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The Price of Bread and Shoes
When nineteen-year-old Alafair Sizemore Slone journeys to Chemame Creek, West Virginia to join her husband, Travis, in the coal camp where he’s working, she carries with her a history of loss and the hope of a secure future. She knows that making a home in a coal camp will be difficult and different from life on her family’s farm in Washington County, Virginia; but she’s certain that she and Travis are equal to any challenge that will come their way.
Travis, however, has changed during the four weeks they’ve been apart. He goes out after supper and stays out late. He no longer talks about buying a small farm of their own, preferring to spend money as quickly as he earns it. When a mine accident leaves Travis injured with no income and no savings, Alafair is coerced into a decision that will affect her life, her marriage, and the lives of other women in Chemame Creek forever.
Based upon oral histories from women who lived in West Virginia’s coal camps during the 1920s and their descendants, The Price of Bread and Shoes examines a controversial piece of West Virginia history through the lens of fiction.
Travis, however, has changed during the four weeks they’ve been apart. He goes out after supper and stays out late. He no longer talks about buying a small farm of their own, preferring to spend money as quickly as he earns it. When a mine accident leaves Travis injured with no income and no savings, Alafair is coerced into a decision that will affect her life, her marriage, and the lives of other women in Chemame Creek forever.
Based upon oral histories from women who lived in West Virginia’s coal camps during the 1920s and their descendants, The Price of Bread and Shoes examines a controversial piece of West Virginia history through the lens of fiction.
367 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2022
983 people are currently reading
1884 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 126 reviews
March 16, 2024
Lonormi Manuel has written one of those books that is hard to put down. Taking place in the 1920's in a coal mining camp, a young couple start their married life. The characters are alive and the plot keeps one engaged, as the plight of many young women is revealed. Highly recommended.
March 22, 2024
This was an easy read. Not a romance, but a historical drama, fraught with emotion and treachery.
A young newlywed wife travels to a mining camp in West Virginia to begin life with her husband. They set up housekeeping in one of the houses in the mining town. Soon it becomes apparent that they are slaves in debt to the company, and could easily be financially devastated with one slip-up.
This wasn’t my favorite, but I enjoyed the diversion this book gave me. The writing was good. It flowed well, was descriptive, and kept me turning pages. My only complaint was the characters were a bit pigeon-holed, and the story a bit predictable. This was, however, a really good debut novel, and hopefully there will be more from this author.
A young newlywed wife travels to a mining camp in West Virginia to begin life with her husband. They set up housekeeping in one of the houses in the mining town. Soon it becomes apparent that they are slaves in debt to the company, and could easily be financially devastated with one slip-up.
This wasn’t my favorite, but I enjoyed the diversion this book gave me. The writing was good. It flowed well, was descriptive, and kept me turning pages. My only complaint was the characters were a bit pigeon-holed, and the story a bit predictable. This was, however, a really good debut novel, and hopefully there will be more from this author.
November 2, 2024
The Price of Bread and Shoes: A Novel was probably the best book I’ve read this year! The difficult story of a 1920s coal-mining town and its people and a young woman who travels there to join her new husband, this was a page-turner, but was so well-written and almost lyrical that I sometimes went back and reread whole paragraphs. I’m looking forward to more books by Lonormi Manuel, as this was amazingly her first book.
May 16, 2024
Perspectives from too many characters made this book feel repetitive. We learn about an event, for example, and know what happened through one character’s experience, then have to sit with another while they wonder about what happened. This happens multiple times and really makes the story drag. “Price of Bread and Shoes” told an important story of experiences similar to what women actually went through in coal towns, and the writing itself was strong, but ultimately it was predictable and at times clumsy. As a debut novel, though, the writing and ideas were strong enough that I’ll check out the author’s sophomore effort if one is published .
October 14, 2022
I first had the pleasure of reading this book in one of the early drafts in manuscript form. I couldn’t put it down then and I couldn’t put it down this time. Alafair’s story, along with that of other key characters, is masterfully told in a shimmering fabric, the threads of which wrap and bind the reader, sweeping them along through every sadness, joy, defeat and triumph along the way. An absolute gem of a book.
February 21, 2024
What a wonderful book. I really enjoyed the insights of coal mining and the nuances involved with the daily lives and communities. The story encompasses so many emotions; love, hope, strength and tragedy.
A must read for those who embrace history woven into a novel.
A must read for those who embrace history woven into a novel.
April 20, 2024
A very well written book that described the horrible abuses in the coal mining communities. The characters were well developed and the story addressed the way that the owners disregarded the safety of the miners and the way the company stores kept them in constant debt.
May 5, 2024
Just not for me. I was looking for something more in the line of historical fiction and I felt this reads more as a soap opera. I do not mean to diminish the book for others. It just depends on what you are looking for.
For a historical fiction book on mining life I would recommend The Women of Copper Country by Mary Doria Russell. Though it reads as a novel, a great deal of it is from the actual history of mining in the 1920s: the main character (Ms.Klobachar), the women's fight to help the men form unions, the strikes, the disastrous children's Christmas fire, etc. And a really great read.
For a historical fiction book on mining life I would recommend The Women of Copper Country by Mary Doria Russell. Though it reads as a novel, a great deal of it is from the actual history of mining in the 1920s: the main character (Ms.Klobachar), the women's fight to help the men form unions, the strikes, the disastrous children's Christmas fire, etc. And a really great read.
February 10, 2024
A pretty easy read. Being from the area and knowing the awful history of coal mining and miners rights there were no surprises. And a comfortable ending.
July 27, 2024
I haven't been sleeping well ... which I guess allows for more reading time. Someone had mentioned this in a FB group. I currently have KindleUnlimited. This was text only (no audio available). It was a good read. Emotional, sad, and informative.
It was 3rd person/past tense. The main character is Alafair. I really struggled with that name, have never heard it before. The first chapter, we get in her head, her POV, as she comes to join her husband at a small coal mining town in the 1920s.
The second chapter threw me a bit ... changing POVs, in the head of Martina; a "working girl" ... who happens to be with Alifair's husband. Chapter three is back to Alifair, but the chapter 4 switches to Callie Stanley (the neighbor and town midwife). Alifair gets a majority of chapters, but there is a lot of switching to several other women ... Bonnie, a young girl, pregnant but won't name the father; Vine, Bonnie's mother; Miss Violet Maiden, head bookkeeper for the mining company. Loujean, Callie's daughter. It's just the women's POVs. Their stories. Simple chronological chapters, no headers telling the POV, just just figure it out as you read. Would I have preferred having headers, in the Table of Contents (to review a particular chapter, knowing where to go?)
There seemed to be some editing issues - some hyphens, like words were split at the end of a line, and then the spacing changed, but the hyphens stayed, even with the word in the middle of the page. figur-ing, wish-ing, vary-ing. There were also some random numbers inserted into the text ... 105, 227. Not sure why they were there.
At the beginning, there was some talk of the Spanish flu, interesting to note the parallels to the recent Covid pandemic "As a precaution, the city ordered schools, theaters, public entertainments and churches to close ..."
I did feel some connections - made some highlights/saved quotes
*She wished he had just hit her. It would have hurt less than his words.
*Grief was the same in every tongue.
*More righteous than kind
*Pretending not to care, determined to pretend until the pretending came true.
*It's a hard life for a woman, married to a man who's married to the bottle.
*She would rather be dead and in her own grave than have her parents seeing her from some far-off heaven.
*... reminded her that is was his place to make the money and her place to spend it. He'd treated he like a child who was demanding admittance to the grown-up world.
*... a recurring pattern of hair-trigger conflict, followed by an awkward reconciliation and an uneasy truce.
Lots of talk on being a woman - assuming blame and guilt, being insufficient and inadequate. An interesting metaphor of a broken teacup, glued back together, but actually useless (can't fulfill its purpose anymore).
Some of the words I note: roiling, route (not audio, so no pronunciation ... how did I read it? I can't remember!), hearth, cacophony, smirk/scowl, surfeit, brindled.
No proFanity. There was the N word. No explicit sex descriptions, but there is rape and domestic violence, as well as suicide/murder and other death/injury.
Title absolutely ties in ... sadly.
It was 3rd person/past tense. The main character is Alafair. I really struggled with that name, have never heard it before. The first chapter, we get in her head, her POV, as she comes to join her husband at a small coal mining town in the 1920s.
The second chapter threw me a bit ... changing POVs, in the head of Martina; a "working girl" ... who happens to be with Alifair's husband. Chapter three is back to Alifair, but the chapter 4 switches to Callie Stanley (the neighbor and town midwife). Alifair gets a majority of chapters, but there is a lot of switching to several other women ... Bonnie, a young girl, pregnant but won't name the father; Vine, Bonnie's mother; Miss Violet Maiden, head bookkeeper for the mining company. Loujean, Callie's daughter. It's just the women's POVs. Their stories. Simple chronological chapters, no headers telling the POV, just just figure it out as you read. Would I have preferred having headers, in the Table of Contents (to review a particular chapter, knowing where to go?)
There seemed to be some editing issues - some hyphens, like words were split at the end of a line, and then the spacing changed, but the hyphens stayed, even with the word in the middle of the page. figur-ing, wish-ing, vary-ing. There were also some random numbers inserted into the text ... 105, 227. Not sure why they were there.
At the beginning, there was some talk of the Spanish flu, interesting to note the parallels to the recent Covid pandemic "As a precaution, the city ordered schools, theaters, public entertainments and churches to close ..."
I did feel some connections - made some highlights/saved quotes
*She wished he had just hit her. It would have hurt less than his words.
*Grief was the same in every tongue.
*More righteous than kind
*Pretending not to care, determined to pretend until the pretending came true.
*It's a hard life for a woman, married to a man who's married to the bottle.
*She would rather be dead and in her own grave than have her parents seeing her from some far-off heaven.
*... reminded her that is was his place to make the money and her place to spend it. He'd treated he like a child who was demanding admittance to the grown-up world.
*... a recurring pattern of hair-trigger conflict, followed by an awkward reconciliation and an uneasy truce.
Lots of talk on being a woman - assuming blame and guilt, being insufficient and inadequate. An interesting metaphor of a broken teacup, glued back together, but actually useless (can't fulfill its purpose anymore).
Some of the words I note: roiling, route (not audio, so no pronunciation ... how did I read it? I can't remember!), hearth, cacophony, smirk/scowl, surfeit, brindled.
No proFanity. There was the N word. No explicit sex descriptions, but there is rape and domestic violence, as well as suicide/murder and other death/injury.
Title absolutely ties in ... sadly.
December 16, 2025
Sad History, Great Story
I read this book because it is about coal mining in West Virginia. I have lived in southwestern Pennsylvania all of my life, and coal mining has always been part of this region's history. Numerous mining accidents in this part of the country dominated news headlines many times. This is definitely not a feel- good book that carries you away from your problems. It is, rather, a fictional story based on true accounts from coal mining communities in Appalachia in the early1900s. It depicts the lives of miners, their families, and the struggles they faced. Even though the subject matter is tough, it is a history lesson that probably all of us have never had. The issues discussed in this book led to laws that protect miners and their families. It's hard to believe that this is Lonormi Manuel's first novel; every time I opened this book, I was at Chemame Creek, sweating in the heat and scrubbing my house and clothes with Alafair and Callie. Lonormi created characters who were alive and real, and I felt every emotion with them until the very last word. This book was excellent and thoroughly researched. I didn't give it 5 stars only because I save those for happy, uplifting (usually nonfiction) books.
I read this book because it is about coal mining in West Virginia. I have lived in southwestern Pennsylvania all of my life, and coal mining has always been part of this region's history. Numerous mining accidents in this part of the country dominated news headlines many times. This is definitely not a feel- good book that carries you away from your problems. It is, rather, a fictional story based on true accounts from coal mining communities in Appalachia in the early1900s. It depicts the lives of miners, their families, and the struggles they faced. Even though the subject matter is tough, it is a history lesson that probably all of us have never had. The issues discussed in this book led to laws that protect miners and their families. It's hard to believe that this is Lonormi Manuel's first novel; every time I opened this book, I was at Chemame Creek, sweating in the heat and scrubbing my house and clothes with Alafair and Callie. Lonormi created characters who were alive and real, and I felt every emotion with them until the very last word. This book was excellent and thoroughly researched. I didn't give it 5 stars only because I save those for happy, uplifting (usually nonfiction) books.
September 10, 2025
This was a story of the challenges in a coal mine town in the early 1920's. The life for a woman was always based on their husband's goal, therefore as a young woman she had to follow her husband. It was very hard to find that at the age of 19 she was willing to follow her husband with the understanding of them returning back to the farm to raise a family. She quickly learned that life in a coal mine town is very different from life on the farm. Yet, she was able to adapt. The difficulties that were endured created a different mindset for the young protagonist. The danger of working in a mine created an additional level of problems which caused them to change course of their survival. The town was managed by the coal mine which also caused many to become trapped and unable to leave due to the debt created. As a young women she was coerced into making decisions the she assumed she had no other choice. The ending of the story was captivating and gave the story a different feel. As I read the story I often disagreed with the decisions the young protagonist made but soon I realized she did what she had to do.
February 7, 2024
I loved this book and that’s something I don’t say often.
In her debut novel, set in the gritty West Virginia coal camps of the 1920s, Manuel captures the existence of those who run the mines and those who are practically enslaved by the industry.
Readers will see rich depictions of the people who lived and worked and their hard scrabble lives — most simply seeking a better life but others trapped in it due to debt.
The novel is told from several POV, enhancing the storytelling. The author doesn’t bog you down in too many descriptive details allowing your imagination to work.
It is told primarily from a naive 19-year-old’s perspective with several supporting characters, all strong women in their own right and covers a relatively short span of time.
Disclaimer: my mother was born in a coal camp in the early 1930s and from stories I heard from her and my grandparents, I can believe there is much historical accuracy in this book of fiction.
In her debut novel, set in the gritty West Virginia coal camps of the 1920s, Manuel captures the existence of those who run the mines and those who are practically enslaved by the industry.
Readers will see rich depictions of the people who lived and worked and their hard scrabble lives — most simply seeking a better life but others trapped in it due to debt.
The novel is told from several POV, enhancing the storytelling. The author doesn’t bog you down in too many descriptive details allowing your imagination to work.
It is told primarily from a naive 19-year-old’s perspective with several supporting characters, all strong women in their own right and covers a relatively short span of time.
Disclaimer: my mother was born in a coal camp in the early 1930s and from stories I heard from her and my grandparents, I can believe there is much historical accuracy in this book of fiction.
March 2, 2024
#6: READ A DEBUT NOVEL: All I can say is that I sure hope Lohormi Manuel starts another book and very soon! The Price of Bread and Shoes: A Novel was one I didn't want to put down!! This story was based on the struggles of families who lived in the coal mine camps of West Virginia in the 1920's. Families of men working in the coal mines were hard and corrupt. These men were
paid in credits to the stores and homes the coal companies owned. The men who were in
charge took disgusting advantage of this. This is the story of the women and the lives
they endured. A part of history that needed to be told. The story grabbed me right on page 1!! The story was not what I thought it would be as I initially read the title and the book cover did not lead me to figure out what the book was about either. I would highly recommend this book and I also think it would be an awesome one for bookclubs to share. KU
paid in credits to the stores and homes the coal companies owned. The men who were in
charge took disgusting advantage of this. This is the story of the women and the lives
they endured. A part of history that needed to be told. The story grabbed me right on page 1!! The story was not what I thought it would be as I initially read the title and the book cover did not lead me to figure out what the book was about either. I would highly recommend this book and I also think it would be an awesome one for bookclubs to share. KU
March 30, 2023
This is a great first novel written about the coal mining done in the Appalachians.
This is a fictional account,but the author did much research.
This tale is about how the overall treatment of the wives of the miners interfered with their beliefs, in their self respect & what they thought, they had to do to provide for & protect their family.
This was carried out, by a man who deemed himself better than all.
He propositioned the women,got many pregnant & caused bodily harm & sometimes death to their men folk & all this was done, because he could.
Once you were in debt to the Company Store,there wasn't much of a way out,especially if you were injured & couldn't work.They owned everything you had.
The women characters are especially endearing & you will see the uniqueness in them all.
This is a fictional account,but the author did much research.
This tale is about how the overall treatment of the wives of the miners interfered with their beliefs, in their self respect & what they thought, they had to do to provide for & protect their family.
This was carried out, by a man who deemed himself better than all.
He propositioned the women,got many pregnant & caused bodily harm & sometimes death to their men folk & all this was done, because he could.
Once you were in debt to the Company Store,there wasn't much of a way out,especially if you were injured & couldn't work.They owned everything you had.
The women characters are especially endearing & you will see the uniqueness in them all.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 17, 2024
Historical "wake up"
Have read history previously about early 1900's and living in company housing with company stores. It supports the authors description of how they kept employees in line by controlling their finances and their way of life. Some company camps were decent but many others were bad or worse. The 4 star rating was given due to the somewhat "fairy tale" ending. It was a happily ever after ending that was vey unlikely at that point in time. In summary, the main story line is historically accurate and the ending was pure fiction. Non the less, it is a captivating book to read for it's historical content.
Have read history previously about early 1900's and living in company housing with company stores. It supports the authors description of how they kept employees in line by controlling their finances and their way of life. Some company camps were decent but many others were bad or worse. The 4 star rating was given due to the somewhat "fairy tale" ending. It was a happily ever after ending that was vey unlikely at that point in time. In summary, the main story line is historically accurate and the ending was pure fiction. Non the less, it is a captivating book to read for it's historical content.
July 15, 2025
Decent Novel of Appalachian Life
I enjoyed reading this book and I loved the title. I learned a lot about the coal mining industry in West Virginia. I actually wish the author had done more to educate us readers about this subject.
The plot was fairly predictable and the characters were also pretty stereotypical. I would say that the author has a fairly good writing style. If you enjoy historical fiction and an easy read, I would recommend this book. I
I rate books very critically because I read constantly and I have found that there really are five star books out there. But I consider these to be absolute literary gems that will end up being a classic some day.
I enjoyed reading this book and I loved the title. I learned a lot about the coal mining industry in West Virginia. I actually wish the author had done more to educate us readers about this subject.
The plot was fairly predictable and the characters were also pretty stereotypical. I would say that the author has a fairly good writing style. If you enjoy historical fiction and an easy read, I would recommend this book. I
I rate books very critically because I read constantly and I have found that there really are five star books out there. But I consider these to be absolute literary gems that will end up being a classic some day.
March 26, 2024
Jean38no
A book about the mining of coal during the 1920s. A thankless job that men took because they could feed their families. The author takes you to the coal mining towns where the bosses had all the power. The bosses had company stores where the families had to shop for all of their goods food, furniture, clothes. Once they got into debt the company then exploited the men and their families financially, they sexually exploited the wife’s ,and young girls in the families. A good book on the social aspect of the coal mining business .
A book about the mining of coal during the 1920s. A thankless job that men took because they could feed their families. The author takes you to the coal mining towns where the bosses had all the power. The bosses had company stores where the families had to shop for all of their goods food, furniture, clothes. Once they got into debt the company then exploited the men and their families financially, they sexually exploited the wife’s ,and young girls in the families. A good book on the social aspect of the coal mining business .
June 25, 2024
Heartfelt
Manuel has written a novel of sad but true life in the coal mining operations for families. I tried to write the authors first name 3 times, but spell check kept changing it! Our history has sometimes taken terrible advantage of innocent lives. The terrible label put on a girl who has had a child out of wedlock was a result of many religious institutions shaming a woman who had to carry the burden, when it takes a man to cause the results she has to burden herself with. Thank God we no longer do that to our mothers & children.
Manuel has written a novel of sad but true life in the coal mining operations for families. I tried to write the authors first name 3 times, but spell check kept changing it! Our history has sometimes taken terrible advantage of innocent lives. The terrible label put on a girl who has had a child out of wedlock was a result of many religious institutions shaming a woman who had to carry the burden, when it takes a man to cause the results she has to burden herself with. Thank God we no longer do that to our mothers & children.
August 19, 2024
an ok read
The book started out really well but left too much unsaid, character development was mediocre and the ending predictable. The graphic descriptions of the time and the conditions in the mining camps were pretty accurate, but if this is the best of this author, I won’t be reading more of her work. I love historical novels with drama and suspense. This has very little of either and what it did have was so predictable you knew what was going to happen before the next page.
The book started out really well but left too much unsaid, character development was mediocre and the ending predictable. The graphic descriptions of the time and the conditions in the mining camps were pretty accurate, but if this is the best of this author, I won’t be reading more of her work. I love historical novels with drama and suspense. This has very little of either and what it did have was so predictable you knew what was going to happen before the next page.
August 26, 2024
Coal Camps of Logan County, West Virginia
I recommend this Appalachia book to those who are curious to read of the lives in the coal camps before they became unionized. The hardships of generations still live there today. Whether it pride, loyalty or lack of funds to leave or whatever reason, families still reside in this poverty stricken town, residing in these little shanty makeshift homes. Much appreciation to Lonormi Manuel for bringing these evils that existed to light. Looking forward to her next novel "Rivers of Soil and Steel".
I recommend this Appalachia book to those who are curious to read of the lives in the coal camps before they became unionized. The hardships of generations still live there today. Whether it pride, loyalty or lack of funds to leave or whatever reason, families still reside in this poverty stricken town, residing in these little shanty makeshift homes. Much appreciation to Lonormi Manuel for bringing these evils that existed to light. Looking forward to her next novel "Rivers of Soil and Steel".
October 5, 2024
power(as well as money) is the root of all evil
This was a great southern tale of a man who uses his power to manipulate women into doing humiliating acts to satisfy his own selfish needs. The suffering that Bonnie had to endure at the hands of Gault was enough for me to know his soul was rotten to the core. Gault had Alafairs back against the wall, and knew she was desperate, so he readily offered her a lifeline to sell her soul, but little did he know, you can’t do evil to people, and not suffer the consequences sooner or later. Great Read
This was a great southern tale of a man who uses his power to manipulate women into doing humiliating acts to satisfy his own selfish needs. The suffering that Bonnie had to endure at the hands of Gault was enough for me to know his soul was rotten to the core. Gault had Alafairs back against the wall, and knew she was desperate, so he readily offered her a lifeline to sell her soul, but little did he know, you can’t do evil to people, and not suffer the consequences sooner or later. Great Read
February 26, 2025
Intense, Sobering, Heartfelt
Lonormi Manuel has written a stunning first novel. I had to skim some parts that just hurt my heart too much to read word for word. Curiously enough, I found many parallels between the depiction of life at the mercy of the powerful in a 1920’s coal mining town and our current predicament (I’m writing this review 2/25/25).
The warmth and goodness in this story lie in the ties between women and in a couple of instances the good men they chose to share their life with.
Not by any means an easy read but certainly an important and worthwhile one.
Lonormi Manuel has written a stunning first novel. I had to skim some parts that just hurt my heart too much to read word for word. Curiously enough, I found many parallels between the depiction of life at the mercy of the powerful in a 1920’s coal mining town and our current predicament (I’m writing this review 2/25/25).
The warmth and goodness in this story lie in the ties between women and in a couple of instances the good men they chose to share their life with.
Not by any means an easy read but certainly an important and worthwhile one.
July 24, 2025
Based in a coal mining town in the 1920's, The Price of Bread and Shoes, stole my heart wholeheartedly.
The novel switches point of view between five women, all living very different lives in Chemame Creek, WV.
I personally loved the switching POVs and getting tidbits of info from each character's chapter. An easy read which gives a very interesting insight into the hardships all five women face. Mainly focused on newly wed Alafair Sizemore Slone.
Definitely a Lonormi Manuel fan after this one.
The novel switches point of view between five women, all living very different lives in Chemame Creek, WV.
I personally loved the switching POVs and getting tidbits of info from each character's chapter. An easy read which gives a very interesting insight into the hardships all five women face. Mainly focused on newly wed Alafair Sizemore Slone.
Definitely a Lonormi Manuel fan after this one.
August 21, 2025
Ms Manuel is a wonderful storyteller. I love how she used individual chapters, told from the viewpoint of individual characters, to weave the whole story together. Her characters were well-developed....you loved the ones you were supposed to love and hated the villains. They were all perfect.
Sad story and unfortunately, there is some truth to it. The lives of West Virginia coal-mining families in the early 20th century were not easy. Without giving too much away, the story may be triggering, especially for women.
Sad story and unfortunately, there is some truth to it. The lives of West Virginia coal-mining families in the early 20th century were not easy. Without giving too much away, the story may be triggering, especially for women.
January 7, 2024
More atrocities of mining in Appalachia
A feeling of dread suffused this novel revealing exploitation and even murders promulgated by mining companies in Appalachia in the first half of the 20th century.
Respect due to those who lived in virtual slavery by the mine owners.
Respect owed to the UMW and the miners and their families.
Nevertheless a novel which I did not want to put down.
A feeling of dread suffused this novel revealing exploitation and even murders promulgated by mining companies in Appalachia in the first half of the 20th century.
Respect due to those who lived in virtual slavery by the mine owners.
Respect owed to the UMW and the miners and their families.
Nevertheless a novel which I did not want to put down.
February 3, 2024
A SENSATION!
I can't tell you how much this novel meant to me. I am the granddaughter, many decades back of the coal miners of West Virginia. Every one of my grandfathers were miners as far back as I've researched. This is the first time I've ever read a book about how it truly was for the brave, sturdy that I'm proud to call my "PEOPLE ". Thank you so very much for your work in bringing this information to me. I am more humble than I can put into words.
I can't tell you how much this novel meant to me. I am the granddaughter, many decades back of the coal miners of West Virginia. Every one of my grandfathers were miners as far back as I've researched. This is the first time I've ever read a book about how it truly was for the brave, sturdy that I'm proud to call my "PEOPLE ". Thank you so very much for your work in bringing this information to me. I am more humble than I can put into words.
February 13, 2024
The Price of Bread and Shoes review
I could not put this book down. Anyone can relate to Alafair's feelings for her first love. She was in love with love and could not see past that. The author also makes the reader feel the helplessness and hopelessness of the miners' families especially the women. There were very few options. I highly recommend this book. You won't be disappointed! I also hope that the author writes another.
I could not put this book down. Anyone can relate to Alafair's feelings for her first love. She was in love with love and could not see past that. The author also makes the reader feel the helplessness and hopelessness of the miners' families especially the women. There were very few options. I highly recommend this book. You won't be disappointed! I also hope that the author writes another.
Read
March 21, 2024The title was perfect and caught my attention
I so enjoyed this book. I could hardly put it down until I was forced to with the excellent ending. I rated it 5 stars. Young women find their self in unwanted situations. All too often they are blamed and pay a price. I highly recommend this book. No obscene language but life events do happen.
I hope to find another book by this author.
I so enjoyed this book. I could hardly put it down until I was forced to with the excellent ending. I rated it 5 stars. Young women find their self in unwanted situations. All too often they are blamed and pay a price. I highly recommend this book. No obscene language but life events do happen.
I hope to find another book by this author.
April 22, 2024
Riveting
I was not able to put this book down for very long. Read it in two days, which is unusual for me. The characters were believable & the descriptions were vivid. I knew about life in the coal regions of Pennsylvania In this time period & that the families living there were totally in debt to the company store. However, the vicious hold on the women was despicable to learn about. Very well written & enjoyed it very much.
I was not able to put this book down for very long. Read it in two days, which is unusual for me. The characters were believable & the descriptions were vivid. I knew about life in the coal regions of Pennsylvania In this time period & that the families living there were totally in debt to the company store. However, the vicious hold on the women was despicable to learn about. Very well written & enjoyed it very much.
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