Sharyn McCrumb should definitely be listened to! I recently listened to two of Sharyn McCrumb’s books on audio.
Hearing the music that inspired the stories made the experience richer!
While I enjoyed reading The Ballad of Frankie Silver, hearing it performed
gave me a deeper understanding of the music. The cadence of Appalachia
with it’s rich history and folk lore woven together by a master storyteller such
as Ms. McCrumb gives her readers a tapestry of beauty and legend that could
only exist in Appalachia.
Ms. McCrumb weaves legend and lore with the present showing us how the
past can influence today. The beautiful awful story of Frankie Silver is uncovered
by Tennessee, Sheriff Arrowood as memory, the site and police detection come
together to unravel a century old mystery. The resemblance of this past tragedy
brings an enlightening to a more pressing duty. The truth is not always enough to
bring justice.
In If I Ever Return, Pretty Peggy-O, Sharyn McCrumb shines the light on the soldiers’
plight, returning from war isn’t easy and some can never come home. The tangle of
Vietnam veterans and the very real burden of PTSD, Appalachian folk music and the
perversion of the truth twine together for this exciting murder mystery.
Listening to the audiobook brought the story to life. Hearing the music of the mountains
with their pure notes balanced against the stark contrast of the present gave innocence
to the tale as the darkness of madness and war ripped at the quiet little town.
