Down in the Holler: A Living History of Southwestern Virginia

by Todd Blair; Karen Garvey (editors), Karen Garvey (Editor)

544 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The historical importance of this book prompts me to give it a four star rating. It is a compilation of short memoirs written by individuals who grew up in Southwest Virginia during the 1930s - 1960s with the majority of the memories being from the forties and fifties. It was striking to me how most of those who shared grew up in very similar conditions although the stories covered a large area. There was much poverty and the living of lives under primitive conditions. The book is a large book with over 500 pages of printed memories and the book was large in size, similar to the size of a large, side table commemorative book. The volume coupled with the fact that so many of the stories were similar, made it a difficult book to finish. The stories are printed just as they were written and often times this means they could have been better with a little editing and arrangement of the stories, but the producers felt it important to preserve the history in the writer's own words and I agree. There were a lot of hidden nuggets in this book for an individual interested in Southwest Virginia and Appalachian history.

[Francesca Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Down in the Holler” is a rather long collection of people’s stories. Most stories are pretty short, however, so it is easy to read a different story in each sitting. These are the stories of simple people, many of whom lack education.

Many stories are very similar and talk about how people used to live in the old days. Other stories talk about one memorable incident. Some are terribly tragic, while others are comfortingly sweet. Many are humorous.

The only reason to read this book is if you have an interest in Appalachia. It is not great literature. There are typos and sometimes phrases include the regional dialect.

But if you are interested in this region, you might really enjoy it. I started out flipping around for a while, reading whatever stories I found interesting. Then I started at the beginning. Either way is fine. It does take some determination to read such a long collection without the benefit of a page-turning plot. Even if you never do read it cover to cover, you will find that it is a worthwhile addition to your library of Appalachia-themed books.

I gave it four stars because it is worth buying for its target audience. My copy was a gift and I actually need to buy a copy for the giver (my mother-in-law), who has not herself read it.