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Me and My Daddy Listen to Bob Marley
On the heels of the popular and critical success of her 2007 novel Strange as This Weather Has Been, centered on mountaintop removal and its effect on a single family, Ann Pancake returns to her native West Virginia to tell stories of other folks caught at the same difficult interface.
In “Rockhounds,” nine-year-old Joslyn must divide her sympathies between the old ways of her fossil-hunting grandfather and the scientific approach of his college educated son. It is her Uncle Derek who’s stolen the body of their family dog to take to Charleston to prove the water in their creek has been poisoned. With perfectly poised equanimity,Jos witnesses both her grandfather’s grief and her uncle’s rage at his parents for signing this leasing deal, done in part, simply to be neighborly.
Ann Pancake’s ear for dialect of these mountain people is perfect, her respect that of one who writes from the heart of this world. These are folks caught in the complexities of rural economies where there are no quick fixes to questions surrounding right livelihood. With first-hand knowledge of this world and her exquisite depictitions of its natural history she may put you in mind of Daniel Woodrell.
In “Rockhounds,” nine-year-old Joslyn must divide her sympathies between the old ways of her fossil-hunting grandfather and the scientific approach of his college educated son. It is her Uncle Derek who’s stolen the body of their family dog to take to Charleston to prove the water in their creek has been poisoned. With perfectly poised equanimity,Jos witnesses both her grandfather’s grief and her uncle’s rage at his parents for signing this leasing deal, done in part, simply to be neighborly.
Ann Pancake’s ear for dialect of these mountain people is perfect, her respect that of one who writes from the heart of this world. These are folks caught in the complexities of rural economies where there are no quick fixes to questions surrounding right livelihood. With first-hand knowledge of this world and her exquisite depictitions of its natural history she may put you in mind of Daniel Woodrell.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2015
13 people are currently reading
483 people want to read
About the author
Ann Pancake
13 books56 followersAnn Pancake is an American fiction writer and essayist. She has published short stories and essays describing the people and atmosphere of Appalachia, often from the first-person perspective of those living there. While fictional, her short stories contribute to an understanding of poverty in the 20th century, as well as the historical roots of American and rural poverty. She graduated summa cum laude from West Virginia University with a degree in English. She earned her M.A. in English from the University of North Carolina, and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Washington.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
September 17, 2015
Anne Pancake creates unique and interesting characters ... beginning with Janie, "the popcorn girl," who is companion (somewhat caretaker) of her older/mentally challenged uncle and begins dating Nathan, banker by day/biker by night. Janie's story, In Such Light, opens the book and is probably my favorite. I kept reading because of the strong opening in this collection. Although there were some stories that kept my interest, not all were memorable. That said I would still recommend trying these if you read Strange as This Weather Has Been and liked it. With most stories set in West Virginia, these characters reflect similar predicaments as those in her novel. For instance: there are environmental concerns in Rockhound when Bunker, a beloved pet, is thought to have died after drinking contaminated water. Many of the stories contain impoverished or underprivileged situations, and do make reading parts hard if you are a sensitive person. I reminded myself that this is a reflection of reality for some. I was intrigued by the little girl in Mouseskull, who wore a necklace of a mouse's skull and took comfort in smelling its "corspy" odor. I also enjoyed the perspective of little boy in the title story, who felt peace when listening to Bob's music ... "wet we wissen." His action-figure play took him away from harsh surroundings, and refrains of the reggae great reminded him that "every little thing is gonna be alright .."
January 1, 2022
Some of the novellas and short stories are as impressive (made more impressive by their brevity) as Pancake’s novel Strange as This Weather Has Been, with In Such Light, Dogsong, Rockhounds, Sugars Up, and Me and My Dad Listen to Bob Marley being the standouts.
February 25, 2015
I would quickly give this collection of novellas (2) and short stories (9) a total of 4.5 stars, if that option were available. The stories herein are powerful, stunning, and at times, heartbreaking. Pancake writes of the working poor, of blue-collared people who suffer injustices while still (usually) holding their heads high, and if for that fact alone, this collection deserves a place on your bookshelf.
I only reserve the other half-star from my rating because, for my taste, a couple of the stories felt slow to me; I would have preferred that the pacing be a little more amped, that the writing would have been a bit tighter. Overall, however, the writing itself is poetic regional dialect, and Pancake uses it to lull the reader before slapping them upside the head with some important truth. That's an amazing skill for a writer to have and hone.
Favorites included the title story, "In Such Light", and "Arsonists", though there's not a bad one in the batch.
While Pancake's West Virginia is similar in some ways to my own experiences of being born and raised there, it doesn't depict those residents of the mountain state who thrive there--those who are successful business owners or who are otherwise gainfully employed (not necessarily as coal miners, either) and who are happy to own farms and homes there. There are always three sides to every story, and while I loved this collection, I interpreted the stories as skewed only toward one of those sides. Still, that's the side that doesn't always have a voice, and in that aspect, Pancake does a fabulous job of lending her own.
I only reserve the other half-star from my rating because, for my taste, a couple of the stories felt slow to me; I would have preferred that the pacing be a little more amped, that the writing would have been a bit tighter. Overall, however, the writing itself is poetic regional dialect, and Pancake uses it to lull the reader before slapping them upside the head with some important truth. That's an amazing skill for a writer to have and hone.
Favorites included the title story, "In Such Light", and "Arsonists", though there's not a bad one in the batch.
While Pancake's West Virginia is similar in some ways to my own experiences of being born and raised there, it doesn't depict those residents of the mountain state who thrive there--those who are successful business owners or who are otherwise gainfully employed (not necessarily as coal miners, either) and who are happy to own farms and homes there. There are always three sides to every story, and while I loved this collection, I interpreted the stories as skewed only toward one of those sides. Still, that's the side that doesn't always have a voice, and in that aspect, Pancake does a fabulous job of lending her own.
April 18, 2022
Me & My Daddy Listen to Bob Marley: Novellas and Stories by Ann Pancake (Counterpoint Press 2015) (Fiction - Short Stories)(3636).
This is a brilliantly-constructed short story collection from Virginia-born but West-By-God-Virginia-raised Ann Pancake. I had to read this as soon as I saw the title.
Ann Pancake’s short stories excel as “slice of life” narratives. Her stories, rather than building to a climax or springing a surprise ending, are perfectly evocative of the set and setting she selected for the tale. I could hear the sounds, smell the smells, and feel the atmosphere in every single one of these stories, each of which are set in the most rural mountains of West Virginia.
The author had me hooked when I read this spot-on description of the autumn sky in the mountains: “Late bright October and the kind of blue like, if you struck the sky with a pipe it would ring.” (“Rockhounds,” p. 236).
There are several excellent stories here. “In Such a Light” finds a college student home for the summer who spends her free time hanging out with mentally-deficient Uncle Bobby and her angry and moody neighbor-boy Nathan.
In “Mouseskull,” an old hired hand moves into a family’s icehouse, bringing with him albino cats and a ouija board.
Two of the best stories are “Arsonists” and “Dog Song.” In “Arsonists,” the narrator’s friend paranoid Kenny has become convinced that someone is torching the houses of those who won’t sell out to the coal company as it prepares for “mountaintop removal” mining.
In “Dog Song,” Motley ain’t right, but he loves his collection of strays and misfit animals - and now they are disappearing one by one.
This poor review does not capture the essence of or do justice to Ann Pancake’s storytelling, but she perfectly captures the essence of the disquiet if not despair commonly shared by rural folks everywhere who feel that control of their lives is in someone else’s hands.
My rating: 7.25/10, finished 4/18/22 (3636).
May 28, 2017
It's great to have another Ann Pancake book in the world. The solid and luminous prose I found in _Given Ground_ and _Strange As This Weather_ persists here; I love the mix of long-breathing novellas mixed with the shorter stories that are one exhalation. Always layered, always with "live coal" characters, wasting time on nothing that doesn't go for the jugular. Ann especially writes the deep knowing of children with such full-body power and instinct.
Going through all my dogearing today—here, in “Sab”: “You only have room when loss lightens you.” (259)
“Mouseskull”: “I hold the skull between finger and thumb to gaze in the sockets of its eyes, stroke its nose, rub its forehead the way my horse books say horses like to be rubbed.” (76)
Opening of “Coop”: “They bunked in old chicken houses jammed with older iron beds, lumpy-ticked, stained, summers and summers of homesick child urine, then the rat and the swallow dirt all empty winter. The beds pressed so tight the girls who brought suitcases had to sleep with them, so tight Carly could shift an elbow and touch the girl beside her.”
Going through all my dogearing today—here, in “Sab”: “You only have room when loss lightens you.” (259)
“Mouseskull”: “I hold the skull between finger and thumb to gaze in the sockets of its eyes, stroke its nose, rub its forehead the way my horse books say horses like to be rubbed.” (76)
Opening of “Coop”: “They bunked in old chicken houses jammed with older iron beds, lumpy-ticked, stained, summers and summers of homesick child urine, then the rat and the swallow dirt all empty winter. The beds pressed so tight the girls who brought suitcases had to sleep with them, so tight Carly could shift an elbow and touch the girl beside her.”
June 14, 2015
This collection of West Virginia-set stories opens hot with the novella "In Such Light," but is ultimately quite uneven. The good stories are quite good, with "Mouseskull," "Arsonists" and the titular "Me and My Daddy Listen to Bob Marley" the standouts in my opinion. The rest of the collection -- mostly the shorter stories -- gets too bogged down in creative writing course Appalachian patois and a few odd pacing and character decisions, so much so that the architecture of the stories becomes a distraction from the story itself. The stronger pieces largely make up for those missteps, however, making for a satisfying read.
October 20, 2020
“In the good Granma smells Mish stands—nighttime power and church perfume—his fingers tumbling the man in his pocket.”
I don’t know how this book—a collection of two novellas and nine short stories—came across my radar, but I’m drawn to stories rooted deeply in place. And these stories are—rooted in the West Virginia that is poor and run down. I’ve given the first sentence of the titular story, a heartbreaking story of little Mish, with a speech deficit, whose name is a mashup of his father’s. It’s clear that the two days he spends with his father are just a window into a life that careens from addiction to thievery to child endangerment. I love short stories because they’re often ragged and unfinished—no need to create that artificial arc. In this case, Mish’s life is left open: will he develop grit and know love from his time with his mother and grandparents or will he follow his father. There’s that gaping hole in all of the stories: what will become of each of these people scraping by. And there’s also the tug of love in each story. Back to that sense of place, the overgrowth creeps through each story, so unsettling to me because I grew up in the sagebrush West. So for me, the place amplifies the uncertainty, the struggle for the characters to find their way free.
I don’t know how this book—a collection of two novellas and nine short stories—came across my radar, but I’m drawn to stories rooted deeply in place. And these stories are—rooted in the West Virginia that is poor and run down. I’ve given the first sentence of the titular story, a heartbreaking story of little Mish, with a speech deficit, whose name is a mashup of his father’s. It’s clear that the two days he spends with his father are just a window into a life that careens from addiction to thievery to child endangerment. I love short stories because they’re often ragged and unfinished—no need to create that artificial arc. In this case, Mish’s life is left open: will he develop grit and know love from his time with his mother and grandparents or will he follow his father. There’s that gaping hole in all of the stories: what will become of each of these people scraping by. And there’s also the tug of love in each story. Back to that sense of place, the overgrowth creeps through each story, so unsettling to me because I grew up in the sagebrush West. So for me, the place amplifies the uncertainty, the struggle for the characters to find their way free.
July 30, 2021
Uneven but interesting collection from West Virginia – another coal-mining area like the Welsh valleys, but in a very different landscape.
At times Ann Pancake skirts alarmingly close to Barbara Kingsolver territory and you think you’re going to get a lecture on the evils of mountain-top removal, environmental pollution, and the destruction of impoverished communities, but she veers away dexterously and makes something more of her fiction than a well-meaning tract. The short story “Arsonists”, in which two old miners cling on in their ravaged and depopulated town (“The company is finished with Tout, West Virginia, now.”) is one of the more nuanced and affecting pieces in the collection, even though its subject matter is literally explosive. Most stories, however, are not coal-fired despite a faint whiff of soot in the air.
Two other pieces I liked – “Mouseskull” and the title story – both look at adult events through children’s eyes, which Ann Pancake seems to be particularly skilled at doing, unless it's just coincidence. The poorest is “Sugar’s Up” which follows the dull peregrinations of an Ignatius J. Reilly look-alike in an Appalachian town and is unfortunately novella-length. Few reading experiences are more miserable than a humorous story that isn’t.
But the rest are not bad – and I like the accent.
At times Ann Pancake skirts alarmingly close to Barbara Kingsolver territory and you think you’re going to get a lecture on the evils of mountain-top removal, environmental pollution, and the destruction of impoverished communities, but she veers away dexterously and makes something more of her fiction than a well-meaning tract. The short story “Arsonists”, in which two old miners cling on in their ravaged and depopulated town (“The company is finished with Tout, West Virginia, now.”) is one of the more nuanced and affecting pieces in the collection, even though its subject matter is literally explosive. Most stories, however, are not coal-fired despite a faint whiff of soot in the air.
Two other pieces I liked – “Mouseskull” and the title story – both look at adult events through children’s eyes, which Ann Pancake seems to be particularly skilled at doing, unless it's just coincidence. The poorest is “Sugar’s Up” which follows the dull peregrinations of an Ignatius J. Reilly look-alike in an Appalachian town and is unfortunately novella-length. Few reading experiences are more miserable than a humorous story that isn’t.
But the rest are not bad – and I like the accent.
January 18, 2018
A collection of stories set in Appalachia as hard and melancholy as a Kris Kristofferson concert set list. I liked all the stories, but in particular "The Following" and "Sab".
"And how much can life take from you? Sull, your livelihood, lovers, beauty, reputation, dignity. Me, my son, husband, breasts, innocence, righteousness, security. And I am not an ignorant woman. The whole world, I know, is losing, too. Rivers drying, mountains toppling, cities drowning under storms, and not many miles from here, in woods like these, they are even shattering the underground.
But still the land sings. And not just a singing, but louder, stronger, I tell you, every month it gets easier to hear. Because-listen-when everything is losing, everything is lightening, the distance between us thins and sheds. This is what loss gives. In these delicate, sharp and beautiful, these brilliant unraveling days." - Anne Pancake, "Sab"
"And how much can life take from you? Sull, your livelihood, lovers, beauty, reputation, dignity. Me, my son, husband, breasts, innocence, righteousness, security. And I am not an ignorant woman. The whole world, I know, is losing, too. Rivers drying, mountains toppling, cities drowning under storms, and not many miles from here, in woods like these, they are even shattering the underground.
But still the land sings. And not just a singing, but louder, stronger, I tell you, every month it gets easier to hear. Because-listen-when everything is losing, everything is lightening, the distance between us thins and sheds. This is what loss gives. In these delicate, sharp and beautiful, these brilliant unraveling days." - Anne Pancake, "Sab"
October 20, 2023
A collection of novellas and short stories that overall is outstanding. One novella takes place in Remington, West Virginia, the largest town in the state. Janie (its told from her viewpoint) is a college student from a rural area. Uncle Bobby is an impaired older man and friend of Janie's. Nathan is a bank teller who likes to work on and ride motorcycles. He's a friend of Bobby and Janie. He and Janie become a couple. They bike through the depressed town, looking at factories and plants that have shutdown. The characters are complex and well-developed and the prose is lyrical. The story is about class, social collapse and how economics effect behavior. Pancake is concerned with climate change and environmental destruction. She writes on strip mining and fracking.
May 13, 2018
This books was.. dissatisfying..
It was not poorly written, don’t get me wrong. It was finely crafted and beautiful that way.
You know how many stories finish with the character at a crossroads and can either change their life or hang out on their mediocre path? This is one of those, except.. they don’t change their life.. they don’t make it better.. you get the feeling they are going to continue down this path of self destruction they’re currently on..
It’s just dissatisfying.
It was not poorly written, don’t get me wrong. It was finely crafted and beautiful that way.
You know how many stories finish with the character at a crossroads and can either change their life or hang out on their mediocre path? This is one of those, except.. they don’t change their life.. they don’t make it better.. you get the feeling they are going to continue down this path of self destruction they’re currently on..
It’s just dissatisfying.
March 10, 2017
The writing was incredible and I easily could have given this book a 5, but I didn't love all of the stories although they were written extremely well. Definitely interested in reading her other books.
November 3, 2023
I just didn’t get this book. It was a hard read. The last two stories were my favorite, but I’m not certain if it was because it was almost over, or if the book was just starting to make sense. Cool concept, I suppose. Just hard to get into.
August 30, 2025
the best:
“In Such Light”
“Sab”
“Dog Song”
“The Following”
“Me and my Daddy Listen to Bob Marley”
the good:
“Arsonists”
“Rockhounds”
the ones i didn’t care for:
“Mouseskull”
“Coop”
“Sugar’s Up”
“Said”
“In Such Light”
“Sab”
“Dog Song”
“The Following”
“Me and my Daddy Listen to Bob Marley”
the good:
“Arsonists”
“Rockhounds”
the ones i didn’t care for:
“Mouseskull”
“Coop”
“Sugar’s Up”
“Said”
January 10, 2018
too real
February 23, 2018
Just couldn't get into it. I tried.
October 21, 2023
Poetically beautiful knowing writing. But painfully sad and real characters that seem to end each arc even sadder.
October 9, 2025
Pancake is one of my favorite writers ever.
January 3, 2016
pancake is definitely a colorful and descriptive writer. the settings she conjures are rich; sometimes bleak, sometimes bewildered, a hint of an undefined darkness in all of them. it almost seems as if she feels an obligation to set each and every one of these stories in her WV home. i found that detail a mite tiresome. regardless, the voices of appalachian poor folk are among those too often ignored. what the stories possessed in richness of imagery and tone, they lacked in structure and actual storytelling. for me, much of this collection read as writing exercises and not fully developed stories. i will say that as i progressed through the book i thought the stories became more enjoyable. the title (and final) story i found particularly strong. it along with the others that resonated with me most had child protagonists. i enjoyed the book, on some levels, but it was a bit of a slog for me to power through it.
April 7, 2015
Well I am very impressed. This is an excellent follow-up to Strange as This Weather Has Been, which has long been on my list of favorite books. The characters in this feel very realistic, and I was blown away by certain things, particularly the ending of the titular story at the conclusion of the book. (It's an awesome story about finding a way to stand up against abuse. I love it.)
Some other favorites:
In Such Light, a great beginning with some fascinating explorations of characters and their class dynamics.
Dog Song, a sad and fascinating study of a very odd character (a lot of the protagonists in this collection are sort of oddballs; but probably those in Dog Song and Sugar's Up take the cake, but it's fascinating how their individual strangenesses are portrayed in diverse ways from each other).
Some other favorites:
In Such Light, a great beginning with some fascinating explorations of characters and their class dynamics.
Dog Song, a sad and fascinating study of a very odd character (a lot of the protagonists in this collection are sort of oddballs; but probably those in Dog Song and Sugar's Up take the cake, but it's fascinating how their individual strangenesses are portrayed in diverse ways from each other).
June 6, 2015
Ann Pancake writes above me and below me and makes me want to dig deeper and reach higher as a reader and as a writer. This goes in my read again (and again) stacka lacka.
from page 96:
"Others went full-blaze, gaping open now, their charred rooms exposed—a pitiful vulgar to it, Dell can't help but feel. Others are nothing but steps climbing to rubble-cluttered concrete slabs. The kudzu already covering. Overhead, the flattened hills roll in dead slumps, like men's bodies cold-cocked, Dell sees them when he brings himself to look, like men knocked out. The humps of their twisted shoulders, their arms and legs drunk-flung. Them sprouting their sharp foreign grass.
The company is finished with Tout, West Virginia, now.
from page 96:
"Others went full-blaze, gaping open now, their charred rooms exposed—a pitiful vulgar to it, Dell can't help but feel. Others are nothing but steps climbing to rubble-cluttered concrete slabs. The kudzu already covering. Overhead, the flattened hills roll in dead slumps, like men's bodies cold-cocked, Dell sees them when he brings himself to look, like men knocked out. The humps of their twisted shoulders, their arms and legs drunk-flung. Them sprouting their sharp foreign grass.
The company is finished with Tout, West Virginia, now.
July 27, 2015
In this collection of short stories and novellas, Ann Pancake sets her stories in the gritty Appalachia backdrop of West Virginia. She gives us authentic voices of characters navigating addiction, loss, disability and the various woes of life. Her stories are funny, heartbreaking and full of worldly wisdom.
March 21, 2015
These stories cover hard subject matter--poverty, fracking & mining and their toll on families, communities and the land--but they are beautifully rendered in prose reflective of Pancake's fierce and tender love for West Virginia.
April 25, 2015
Beautifully written stories, set for the most part in rural West Virginia. The author who grew up there has a keen insight
and respect for the landscape, the inhabitants, and the unique familial relationships of the characters in her stories. This prose reads like remarkable poetry.
and respect for the landscape, the inhabitants, and the unique familial relationships of the characters in her stories. This prose reads like remarkable poetry.
January 23, 2016
3.5 stars. I think Ann Pancake is the best Appalachian writer there is, but not all of these worked for me. However, the opening novella In Such Light and the title story were amazing and make this worth checking out.
May 12, 2016
Ann Pancake writes about West Virginians dealing with the tragic loss of the lands, poisoned streams, mining companies, and fracking. The stories she tells are bleak, depressing and sometimes funny. I enjoyed all the stories. They are rich with tragedy, poverty and survival.
September 6, 2016
Intricately wrought, challenging stories about West Virginia. Cousin of Breece D'J. Characters akin to Ignacious P. Reilly, jump off the page. Arsonists, mountain top removal, fracking, feuds. Novellas really, in scope and complexity. A slow, delicate read at a very fine grain.
June 28, 2015
Highly recommended for short story writers.
November 26, 2015
It was OK for me. Depressing. Skimmed through last half.
October 12, 2016
In her story "The Following," Romney, West Virginia gal Ann Pancake has written one of my greatest prayers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews