The Songs of Betty Baach

by Glenn Taylor

Some called her the Everywhen Woman. She claimed to be 321 years of age. In 2038, after the big storm and the great flood and the bad times, Betty Baach wrote these words down and sometimes spoke them aloud, at her homeplace on Freon Hill. She referred to them as songs. All stories are songs, she’d always say. Set in West Virginia, The Songs of Betty Baach is a magical guide to resisting despair and a compendium of wisdom and rhythms by which to fortify oneself. The lives of the Baaches of Keystone and the Knoxes of Mosestown twist and connect in a tale of survival and retribution that crosses three centuries—moving from Betty’s girlhood in colonial America to a future warped by environmental collapse and political unrest. Refusing the erasure of the lives of women, Indigenous peoples, and Black people who have always called this region home, this eloquent and distinctive novel is a necessary remedy for the continued distortion of a land and its inhabitants.

Genres: Fiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published March 31, 2023

Reviews

[Catherine Gooding · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an enchanting read. This meandering narrative well captures the feeling of listening to an elderly woman tell stories about her long life. Taylor writes with reverence for the history and culture of his home state while also understanding its challenges. This is one that felt strange and at times confusing as I read it, but I think will stay with me for a long time.

[Anna S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book! Going to be thinking about the characters for a long time.

[Larry · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved all three of this other books. This one just did not do it for me.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Glenn is an amazing talent and this one is not to be missed. He uses very old Appalachian phrases that he knows from spending much time there.
He writes with deep emotion, wisdom and wit.

[Clayton Spencer]

shoutout to my buddy Glenn he’s got one helluva imagination