Kinfolks: The Wilgus Stories

by Gurney Norman

A series of short stories unfolds surrounding Wilgus Collier and his large extended family, as the boy grows to manhood in the eastern Kentucky mountains

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Historical Fiction, Southern, Family, Coming Of Age, Historical

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Gurney Norman was born in Grundy, Virginia in 1937. He grew up in the southern Appalachian Mountains and was raised alternately by his maternal grandparents in Southwest Virginia and his paternal grandparents in East Kentucky in several towns, but primarily in the small community of Allais, near Hazard, in Perry County. He attended Stuart Robinson School in Letcher County, Kentucky, from 1946-1955. Norman attended the University of Kentucky from 1955-1959 graduating with a degree in journalism and English. In 1960, he received a Wallace Stegner Fellowship in Creative Writing at Stanford University where he studied with literary critic Malcolm Cowley and the Irish short story writer Frank O'Connor.

After Stanford, Norman spent two years in the U.S. Army. He returned to eastern Kentucky in 1963 to work as a reporter for his hometown newspaper, The Hazard Herald. Leaving newspaper work to concentrate on his fiction writing, Norman took a job with the U.S. Forest Service as a fire lookout in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon in the summers of 1966 and '67. In 1971, his novel Divine Right's Trip was published in The Last Whole Earth Catalog and subsequently by the Dial Press and Bantam Books. Norman was one of the founders of the Briarpatch Network in 1974, with Richard Raymond and Michael Phillips. In 1977, his book of short stories Kinfolks, which received Berea College's Weatherford Award, was published by Gnomon Press.

In 1979, Norman joined the faculty of the University of Kentucky as an Associate Professor of English. He currently serves as Director of the English Department’s Creative Writing Program. In 1996 his work as a fiction writer, filmmaker, and cultural advocate was honored at the Fifteenth Annual Emory and Henry College Literary Festival, which celebrates significant writers in the Appalachian region. In 2002 he was honored by the Eastern Kentucky Leadership Conference for outstanding contribution to the advancement of regional arts and culture. In 2007 the Appalachian Studies Association awarded Norman the Helen M. Lewis Community Service Award, which recognizes exemplary contributions to Appalachia through involvement with and service to its people and communities. He serves as Senior Writer-in-Residence at Hindman Settlement School's annual Appalachian Writers Workshop. Norman was selected to serve as the 2009-2010 Poet Laureate for the state of Kentucky, and was officially installed as Laureate on Friday, April 24, 2009. On May 8, 2011, Norman was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Berea College. He lives in Lexington, Kentucky.

Reviews

[Diane Barnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally got around to reading this, after hearing about it for years. Ten short stories about a family in Kentucky, starting when Wilgus is 8 years old, progressing through his college years. Funny and a quick read for a rainy afternoon.

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agree that this is similar to Winesburg, Ohio. This book is considered a classic of Appalachian Literature. The book at first appears as very simplistic but I found that the stories progress in complexity. Norman captures the gamut of human emotion and human experience. This is a short, quick read for those who enjoy Appalachian literature.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short story collection is a gem of Appalachian fiction, and is a coming-of-age story about Wilgus Collier and his extended family. Ten short stories make up this anthology, and each tale gives you a little glimpse into Wilgus's life from childhood onward. The stories establish a strong connection to the Kentucky mountains and to his kinfolk, and while they might seem like simple quick reads at first, the stories build on one another. At the conclusion, you will reflect on the ties that family and region have on us, and realize the stories had complex characterization and spoke deeply about the sense of belonging. I enjoyed the story Revival the most, and think any one of these stories would be perfect for the Levar Burton Reads podcast.

[Micah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of 10 stories, all involving Wilgus Collier at various stages of his life. These stories are short and interesting, supremely easy to read and highly engaging. Gurney Norman feels like a more honest Wendell Berry, an author who writes endearingly about rural Kentucky living, but one who is unflinching in exposing the cyclical hardships and evils at the center of human relationships. Wilgus himself becomes the real miracle, the constant force for good who is empathetic toward and proactive in the lives of all those many varied family members he has spent his life learning to love and to cope with.

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

A heaping spoonful of Appalachia and its wonderful people.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this, especially since my relatives are from Kentucky.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars — This is a collection of ten moments in Wilgus Collier’s life from the time he is 8 years old until he is around 22 years old. Some of these snapshots I loved, and some I didn’t. My overall rating is an average of these opinions: “Fat Monroe” - 2 stars, “The Favor” - 3 stars, “Night Ride” - 3 stars, “The Fight” - 4 stars, “The Tail-End of Yesterday” - 4 stars, “Home for the Weekend” - 5 stars, “The Revival” - 5 stars, “The Wounded Man” - 5 stars, “Maxine” - 3 stars, “A Correspondence” - 4 stars. The three I gave 5 stars were all truly hilarious, heart-warming, and amazing respectively.

[Linda Spear · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finally decided to get a copy of this after reading ABOUT it many times. I agree that it is similar to Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg Ohio but I found those stories not as likable as Gurney Norman's. I think it's the Appalachian voice that made the difference for me.

[Brooklyn Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good quick read. Really enjoying Appalachian stories rn & this was so good! I also really enjoyed the short stories writing style. Easy to like characters that remind you of people you know from home.

[Frank McGirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is why I thrift.

Never heard of this book, but it was put in my path.

A collection of stories over the life of Wilgus that out Steinbecks Steinbeck.

A book I want to both hold on to and pass on to all my reader friends.

[Dan Eggleston · Rating 5 out of 5]

wonderful book. read it after seeing a film of some of the stories & the film is equally wonderful. see it at https://vimeo.com/24307259

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet, funny and touching short stories that read as a novel depict and define the dynamics of a rural Kentucky family.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collection of stories from Eastern Kentucky hollers in the late 1960's early 70's. Circle around the life of Wilgus Collier. Short read.

[PhyllisK · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gurney Norman is a Kentucky treasure. I was assigned to read this for a literature class. Still today, I love these stories.

[Mollie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful collection of intimate, funny, contemplative stories that felt like they were taking place in a landscape painting.

[Deborah Holman]

I loved the short stories, easily one day read..

[Brad · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Rona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coming of age story told in a series of short stories. Quick read, short window into life in Appalachia. If you read JD Vance, you will recognize the culture in these stories.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

The chapters of the book reflect the chapters of Wilgus's ever changing life. Some amusing, some darker. A good look at 'Hillbilly' life in America.

The chapters where his grandfather provides a young Wilgus life advice on females, and the one where Wilgus helps sober up a drunken uncle coming to the steep end of a bender are worth the price of the book itself.

[Amy Phelps · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me so I read it to be nice. The book was not what I thought it would be. I thought it would be more of a timeline story about a boy growing up in the Appalachians. If I had knows it was a bunch of short stories peiced together because the main character was somehow in each story I don't know if I would have read it. It was a quick read, and some of it was kind of fun and because of my large family being from a small community I could relate to some of it. This is not the type of book I generally pick out myself and if I was left to I would not have picked it out at all. The recommendation was nice and I am always up for new authors and such but I don't hink this one will make it to my favorites list.

[Peter Wentworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

his collection of short stories that follows the life of Wilgus Collier from childhood up until his mid 30's or so is one of the great short story collections in American Fiction.

The writing is spare and elegant, with a robustness and compassion for growing up in rural America in the early 1950's that is only rivaled by The Last Picture Show, and Stephen King's novella, The Body.

It's hard to find but worth the hunt - and its long long overdue to be included in the Canon of American fiction, and southern fiction.

[Dennis Fischman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did you ever read a book that was so apparently simple you raced through it and then said, "I have to read that again"? That was my reaction to Kinfolks. Each story is complete on the surface, but it has hidden depths of character, conflict, and history. By following a boy to manhood in his Appalachian family, Gurney Norman says more about the culture of the area and the devastation that coal mining (and the collapse of the industry) have left behind than all the nonfiction books I have read about this region so far. And the stories are gems of fiction.

[Janet]

I loved this book. Kinfolks is a short story cycle. Each tale is a clip of time in the life of Wilgus from childhood to adulthood. He is part of a poor coal mining family living in eastern Kentucky. We get a realistic look back at Kentuckians from the 1950- 1970’s who were poor, uneducated and lived back in the hollows. As depicted in, "Kinfolks," many were loud, crude and harsh, and included alot of dialect when speaking. Wilgus's family fought and feuded, but they also had a strong bond.

[Jennifer Burchett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh Gurney. You leave me wanting more!

I started this collection about a month ago, and I wanted to start at the beginning again after seeing the short film Fat Monroe. It's a quick read, and I finished it in one sitting. The stories and characters are so rich, and there is not a wasted word in it.

It makes me regret not taking a tape recorder on my visits to Cow Creek and Abbot Creek when I visited my grandparents. Stroke of genius!

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I see from the inscription in this book that it has been sitting on my shelves since 1979. Not even sure how it got there in the first place since I don't much care for the short story genre but likely acquired it due to my fondness for Divine Right's Trip. Now I realize that I know these people. They are Kentuckians, Appalachian, friends, neighbors, and acquaintances. Their voices are familiar and dear and unsentimentalized. Just excellent.

[Introvertigo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't love it, but didn't hate it. It was relatable, and inclusive for Appalachians or really anywhere in the world. Everywhere has some poverty, everyone has some crazy relatives and I'm sure we all know a little about dysfunctional family. It was a quick easy read. Got a little worried at the end, but ended up liking the book overall.

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good collection of related (very) short stories. They center around a family in Appalachia and pull together what a family is about. Wherever you hail from, Wilgus and his family will remind you of people you know and bring out qualities in the small things they do.

[Joe Nelis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seeing Wilgus grow from a young boy into a college graduate through the lens of his peculiar relatives. The way things are weaved together and revealed as time passes and through different familial situations keeps you interested.

[Carolyn Tassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not a usual short story reader, I loved this collection of short stories. Found several members of my family, I think most people will. Loved the way the short stories followed the very lovable Wilgus through the stages of life.

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kinfolks is a collection of ten short stories that center on Wilgus Collier and his family in deep coal country, near Harlan Co., Kentucky.