt, her step-mom insisted that Sallie be sent away. Sallie spent nine years with her aunt in poverty, barely making ends meet. With the step-mom’s death, the Duke takes Sallie back, tasked with caring for his motherless son.The Duke runs the county. He owns the land and rents to farmers, taking the rent in trade, the products sold in his store. Mostly, that trade is moonshine whiskey, which is in great demand during Prohibition. The Duke is also into politics. His brother-in-law is sheriff. The Duke is coldly ruthless when he needs to be, and dispenses justice as he sees fit. After all, the federal government is a long way away. On the good side, he is fair, and helps those in need.
The book is a hoot, a page-turner, with a strong young woman at the center, learning her way in the world, taking it on headlong. As tragedy after tragedy rends the family, Sallie takes on her father’s work, standing up to a rival family with a long memory. She is fearless, a survivor, her daddy’s true heir. Doing what needs to be done takes her into a dark place, and she realizes that she must find a better path.
Sallie learns about love and the unreliability of men, both from the woman around her and through personal experience. She has a big heart, and incorporates abandoned women and children into her household.
There are two kinds of family, those you’re born into and those you put together from the pieces that don’t go anywhere else, and this is one of those families.
from Hang the Moon by Jeanette Walls
Walls’s story was inspired by actual people and events.
I previously read Jeanette Wall’s memoir The Glass Castle and her “true life novel” Half Broke Horses.
Thanks for the publisher for a free book through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review
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LibraryThing member LiteraryLeftovers
Hang the Moon by Jeanette Walls
Sallie Kincaid is born into privilege, growing up as the daughter of the richest man in town, and dreaming of becoming the fastest girl in the world each time she drives. But after an accident where Sallie is indirectly at fault for injuring her brother, she is sent
The biggest problem with this book is that it never settles into being one clear thing: one moment it feels like a Western, with significant standoffs and shootouts, and the next second it’s a family drama, hinging on affairs, marriages, and wills. An enormous amount of action is contained within each chapter, at times with circumstances becoming curiously coincidental and undoubtedly dubious. The laws of realism are bent so far that they begin to break. Still, it’s assuredly well researched, with Walls being inspired by real life bootleggers like Willie Carter Sharpe, and drawing on the dramas of the Tudor family for parallel theatrics between her central characters. Hang the Moon is ultimately an American epic, offering spectacle, spirit, and passion.
Sallie Kincaid is born into privilege, growing up as the daughter of the richest man in town, and dreaming of becoming the fastest girl in the world each time she drives. But after an accident where Sallie is indirectly at fault for injuring her brother, she is sent
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away and must learn to work for all she has. Returning to her ancestral home nine years later, Sallie relies on her inner strength as death hounds her family. In a slice of country where the citizens make the laws, she proves herself to be a leader. A fiery and fierce woman who is unafraid to break conventions and happier to embrace a gun than a groom, Sallie is a heroine who feels more suited to modern times than the early twentieth century. The biggest problem with this book is that it never settles into being one clear thing: one moment it feels like a Western, with significant standoffs and shootouts, and the next second it’s a family drama, hinging on affairs, marriages, and wills. An enormous amount of action is contained within each chapter, at times with circumstances becoming curiously coincidental and undoubtedly dubious. The laws of realism are bent so far that they begin to break. Still, it’s assuredly well researched, with Walls being inspired by real life bootleggers like Willie Carter Sharpe, and drawing on the dramas of the Tudor family for parallel theatrics between her central characters. Hang the Moon is ultimately an American epic, offering spectacle, spirit, and passion.
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LibraryThing member tamidale
I’ve been looking forward to reading this and it was worth the wait. There were many topics that appealed to me in the story. Prohibition, 1920’s rural Virginia, family scandals, and a strong female protagonist make up the main part of the story.
Sallie Kincaid was born into a prosperous family
As Sallie struggles with her legacy, she comes to realize that maybe she doesn’t want to be like Duke. Sallie learns she needs to make her own way and try to right the wrongs of her family legacy.
I really loved how compassionate Sallie was and how she grew up throughout the story. I highly recommend this to readers who love historical fiction or those who just love a good, heartwarming story.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for allowing me to read an advance copy. I’m happy to recommend this and offer my honest review.
Sallie Kincaid was born into a prosperous family
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in their county in rural Virginia. Her father, Duke, could be described as a big fish in a little pond. He pretty much called the shots in their area. When Duke dies unexpectedly, Sallie ends up with the chance to try and fill his shoes.As Sallie struggles with her legacy, she comes to realize that maybe she doesn’t want to be like Duke. Sallie learns she needs to make her own way and try to right the wrongs of her family legacy.
I really loved how compassionate Sallie was and how she grew up throughout the story. I highly recommend this to readers who love historical fiction or those who just love a good, heartwarming story.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for allowing me to read an advance copy. I’m happy to recommend this and offer my honest review.
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LibraryThing member Twink
If you've not read Jeannette Walls before, you really should. She’s penned a memoir with that is gut-wrenchingly good. But she’s also turned her hand to fiction novels and they're great reads as well.
Her latest is Hang the Moon. This new book takes place in the 1920s during the prohibition
Our protagonist is young Sallie Kincaid who was born into an influential family. But money can’t keep misfortune from knocking on the door. And in Hang the Moon, it’s pounding the door down.
Walls takes inspiration from her own sense of self and imbues Sallie with an indomitable optimism and drive in the face of hurdle after hurdle. Those trials were probably the hardest thing for me listen to. Women and children are treated as chattel, and they have to accept their place in society. Happily, Sallie just doesn't fit that mold. The male characters are for the most part, full of themselves and their 'rights'. The Duke is especially unlikable.
Hang the Moon is action packed with one calamity running into the next. A wee bit of me thought there were perhaps one too many, edging into over the top territory. But overall, I quite enjoyed the book.
Her latest is Hang the Moon. This new book takes place in the 1920s during the prohibition
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years in Appalachia Virginia. Walls has woven lots of intriguing fact into her fiction. Some of the characters are also based on historical people.Our protagonist is young Sallie Kincaid who was born into an influential family. But money can’t keep misfortune from knocking on the door. And in Hang the Moon, it’s pounding the door down.
Walls takes inspiration from her own sense of self and imbues Sallie with an indomitable optimism and drive in the face of hurdle after hurdle. Those trials were probably the hardest thing for me listen to. Women and children are treated as chattel, and they have to accept their place in society. Happily, Sallie just doesn't fit that mold. The male characters are for the most part, full of themselves and their 'rights'. The Duke is especially unlikable.
Hang the Moon is action packed with one calamity running into the next. A wee bit of me thought there were perhaps one too many, edging into over the top territory. But overall, I quite enjoyed the book.
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LibraryThing member SilversReviews
Duke Kincaid was someone you didn't want to cross. He always had to have his way.
Well...his second wife had him not getting his way and having him send away his daughter, Sallie, because his wife said she caused her son to have a terrible accident.
Sallie went to live with her Aunt for nine
It was an ok return, but not until Sallie asked to be part of the business did her father think she was good for something other than being a man's wife.
Then Eddie died, and things changed.
HANG THE MOON was well written as all of Ms. Wall’s books are.
You will love Sallie for her strength and how she grew as the story unfolded.
It got a bit slow at times, but the story line still held my interest with all its drama.
This book will be enjoyed by those who like books about prohibition, family, and Ms. Wall’s books. 4/5
This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.
Well...his second wife had him not getting his way and having him send away his daughter, Sallie, because his wife said she caused her son to have a terrible accident.
Sallie went to live with her Aunt for nine
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years…yes, nine years...he never allowed her to come back until his wife died because he needed her to take care of the child who had no mother.It was an ok return, but not until Sallie asked to be part of the business did her father think she was good for something other than being a man's wife.
Then Eddie died, and things changed.
HANG THE MOON was well written as all of Ms. Wall’s books are.
You will love Sallie for her strength and how she grew as the story unfolded.
It got a bit slow at times, but the story line still held my interest with all its drama.
This book will be enjoyed by those who like books about prohibition, family, and Ms. Wall’s books. 4/5
This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.
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LibraryThing member Maydacat
Sallie, born at the turn of the twentieth century in Virginia, started life in a wealthy if dysfunctional family. Her father, the Duke, ran his family and the small town with an iron fist. At age eight due to an unfortunate accident and at her stepmother’s insistence, she was sent away to live
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with her aunt. Used to all the fine things her daddy’s money could by, she had to work hard with her aunt to eke out enough to live on, along with the bit sent to her aunt by the Duke. Eight years later, she is welcomed back to family homestead. Sallie is determined to reclaim her place in the family’s home and in the Duke’s heart. This amazing story is intriguing and gripping from the very beginning. Gritty in nature, epic in scope, and capturing the essence of that time period, Jeannette Walls has penned a masterful piece of literature. Secrets permeate this family - and the town - and Sallie discovers bit by bit just where the skeletons are hidden, and who hid them. Prohibition is the law of land, but rum runners evade that law, and Sallie is in the midst of it all. Slavery is over but lynching remains a threat. Romance isn’t what the storybooks imply, in fact, it can be downright dangerous. There in never a dull moment in this tale - be prepared to be astonished at all the events that occur. Show Less
LibraryThing member TABrowne
Love this book. Read quickly as it was so interesting.
Prohibition times, women and men and there places in the world.
If you enjoy historical fiction this is the book for you.
Was delighted to find out how much of it was based on historical news accounts etc.
Highly recommend!
Prohibition times, women and men and there places in the world.
If you enjoy historical fiction this is the book for you.
Was delighted to find out how much of it was based on historical news accounts etc.
Highly recommend!
LibraryThing member carolfoisset
Engaging family saga - really liked the main character, a smart, strong woman!
LibraryThing member susan0316
Hang the Moon is the riveting story of one young woman as she grew up in Virginia during Prohibition. Her story reflects the hardships of life during this time period in rural Appalachia. Everyone thought that she was nothing but her goal was to prove them all wrong.
Sallie is the daughter of Duke
Sallie was a strong but mistreated young woman. She was met with one obstacle after another in her life. Even though she was strong and resilient, she had to work twice as hard as a man to fit into the hierarchal structure of society at that time. But fight she did -- not always with guns but more importantly with her brain and her common sense. Even though she faced a lot of hardship, she was a well written character and her growth was apparent throughout the story. She's a character that I won't soon forget.
Sallie is the daughter of Duke
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Kincaid. He is the charismatic 'ruler' of a small town - what he says goes and no one will argue with him. Sallie grew up in a life of comfort and privilege at least until Duke's second wife decided that she was a trouble maker and had her sent to live with an aunt in a life of poverty for 9 years. When the wife died and Sallie was brought back to the big house to take care of her younger brother, she was 18 years old. When she returns, she's determined to take her place in the family but that's very difficult because she's looked down on by the people in town. But Sallie is willing to stand up to some of the troublemakers in the town filled with lawlessness and confronts the secrets and scandals that hide in the shadows of the Big House, navigates the factions in the family and town, and finally comes into her own as a bold, sometimes reckless bootlegger.Sallie was a strong but mistreated young woman. She was met with one obstacle after another in her life. Even though she was strong and resilient, she had to work twice as hard as a man to fit into the hierarchal structure of society at that time. But fight she did -- not always with guns but more importantly with her brain and her common sense. Even though she faced a lot of hardship, she was a well written character and her growth was apparent throughout the story. She's a character that I won't soon forget.
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LibraryThing member jillrhudy
It's the time of Prohibition in the South and Sallie Kinkaid thinks her father, Duke, hung the moon. He runs the whole town, including the justice system and Sallie craves his love and approval. Over time, she will slowly come to grips with the truth about her powerful and charismatic father. A
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fantastic example of narrative distance in fiction. No one writes about complex parent-child relationships quite like Jeanette Walls. Show Less
LibraryThing member witchyrichy
In Hang The Moon, Jeanette Walls tells the story of Sallie Mae Kincaid, daughter of the Duke, the head of the clan and the unofficial ruler of Claiborne County, Virginia. Set in 1930s in the western mountains, Walls paints a compelling portrait of life in this hardscrabble world. Sent away to live
Walls has created a world for the reader and I was drawn in to the place, time and people. We learn about the politics of a small town even as Sallie Mae is learning a new way to navigate her world. We ride along with moonshiners on winding mountain roads. And, we grieve for those who are lost for there is much sadness and grief in this book often caused by family pride and resentment. At the heart it is a story of Sallie Mae and the strong women who do the best they can despite all the poverty and heartache they encounter.
I was provided an advance copy of this book via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
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with an impoverished relative and relegated to washing sheets when her father marries for the third time, Sallie Mae longs to return to her small town. Despite her exile, Sallie Mae loves and respects her father, and when she does return, follows his leadership style as events push her to the forefront of the town. She is indomitable and vulnerable all at the same time and I was cheering her on as she found ways to support and protect her community in the face of outside attacks.Walls has created a world for the reader and I was drawn in to the place, time and people. We learn about the politics of a small town even as Sallie Mae is learning a new way to navigate her world. We ride along with moonshiners on winding mountain roads. And, we grieve for those who are lost for there is much sadness and grief in this book often caused by family pride and resentment. At the heart it is a story of Sallie Mae and the strong women who do the best they can despite all the poverty and heartache they encounter.
I was provided an advance copy of this book via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
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LibraryThing member froxgirl
It must be difficult for an author when one of her novels is as gigantic as "Glass Castles". This one, set in Appalachia during rum-runner times, didn't grab me. It's about Sallie Kincaid, a scion of a powerful father who runs an entire county in Virginia, and how she lives to please the Duke.
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There's multiple marriages, painful deaths, and betrayals, dispersed with some exciting doings and justifications for selling homemade hooch before and during Prohibition. Neither the era nor the location nor the occupation, nor the stereotypical iron fisted father, really held my interest. Show Less
LibraryThing member quirkylibrarian
Family drama with a hillbilly prohibition backdrop. Cheating husbands, tit-for-tat turf war, hardscrabble survival are all themes and Sallie Kincaid is the heroine around whom it all centers.
LibraryThing member bereanna
Very exciting and well written. My caveat is that are so many plot twists that’s it’s unrealistic, however, this is a great authentic-feeling novel of Western mountainous Nirth Carolina and the moonshiners. Sallie Kincaid grew up in adoration of her fatherhood, the Duke.” She eventually
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inherits the estate and businesses and is running them well, keeping her father in mind( How would Duke handle this, etc) until she begins to see him for how he was. Show Less
LibraryThing member KallieGrace
Not my usual genre but such a good character story, following a head strong girl working her way through family dynamics and the family business during prohibition. I got through this in a day, it's an easy read and very engaging.
LibraryThing member wagner.sarah35
This novel, set during Prohibition, transfers the familiar tale of the Tudor dynasty (Henry VIII & Elizabeth I) to 1920s rural Virginia. The Duke is the most powerful man in the county, and everything is set to pass to his young son Eddie, largely bypassing his daughters Mary and Sallie. Knowing
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the history of the Tudors helps make sense of some of the twists in this novel, and I appreciated the character of Sallie as a young woman striving to make a future for herself and the people she considers family. Show Less
LibraryThing member silva_44
I loved The Glass Castle, but this novel just didn't do it for me. The loose Tudor storyline mixed with mountain folk during Prohibition just didn't do it for me. It felt like a strange soap opera - unrealistic, but not entertaining enough to really draw one in.
LibraryThing member Craftybilda
Likeable read, keeps moving, well written, great story
LibraryThing member brianinbuffalo
[3.75] Walls has written a fast-moving family drama that provides a vivid glimpse into life during Prohibition era. She skillfully mixes family secrets, political power struggles and bootlegging escapades to tell the story of a Virginia community that is home to an array of intriguing characters.
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Perhaps “Hang the Moon” tries to deliver a few too many twists and subplots, but these are the ingredients that keep the book moving at an impressive pace. Show Less
LibraryThing member Smits
I love all of Jeanette Wall’s novels. She writes about strong, interesting women with strong family bonds. Sallie Kincaid has southern swagger , shoots from the hip , drives a mean automobile, defies federal laws and fiercely loves her family. You root for her completely in a story where men are
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the disappointment and women the heroes ! Way to go Jeanette Walls yet again Show Less
LibraryThing member clrichm
I was worried, going in, that moonshining was going to be glamorized in this book. It wouldn't be the first time; our distance from it, historically, has let a lot of people become ignorant of the bloody history of it all, and when movies and TV portray bootleggers, they often strip away most of
There was much left up in the air at the end, and many questions were left unanswered, but I still felt the ending was satisfying without being unrealistically neat. Did Sally eventually marry? Did the fighting between factions settle? I don't know, but the book concluded at a good place in the timeline, allowing for the future to be spun out in the reader's head. I left the book feeling happy to have read it (not synonymous with being made happy by the story itself, but in this case both were true), and I hope it receives wide readership.
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the violence. (I have firsthand stories from my own grandfather that pulled no such punches, and hearing them gave me chills.) Happily, while the moonshiners in this book were not demonized, the violent lengths to which they were willing to go were also clearly depicted. I very much appreciated that, along with the skill the writer used to tread that line.There was much left up in the air at the end, and many questions were left unanswered, but I still felt the ending was satisfying without being unrealistically neat. Did Sally eventually marry? Did the fighting between factions settle? I don't know, but the book concluded at a good place in the timeline, allowing for the future to be spun out in the reader's head. I left the book feeling happy to have read it (not synonymous with being made happy by the story itself, but in this case both were true), and I hope it receives wide readership.
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LibraryThing member thewanderingjew
Hang the Moon, Jeanette Walls, author and narrator
This is a story that is taken from pieces of American history, but it didn’t always feel quite realistic enough or authentic to me. Still, it did capture my interest, even though, at times, it felt like a fairytale. Every tragedy seemed to turn
The novel takes place in the hills of Virginia, in Claiborne County, shortly after WWI. In the 1920’s, the Kincaid family has a little fiefdom currently ruled by Sallie’s father who was known as The Duke. Although it is a time of Prohibition, there are “stills” operating with abandon. They support the hill people who live there. The Kincaid family, and their appointed sheriff, turn a blind eye to the criminal activity. Their excuse is that they are doing what they have to do to take care of the people in their community, and those people are doing what they have to do to provide for their families. The Kincaids are the most influential and wealthy people in the county. Through them, the novel highlights the lack of women’s rights and civil rights, and the elitism of the times that separates the classes from each other. The Kincaid family is a conglomeration of relatives, husband and wives, children and servants that are all related in some fashion to each other, some directly, some by a thread, some secretly and some openly. It seems the patriarch’s fidelity to his women left a lot to be desired.
In these times, about a century in the past, men held dominion over women. Women could not inherit, vote or engage in business. They were beholden to a man for their survival. Often, the men were disloyal, demanding and abusive. Sallie Kincaid was never going to be able to stand for that. As a teenager, she defined herself as a Kincaid, like her father, the leader of the Kincaids, the man they called The Duke. He did not back down, and so neither does she. He did what was necessary, but often listened to the advice of his counsel. However, he always had to win. She wanted to be just like him. Sallie wanted to work, not to marry. She wanted to be independent, not reliant on a husband who did as he pleased, leaving her helpless.
The family secrets are kept hidden, the illicit behavior is secret, and the offspring often did not even know each other. As death comes to the family, from all corners of the imagination, from unnecessary risks, from murder, suicide, disease and other circumstances, several hidden ancestors are revealed, and as heir after heir assumes control of the family dynasty, different rules are put into place according to the individual beliefs of the current property owner and manager of the family businesses. Sometimes, slights that were real or imagined, motivated these people. These folk, often called hillbillies, have their own way of dealing with life and the laws made by politicians who have no knowledge of how they survive. There is US law and there is Kincaid law. In Claiborne County, it is Kincaid law.
Sallie’s father ruled with an iron hand. What he said was the only law. His brother-in-law was the sheriff and he upheld the Kincaid rule of law. The Duke did what he had to do to keep his family and community safe. He bent the rules. The Kincaids and the Bonds had a family feud that had gone on for decades over what was perceived as a land grab. The Bonds felt the land was stolen and the Kincaids felt they had paid a fair price for it. These differences of opinion often fuel violence and unrest. Eventually Claiborne County catches the national interest, and Sallie becomes known as the Queen of the Rumrunners. The likelihood of a teenage girl running an elicit family business at a time when females have no power, simply felt out of the realm of possibility to me, even if some of the circumstances described were based on historic events.
Although I read it until the end, something about the novel did not draw me in completely. There was a lot of romance, coupled with the violence and many civil rights issues in the story, but often, the lighter romantic issues overcame the history and the lawlessness of the times. No one theme was stressed enough to truly invite me to explore it further. At the end, I felt that the author’s main theme was the idea that women were far more capable than men believed they were, and they were, as a matter of fact, able and ready to perform similar duties. The men were toxic, disloyal, greedy and dishonest. Regardless of how the women behaved, however, it was deemed to be alright because they were doing what they had to do, while the men were always doing the wrong thing to prevent women from having their own voice, and they used them at will.
Sometimes overtly, and sometimes subtly, the author has included all of her ideas about all of society’s ills. Homosexuality, infidelity, poverty, racism, religious fanaticism, class and elitism, toxic masculinity, wanton women, crime, violence, law and order, and political corruption are just some of the ideas presented in a tangential way, but have a great influence on the direction of the narrative.
The author read the audio book well, but it seemed geared to a young adult audience, from her tone and expression, which often sounded like that of a child. Also, its concentration on romantic interludes, betrayal and its consequences, led the story to be less about the important rights issues and more about trifling flings that had devastating consequences. Sally Kincaid, a woman who was strong minded, makes for an interesting character, but I found her strength was actually a weakness. Although she carried herself with this air of bravado, she seemed to lack the moral courage, most of the time, to do what was right, and instead, she did what was necessary and defined her behavior as the model of the Duke’s.
Most of the characters seemed to be of poor character. I didn’t really have any favorite, and I disliked most. Sallie adored her father and conducted her business and herself using him as her example. She soon discovered, however, that her idol had clay feet. He was a selfish man who took what he wanted out of life regardless of those he left behind. Finally, she fears that she is just like him, just like the people she does not respect and condemns. She discovers that making decisions based on necessity and loyalty, often means making a selfish decision, or an amoral one. Sallie needed to learn who she was in order to move forward with her life after many traumatic experiences and tragedies. I was left with many questions. How will Sallie’s life turn out in the future? Will she be able to rebuild it, restore the dynasty, and continue to protect her community? In what direction will her life take her? Will she marry one day and raise a family? Perhaps there will be a sequel to this book.
At its core, this seems to be a novel about issues of what is right and wrong, seeking revenge or forgiveness, granting freedom or continuing oppression, providing equal rights and equal justice or perpetuating a system of injustice and political corruption. In the end, the big question for me was this: have we moved forward or is society still involved in deciding those issues and still failing to improve itself?
This is a story that is taken from pieces of American history, but it didn’t always feel quite realistic enough or authentic to me. Still, it did capture my interest, even though, at times, it felt like a fairytale. Every tragedy seemed to turn
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into a teaching moment for the main character, Sallie Kincaid, and ultimately, as she examined the ramifications of each event affecting her, she pulled victory from the jaws of defeat and provided a positive result. That theme required the suspension of disbelief, since a grown man or woman would have had a hard time accomplishing what this untried and unprepared teenager did, when faced with her family trials and the conflicts of the troubled times.The novel takes place in the hills of Virginia, in Claiborne County, shortly after WWI. In the 1920’s, the Kincaid family has a little fiefdom currently ruled by Sallie’s father who was known as The Duke. Although it is a time of Prohibition, there are “stills” operating with abandon. They support the hill people who live there. The Kincaid family, and their appointed sheriff, turn a blind eye to the criminal activity. Their excuse is that they are doing what they have to do to take care of the people in their community, and those people are doing what they have to do to provide for their families. The Kincaids are the most influential and wealthy people in the county. Through them, the novel highlights the lack of women’s rights and civil rights, and the elitism of the times that separates the classes from each other. The Kincaid family is a conglomeration of relatives, husband and wives, children and servants that are all related in some fashion to each other, some directly, some by a thread, some secretly and some openly. It seems the patriarch’s fidelity to his women left a lot to be desired.
In these times, about a century in the past, men held dominion over women. Women could not inherit, vote or engage in business. They were beholden to a man for their survival. Often, the men were disloyal, demanding and abusive. Sallie Kincaid was never going to be able to stand for that. As a teenager, she defined herself as a Kincaid, like her father, the leader of the Kincaids, the man they called The Duke. He did not back down, and so neither does she. He did what was necessary, but often listened to the advice of his counsel. However, he always had to win. She wanted to be just like him. Sallie wanted to work, not to marry. She wanted to be independent, not reliant on a husband who did as he pleased, leaving her helpless.
The family secrets are kept hidden, the illicit behavior is secret, and the offspring often did not even know each other. As death comes to the family, from all corners of the imagination, from unnecessary risks, from murder, suicide, disease and other circumstances, several hidden ancestors are revealed, and as heir after heir assumes control of the family dynasty, different rules are put into place according to the individual beliefs of the current property owner and manager of the family businesses. Sometimes, slights that were real or imagined, motivated these people. These folk, often called hillbillies, have their own way of dealing with life and the laws made by politicians who have no knowledge of how they survive. There is US law and there is Kincaid law. In Claiborne County, it is Kincaid law.
Sallie’s father ruled with an iron hand. What he said was the only law. His brother-in-law was the sheriff and he upheld the Kincaid rule of law. The Duke did what he had to do to keep his family and community safe. He bent the rules. The Kincaids and the Bonds had a family feud that had gone on for decades over what was perceived as a land grab. The Bonds felt the land was stolen and the Kincaids felt they had paid a fair price for it. These differences of opinion often fuel violence and unrest. Eventually Claiborne County catches the national interest, and Sallie becomes known as the Queen of the Rumrunners. The likelihood of a teenage girl running an elicit family business at a time when females have no power, simply felt out of the realm of possibility to me, even if some of the circumstances described were based on historic events.
Although I read it until the end, something about the novel did not draw me in completely. There was a lot of romance, coupled with the violence and many civil rights issues in the story, but often, the lighter romantic issues overcame the history and the lawlessness of the times. No one theme was stressed enough to truly invite me to explore it further. At the end, I felt that the author’s main theme was the idea that women were far more capable than men believed they were, and they were, as a matter of fact, able and ready to perform similar duties. The men were toxic, disloyal, greedy and dishonest. Regardless of how the women behaved, however, it was deemed to be alright because they were doing what they had to do, while the men were always doing the wrong thing to prevent women from having their own voice, and they used them at will.
Sometimes overtly, and sometimes subtly, the author has included all of her ideas about all of society’s ills. Homosexuality, infidelity, poverty, racism, religious fanaticism, class and elitism, toxic masculinity, wanton women, crime, violence, law and order, and political corruption are just some of the ideas presented in a tangential way, but have a great influence on the direction of the narrative.
The author read the audio book well, but it seemed geared to a young adult audience, from her tone and expression, which often sounded like that of a child. Also, its concentration on romantic interludes, betrayal and its consequences, led the story to be less about the important rights issues and more about trifling flings that had devastating consequences. Sally Kincaid, a woman who was strong minded, makes for an interesting character, but I found her strength was actually a weakness. Although she carried herself with this air of bravado, she seemed to lack the moral courage, most of the time, to do what was right, and instead, she did what was necessary and defined her behavior as the model of the Duke’s.
Most of the characters seemed to be of poor character. I didn’t really have any favorite, and I disliked most. Sallie adored her father and conducted her business and herself using him as her example. She soon discovered, however, that her idol had clay feet. He was a selfish man who took what he wanted out of life regardless of those he left behind. Finally, she fears that she is just like him, just like the people she does not respect and condemns. She discovers that making decisions based on necessity and loyalty, often means making a selfish decision, or an amoral one. Sallie needed to learn who she was in order to move forward with her life after many traumatic experiences and tragedies. I was left with many questions. How will Sallie’s life turn out in the future? Will she be able to rebuild it, restore the dynasty, and continue to protect her community? In what direction will her life take her? Will she marry one day and raise a family? Perhaps there will be a sequel to this book.
At its core, this seems to be a novel about issues of what is right and wrong, seeking revenge or forgiveness, granting freedom or continuing oppression, providing equal rights and equal justice or perpetuating a system of injustice and political corruption. In the end, the big question for me was this: have we moved forward or is society still involved in deciding those issues and still failing to improve itself?
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Awards
RUSA CODES Reading List (Shortlist — Historical Fiction — 2024)
NPR: Books We Love (2023)
LibraryReads (Monthly Pick — March 2023)
RUSA CODES Listen List (Listen-Alike — Listen-Alike to "The Love You Save" — 2024)
Pages
368
ISBN
1501117297 / 9781501117299