I hope Thanksgiving was an enjoyable holiday for all. My three kids and their families were home for the first time since the youngest graduated from high school. He is 27 now. It was a special Thanksgiving for us, but the Sunday article just didn’t fit into my preparations last week.
Several weeks ago, I wrote an article about large print books. A library patron stopped me in church to share a large print book she had just finished. Her enthusiasm was so great that I decided I should read it. The book is “She Walks These Hills” by Sharyn McCrumb. Margaret, your enthusiasm was warranted. I enjoyed it a great deal.
Sharyn McCrumb is a southern girl, who writes about the South, but not about what she calls the “Plantation South”. According to McCrumb, the Flatland South and the Mountain South differ. It is a difference that most people don’t recognize. McCrumb writes about the Appalachian Region of her father’s family. She was always more interested in the songs and legends of her father’s side of the family and describes her books as “like Appalachian quilts”. “She Walks These Hills” is one of her popular Appalachian “Ballad” novels.
“She Walks These Hills” is a novel built in layers and centered on the legend of Katie Wyler. The Shawnee kidnapped Katie in 1779. She escaped and traveled hundreds of miles across the rugged mountain wilderness only to be killed shortly after her return. According to legend, her ghost still walks the hills. This is one of the layers in this multi-layered story.
Another layer revolves around the escape from prison of convicted murderer, 63 year-old Hiram “Harm” Sorley. Suffering from Korsakoff’s syndrome, Harm retains no recent memories and does not remember prison or his escape. His mind is stuck in the 1960s before the murder. Harm believes that he is returning home to his young wife and baby.
McCrumb tells the story from the alternating points-of-view of the novel’s characters.
Charlotte “Charlarty” Pentland, Harms’ daughter – She has no use for her father or his “mountain” ways. She believes Harm is coming back to “harm” her mother for divorcing him and remarrying her stepfather Euell Pentland.
Jeremy Cobb, a graduate student at Virginia Tech – Jeremy is obsessed with the legend of Katie Wyler and made her the subject of his dissertation. A city boy without any hiking experience, Jeremy decides to hike Katie’s route to make her journey more of a reality for him.
Hank the Yank, a radio talk show host – At first treating Harm’s escape as a joke, he becomes fascinated with Harm’s story and his escape attempt. His research into the forty year-old murder conviction makes him wonder if justice was served.
Deputy Sheriff Martha Ayers– Formerly a dispatcher, Martha is trying to better herself and earn the respect of her lover Deputy Joe LeDonne. Her search for Harm ultimately leads to heartbreak and endangers their relationship.
Mountain mystic Nora Bonesteel – Katie Wyler is more than a legend to Nora. She first saw Katie at the age of ten and knows that Katie walks these hills.
All of these characters and their plot threads converge tragically at the decaying trailer that was once home to Harm Sorley and his family. “She Walks These Hills” is a magnificent “Appalachian Quilt” of interwoven folklore and characters. It is well worth a read.
:: Go to Library Home ::
Scottsbluff Public Library :: 1809 Third Avenue :: Scottsbluff, NE 69361 :: 308-630-6250