What do you think?
Rate this book
Seldom Seen: A Miner's Tale
A dead mother. An auctioned childhood home. Loss in the womb of a coal mine.
Seldom Seen follows Brander, an Illinois native who moves to Alaska after high school to trap game and escape the hardships of his family. Brander returns to Illinois two years later to find that his mother has died of cancer and the property where he grew up is soon to be auctioned off by his eldest brother. While failing to reconcile this sudden shift, Brander encounters Richter, a specter of a man who promises him that the answers to life are in Seldom Seen Mine, the largest coal mine in the United States.
With nothing holding him back, Brander moves to Pennsylvania, takes a job at Seldom Seen Mine, and fails at every attempt to amend his life, losing a friend, a lover, and maybe his mind.
Seldom Seen follows Brander, an Illinois native who moves to Alaska after high school to trap game and escape the hardships of his family. Brander returns to Illinois two years later to find that his mother has died of cancer and the property where he grew up is soon to be auctioned off by his eldest brother. While failing to reconcile this sudden shift, Brander encounters Richter, a specter of a man who promises him that the answers to life are in Seldom Seen Mine, the largest coal mine in the United States.
With nothing holding him back, Brander moves to Pennsylvania, takes a job at Seldom Seen Mine, and fails at every attempt to amend his life, losing a friend, a lover, and maybe his mind.
ebook
Published January 5, 2023
2 people want to read
About the author
Mitch James
13 books3 followersMitch James was born and raised in Central Illinois, where he received a BA in English with a minor in Creative Writing from Eastern Illinois University. He received a Masters in Literature from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and has had fiction and poetry published with Etopia Press, Decomp Lit, Underground Voices, and Kill Author among others. Mitch is a doctoral candidate (ABD) in the Composition and TESOL program at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a temporary faculty member in the English department.
Follow Mitch's blog at: http://mrjames6579.wordpress.com
Twitter: @mrjames6579
Or Email: tgzn@iup.edu
Follow Mitch's blog at: http://mrjames6579.wordpress.com
Twitter: @mrjames6579
Or Email: tgzn@iup.edu
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 21, 2023
I was expecting a story about a guy working in a coal mine, but this was a lot more than that. So much more happened than just coal mining and I expected none of it. The last few chapters especially took some turns that I never would have guessed would happen, and it definitely felt like a good ending to the book. It's unexpected, but looking back to all of the character's experiences, it makes sense.
Also, in some parts the character is crawling through tight areas down in the coal mine, and the way these parts were described had me feeling anxious just reading it. The words painted a really good mental picture of the confined spaces.
Also, in some parts the character is crawling through tight areas down in the coal mine, and the way these parts were described had me feeling anxious just reading it. The words painted a really good mental picture of the confined spaces.
Displaying 1 of 1 review