Sunday, December 09, 2007

Book Review - Spirits in the Field by Bruce Hopkins

Author Bruce Hopkins is drawn back to his native Appalachian roots in the mountains of Kentucky when the Department of Transportation announces plans to construct a new highway. The proposed highway will cut directly across Hopkins' family graveyards, some of which date back 200 years.

Hopkins spends six years unearthing . . . umm, digging through . . . (okay, I'm really sorry) his family history in an attempt to trace the graves, some of which are unmarked.

It's an interesting book. However, the author carelessly throws around the names of two dozen dead people, and it's impossible for the reader to remember who is who. There's not even an accompanying tree or chart to help. I didn't care for the author's "retellings" of his imagined lengthy conversations between people he never knew. I liked reading of his earlier childhood memories, and his continual struggles with the DOT in an effort to get them to comply with the laws regarding re-burials.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book, but it kept me entertained long enough to finish it within a few days. Chalk it up to yet another in a string of obscure books, I suppose.

No comments: