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Oreads
At fourteen, Cassie Wolphe’s way of life in Appalachia is being changed by the influx of modernity/postmodernity. She is in love with Jake McCollum, believes she will marry him and constructs her life around this central act, but like her brother, Ben, Jake rejects a life he believes offers nothing but hard work and poverty. Forced to make a decision between her love of Jake and her love of the mountains, Cassie finds she can't leave, a choice which may define her life forever. At once lyrical, emotionally charged, moving and heartbreaking, Oreads is a literary treat that will keep you compelled right to the very last page and beyond.
344 pages, Paperback
First published January 29, 2016
2 people are currently reading
7 people want to read
About the author
John F. Lavelle
2 booksJohn Lavelle was born in Lackawanna, NY. He spent the first several years of his life living with his grandmother in Scranton, PA. At the age of three he reunited with his family, now four boys and a baby girl when his father moved the family to Northern Appalachia where John spent his childhood and young adulthood. Over the years he has lived in Buffalo, NY, Orlando FL, Tucson, AZ, and Lafayette, LA. He now resides in Palm Bay, FL and teaches at Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL.
He has a PhD in literature from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, an MA in creative writing from the University of Central Florida, and another MA in English from SUNY at Buffalo.
The short story by the same name as his novel, Oreads, the fourth chapter in the book, was a top ten finalist in the Epiphany Chapbook Contest. His short stories have been published diverse literary journals: "Little Sacrifices" was published by No Record Press. "Keeping Trace's Heart" was published in Spank the Carp. "Pantano Wash" published in Red Rock Review 32 (Fall 2013), "Little Feet" published in the anthology Appalachian Stories, "Summer's Eve" in Trajectory Spring 2013. "Dragon Flies" was published in Stone Canoe No. 3, January 30, 2009. "Living in the Past," was published in the anthology When Last on the Mountain by Turtle Press. "Buddy's" was published in Pisgah Review, "Bo" and "Like Tea" in Y2K Magazine, "Milos and Phoebe" in The Cypress Dome. "Little Sacrifices," was published in The Southwestern Review, "Hierophany" in Synthetic Biology and Human Health: Myths, Fables and Synthetic Futures (2012).
His scholarly book Blue Collar, Theoretically: A Post-Marxist Approach to Working-Class Literature was published by McFarland & Co.
He is now working on a novella, two literary novels, a literary science fiction novel, and several short stories, compiling them for two collections.
He has a PhD in literature from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, an MA in creative writing from the University of Central Florida, and another MA in English from SUNY at Buffalo.
The short story by the same name as his novel, Oreads, the fourth chapter in the book, was a top ten finalist in the Epiphany Chapbook Contest. His short stories have been published diverse literary journals: "Little Sacrifices" was published by No Record Press. "Keeping Trace's Heart" was published in Spank the Carp. "Pantano Wash" published in Red Rock Review 32 (Fall 2013), "Little Feet" published in the anthology Appalachian Stories, "Summer's Eve" in Trajectory Spring 2013. "Dragon Flies" was published in Stone Canoe No. 3, January 30, 2009. "Living in the Past," was published in the anthology When Last on the Mountain by Turtle Press. "Buddy's" was published in Pisgah Review, "Bo" and "Like Tea" in Y2K Magazine, "Milos and Phoebe" in The Cypress Dome. "Little Sacrifices," was published in The Southwestern Review, "Hierophany" in Synthetic Biology and Human Health: Myths, Fables and Synthetic Futures (2012).
His scholarly book Blue Collar, Theoretically: A Post-Marxist Approach to Working-Class Literature was published by McFarland & Co.
He is now working on a novella, two literary novels, a literary science fiction novel, and several short stories, compiling them for two collections.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 11, 2025
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 2, 2016
4.75 stars
Many thanks go to the author, who graciously provided a copy of Oreads in exchange for an honest review.
The name was the first thing that drew me to this book. The first thing I thought of when I saw it was the poem of the same name by Hilda Doolittle. (HD) It made me smile to see that same poem printed on one of the first pages of the book. As a teenager, I once had another of HD’s poems stuck to the front of my refrigerator, one more suited to the South Carolina summers: “O Wind, rend open the heat, cut apart the heat, rend it to tatters.”
The second thing that drew me to this book, before I had read the first sentence, was the description. Set in both the 1960’s and Appalachia, I went into this hoping that I would find something reminiscent of Winter’s Bone. Again, I was pleasantly surprised. The turmoil of the sixties provided an excellent backdrop against the characters of Cassie, Jake, and the various in laws and outlaws populating Cassie’s world.
The Cassie we meet in the beginning of this book is both sweet and innocent, and yet wise in ways that others around her don’t seem to understand. She is connected to the mountains, rooted in the flow of the seasons, and the cycle of planting, tending and harvesting. She can’t imagine, and doesn’t want anything more. When her brother Ben leaves home in search of a better life and adventures in San Francisco, Cassie is left feeling both confused and betrayed; how could he leave his family, his responsibilities? How could he abandon the very land itself?
As Cassie grows up, she both suffers losses in love and becomes educated in the unfair class war that is “city vs. town”, a struggle that still rages in small towns the world over. Slowly she comes to realize that the world is rougher and sharper than she was led to believe as a child. Left with no other options, Cassie finds herself in a fight to become self sufficient in a world that would rather see her shackled to a man for the sake of propriety. I thoroughly enjoyed this section of the novel, watching Cassie take on her battleaxe of a mother in law and fend for herself against both a world that offered her no comfort and a family that offered her no sympathy. In the end, Cassie demonstrated a fierce example of bravery, perseverance and the will to survive that made this reader wish for more.
Many thanks go to the author, who graciously provided a copy of Oreads in exchange for an honest review.
The name was the first thing that drew me to this book. The first thing I thought of when I saw it was the poem of the same name by Hilda Doolittle. (HD) It made me smile to see that same poem printed on one of the first pages of the book. As a teenager, I once had another of HD’s poems stuck to the front of my refrigerator, one more suited to the South Carolina summers: “O Wind, rend open the heat, cut apart the heat, rend it to tatters.”
The second thing that drew me to this book, before I had read the first sentence, was the description. Set in both the 1960’s and Appalachia, I went into this hoping that I would find something reminiscent of Winter’s Bone. Again, I was pleasantly surprised. The turmoil of the sixties provided an excellent backdrop against the characters of Cassie, Jake, and the various in laws and outlaws populating Cassie’s world.
The Cassie we meet in the beginning of this book is both sweet and innocent, and yet wise in ways that others around her don’t seem to understand. She is connected to the mountains, rooted in the flow of the seasons, and the cycle of planting, tending and harvesting. She can’t imagine, and doesn’t want anything more. When her brother Ben leaves home in search of a better life and adventures in San Francisco, Cassie is left feeling both confused and betrayed; how could he leave his family, his responsibilities? How could he abandon the very land itself?
As Cassie grows up, she both suffers losses in love and becomes educated in the unfair class war that is “city vs. town”, a struggle that still rages in small towns the world over. Slowly she comes to realize that the world is rougher and sharper than she was led to believe as a child. Left with no other options, Cassie finds herself in a fight to become self sufficient in a world that would rather see her shackled to a man for the sake of propriety. I thoroughly enjoyed this section of the novel, watching Cassie take on her battleaxe of a mother in law and fend for herself against both a world that offered her no comfort and a family that offered her no sympathy. In the end, Cassie demonstrated a fierce example of bravery, perseverance and the will to survive that made this reader wish for more.
September 22, 2016
Wow! This is a beautifully written book about a difficult subject - the lives of the poor in the mountains of West Virginia. It is the story of Cassie, a young girl trying to survive in the land she loves. The story begins when she is just 14 years old and continues into her early 20s. She strives to have a better life than her parents provided her. She wants the perfect life with the perfect man, but that would require her leave the comfort of the mountains and she's not ready to do that. What struggles must she face? What price must she pay? All because she doesn't want to leave her home town to try and find a better life, away from the poverty of the Appalachians.
I honestly don't know how this book hasn't received more praise and publicity. Hopefully it finds it's way into the right hands for it to then skyrocket in popularity (maybe even be made into a movie, because it would be great). Lucky for me, the author found my blog and asked if I would read and review it. I'm so grateful that he did. It is a story that will stay with me for a long time.
And by the way.....it's pronounced Or-e-ads :)
I honestly don't know how this book hasn't received more praise and publicity. Hopefully it finds it's way into the right hands for it to then skyrocket in popularity (maybe even be made into a movie, because it would be great). Lucky for me, the author found my blog and asked if I would read and review it. I'm so grateful that he did. It is a story that will stay with me for a long time.
And by the way.....it's pronounced Or-e-ads :)
May 26, 2016
John Lavelle's first novel is a delight in every sense. Cassie Wolphe reminds all Baby Boomers of what it was like to come of age in the sixties and specifically, what life was like for a fourteen year old daughter of Appalachia. We understand the need to escape this life through the actions of Cassie's brother Ben and boyfriend Jake, but Cassie stays and it is her story which captivates us. Lavelle is a master of both dialogue and dialect and with these tools he deftly crafts Cassie's character as she grows up on the pages in front of us. There is some Cassie in us all as we see her struggle against forces of the present and the past that are bent on destroying her dreams. In true heroic fashion, she vanquishes all of these forces and in the end, we are left with an odd sense of hope.
September 8, 2016
I was captivated by Cassie Wolphe immediately, and amazed at her courage and resiliency throughout Oreads. I became totally engaged, transported by this beautiful narrative to the mountains and residents of Appalachia. Fascinated by many of the complex characters and their incredible lives, I found myself at the novel's end completely invested and wanting more. Dr. Lavelle is a master of the narrative!
September 7, 2016
Must Read
Oreads is a wonderful story of a teenage girl growing up in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia. The author writes in a way that you experience Cassie's feelings during this vastly changing time in her life.
Oreads is a wonderful story of a teenage girl growing up in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia. The author writes in a way that you experience Cassie's feelings during this vastly changing time in her life.
March 18, 2016
A wonderful book. I feel like I read it too fast and need to go back and read it with even more appreciation for this author.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews