The Songcatcher by Sharyn McCrumb Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Songcatcher
Book Review: An Appalachian Treasure
Summary: 5 Stars
Sharyn McCrumb is the preeminent ballad weaver of the history, people and lifeblood of the Appalachian (prounounced appa-LATCH-un)culture. A predominantly Scots-Irish culture rich in song, language, legend and hardship. She likens her stories to a patchwork quilt, and it is a fine comparison. To read a Sharyn McCrumb novel is to behold a way of life quickly disappearing in the face of urbanization and development. To one who shares the Celtic heritage, whose family goes back into these mountains many generations, the tales are as real as cherished memories; the dialect is respectfully conveyed; and the concern for the disappearance of a way of life -- and the mountains themselves -- genuine and heartfelt. Encouragingly so. Few show a love of a people, their heritage and their environment as Sharyn McCrumb.
Book Review: An Original Story
Summary: 5 Stars
This book was given to me by my sister. The Appalachian mountains have always fascinated me. My husband was born in West Virginia. My son-in-law is from Tennessee. I loved this book - a truly original story spanning three centuries of family history. The editorial review is excellent.I consider this book a "keeper". It is so unique - the gifted author has written a satisfying tale. I had to read the entire book straight thru - it captivated me, informed me, and made me eager for more. It is easy to read, very spellbinding, and I recommend it to all who like reading fiction that seems to be too real to be fiction.
Books by James Michener, such as Centennial, give me this same feeling. Time spent reading both these authors is well spent.
Book Review: Anxiously awaiting the next book in the series
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is amazing. All of the ballad novels are wonderful. The murder, mystery, suspense- all of the books were the type you can't put down. This one is no different. Way to go Ms. McCrumb! I look forward to all that you write. The characters and stories are top notch.Book Review: Appalachian Roots
Summary: 3 Stars
Sometimes an author gets so bound up in a subject that is tangential to the plot, she neglects to tell a coherent story. I'm afraid Sharyn McCrumb has to plead guilty to this writerly sin in "The Songcatcher." She seems to have become so fascinated by her search for her own ancestors that she incorporated large chunks of their history into this book (see "The Songcatcher's" Afterward), with only a slight bow to plot relevance. While her ancestors are fascinating and would hold my interest for an extended e-mail conversation, they do clutter up this novel's story. Ostensibly the author uses flashbacks to show the origin of "The Rowan Staff," an ancient ballad that was passed down through generations of the McCourry family, beginning with the boy Malcom who was abducted from the Scottish island of Islay and brought to pre-Revolutionary America. He becomes a lawyer, fights the Revolution, and emigrates to the southern Appalachian Mountains. His progeny remain in the highlands of North Carolina and Tennessee, fight in the Civil War, World War II, and work the ancestral farm or become lawyers, all the while singing "The Rowan Staff."
You might think this sounds like a pretty straight story line from the 1760s to the current millennium, even though the characters change, but McCrumb chooses to portray the lives of her ancestors in vignettes that are interspersed with the modern-day saga of a folksinger who is searching for an old song.
Actually there are two folksingers who want to record "The Rowan Staff," two plane wrecks, two characters who are lost in the mountains, two ghosts, and two old folks who have the Sight. My favorite character, Miss Nora Bonesteel, who is one of the Seers and who has shown up in previous McCrumb novels, almost gets lost in the shuffle of multiple viewpoints and the back-and-forth zap of the timeline.
McCrumb is a good writer and has a great ear for dialogue, but this story tries to play too many songs at once.
Book Review: Best of the Ballad novels
Summary: 5 Stars
Sharyn McCrumb's Ballad novels are mysteries only in a limited sense. Their main purpose is to evoke a sense of place. Set in the Appalachian (pronounced "Appal-at-chian," not "Appal-ate-chian") region of the Tennessee/North Carolina border, they are terrific at just that. I was born into that area, and McCrumb highlights all that is good about it, while leaving out most of the bad parts. In fact, the best thing I can say about them is that they bring out my sense of heritage. Even though I moved away to New England (and feel much more comfortable here), Sharyn McCrumb almost (I said almost) makes me want to go back. Her mention of cities and landmarks that I grew up with makes me hearken back to my time there. If only the South really were exactly as she writes it.
Songcatcher is the most evocative of all the Ballad series. It tells several stories that eventually overlap, but the central tale is that of Malcolm McCourry, Scottish immigrant to the New World. He tells his story of leaving his family, becoming a sailor, and settling in the new state of Tennessee to start a new family. A ballad called "The Rowan Stave" is vital to his tale, as it is to the book and McCrumb takes the time to show how that song is changed by being passed down over generations.
Meanwhile Lark McCourry is searching for that lost song sung by her ancestors while having to deal with a sick father that doesn't appreciate her fame as a folk/country singer. Her search doesn't really begin in full until she is trapped in a wrecked plane.
Ballad regulars Nora Bonesteel and Spencer Arrowood (pronounced "Ar-wood") also appear, but in less of a role. This is really the story of the McCourrys. Malcolm's story is so engrossing (and takes up a good portion of the book) that I would forget that I was reading a "mystery" novel. In Songcatcher, McCrumb has produced literature. And a book that any Southerner can be proud of.