The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek

Cussy Mary Carter is the titular Book Woman, a rider in the Pack Horse Librarian program of President Franklin Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration, established in 1935 to bring the written word to the impoverished people living in remote rural sections of the United States. Our librarian has a route centered on the town of Troublesome in eastern Kentucky. She also happens to be the “last of her kind”, the Blue People of Kentucky who have a rare condition that turns their skin blue. Her nickname is Bluet.

We learn of the patrons along her route and become emotionally attached to a number of them as well as town people, good and bad – some rotten to the core. The love of books and reading permeate the story as does the intense racism in these hills, coves and hollers at the time. The description of each element of the story, including natural aspects and of barely inhabitable abodes is amazing at times and it is easy to visualize much of the setting.

One becomes so emotionally invested in the characters that the final hundred pages or so becomes a roller coaster of tears and cheers. By the time that I learned of Henry and Angeline's fates, I had already deemed this the best novel I'd read since finishing The Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas several months ago. It is definitely my favorite book of January and I am looking forward to reading The Book Woman's Daughter in the near futue.

3/5 stars

Solid read. Got a little repetitive in the middle which made it a it boring to read at times. It did really have more of a melodramatic ending than I expected. Idk if I'm going to read the sequel. It was interesting to learn about the blue people but I don't think it was interesting enough to continue.

The story of Bluet and her father living in the backwoods of Kentucky is fascinating. Bluet because part of the Packhorse Library project and brings books by mule to remote and poor communities in Kentucky who have no way to get to a library.

Bluet's real name is Cussy Mary and she is called Bluet because her skin is Blue. She is the last person who looks like this and is the object of prejudice and hatred, but to the people she brings books to, she is a welcome sight.

This is a wonderful story about family, friendship, loneliness, love and the hardships faced by many in rural areas throughout the 1930's and 40's.

Five stars, six stars, all the stars! Loved this book and the characters. I almost cried twice in a span of 30 minutes at one point. If you've read this book, you can probably guess which parts and why.

This was an excellent book. I am so glad it was a best seller as it is a subject I don't think I would have found on my own. I didn't have any knowledge of the pack librarian program or of families with naturally blue skin. I would definitely recommend this book for any reader looking for historical fiction based in the US. It was a nice change for me as i read a lot of Europe based HF.

While on one of my random searches for new books to read I came across this gem, highly recommended for any bibliophiles who like reading books about books or libraries or reading in general and I'm really glad I picked it up! Although fictional, it uses the real life Kentucky ‘blue people' and the Pack Horse Library Project to tell a wonderfully heart wrenching and human story.
I knew nothing about the aforementioned people or project and was highly intrigued to learn about them through the eyes of Cussy Mary or Bluet, as she's called by her many book patrons.
Not only does this story encompass the importance and necessity of books, especially through dark and trying times, it also beautifully captures the indomitable human spirit through trials and tribulations and the human heart that triumphs over it.
Bluet was an amazing character and I loved following her on her journey as a Pack Horse librarian and the many hurdles and heartbreaks she faces while navigating a world and time that was so unkind to anyone different. It highlights some very current social issues that certainly make you pause and reflect without being preachy.
My heart was thoroughly invested throughout the entire book and is an adventure and story I won't soon forget!

The historical elements, both the Kentucky blues and the Pack Horse Library Project, should have laid an exceptional foundation for literary, historical fiction. Instead, Richardson weaves a trite, tiresome tale lacking emotional depth; devoid of the truly interesting aspects of the history that could have been included; and filled with insipid and vacuous characters that do little more than play-act scenes in a poorly wrought grade school play. It was predictable, tone-deaf, uninspired (which is so disappointing considering the historical foundation) and not at all for me.

The social and historical background is very interesting. Unfortunately, the story is not.

(Note: my female friends overwhelmingly seem to have liked this book. I am male. Please discount my opinion accordingly.)

Heavyhanded, and it only got more so as it progressed. Villains and Heroes and Gruff But Doting Father and Cherubic Waifs and Smitten Young Lovers and a Moonshiner With A Heart Of Gold and of course the Dashing Eligible Bachelor Who Quietly Falls In Love With Our Heroine... yeesh. A hateful assistant librarian who only squawks, hisses, or screeches. Nasty bullies who all die (independently) at just the most plot-convenient times. The dialog, well, judge for yourself: “Pa, if there's another strike, there'll surely be more deaths. Three miners died in the last one, and a few others were left beaten and crippled, spent for life.” This would be cringeworthy if it were YA; and as best I can tell, this isn't sold as YA.

I appreciated the chance to learn of the blue people, and really enjoyed Richardson's detailed imaginings of the daily work of the Pack Horse Librarians. Her descriptions of place and time felt realistic, often heartbreakingly so. She clearly has a noble heart and a good eye for setting. I really wish I could've enjoyed her characters and dialog and story more.

This was my 50th book of 2020 and one of the best I've read. Life in Kentucky Mountains in 1936 during the great depression. Young poor girl with Blue skin has a job of carrying books on a mule to the mountain folks to borrow. Great characters and descriptions of the times back then. There is a
Romance, Racism, Sorrow & Happiness through out the book. This book has been nominated for some awards! 300 Pages. Read it! David N

This is one of those books that will stay in your heart for ever. It's even more special if you take in to account that so much of it comes from historical sources. To someone who was raised loving books it's precious.

Best book I've read so far this year. I highly recommend it!

3.5 stars. I liked it, was an interesting read for sure. Would have given it 4 stars but I thought the ending was strange/sloppy and some of the historical facts were wrong.

This book man. I loved it. I have never read anything so unique and I fell in love with the characters. It had a little of everything. Ambition, desire, struggle, disappointment. And in the end I'm surprised to say it seemed like a love story. For the good of all that you ‘love' —people, places, experiences— and most of all, books, please give yourself the joy of this novel. Really awesome story that I will be happy to read again in the future.

An enjoyable historical story about a pack-horse librarian in 1930s Kentucky.

Beautifully written and so compelling. It really was “unputdownable.” This is on my list to read again one day. I loved the addition of the WPA photographs in the back.

I have been interested in the blue people of Kentucky and the pack horse librarians, so this book seems like a good fit. I didn't expect to fall in love with Cussy Mary. She is a strong and wonderful woman. There is much to learn from her.

~Check out all my reviews over on The Bent Bookworm!~ TW: death, racial prejudice, rape, sexual assault.The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is a fabulous book. It's very narrow in focus, which I think is what gave the author the ability to drop her readers into 1920s backwoods Kentucky in such a believable way. The blue skinned people of Kentucky and the Pack Horse Librarian Project are both from real history and it was just a real treat to read about something so real and yet so unknown.“I was to stay put, and exactly where they wanted to keep me put. Beneath them. Always and alone.”I loved Cussy. She's had the short end of the stick in life, but she hasn't let it completely beat her down. She loves her books, and her father, and despite things really looking dim she refuses to give up hope of a better life. Cussy is nineteen years old, with blue skin, in a society that beats her down for both. Looked at as basically “worse than colored,” her father is desperate to get her married since he knows his own days are numbered, due to being a miner and afflicted with black lung. He fears for her and this is the only way he can (he thinks) be sure she is taken care of and provided for after he is gone. His plan does not work out well for Cussy, and only stirs things with the local people that already look at both of them as outcasts.Despite all the odds against her, Cussy finds a huge solace in her job as a “book woman,” one of the several female librarians who take books to the VERY farflung mountain people. She is so passionate about literacy, and helping all her patrons better themselves. My heart hurt as she constantly ran up against prejudice, not just for her oddly-colored skin but for just being a woman. Even the local doctor (someone who is supposed to be about HELPING people) is more interested in her for his ulterior reasons of figuring out her blue skin – no matter what her thoughts on the matter.I also really loved that eventually, Cussy meets someone who hasn't always lived in the hollers. Just as her mind has been expanded by books even though she's never been outside Kentucky, the stranger has both traveled (extensively, by local standards) and read, and he treats her as a person regardless of her skin or gender. There isn't really a HEA, but there is hope, and to me that is even more important.This book was SO important to me on a personal level. My family – on both sides – is from the hills and hollers of West Virginia. My parents were the first generation to move outside the same county for over a hundred years, outside the state EVER. I grew up all over the United States and the world but I am still extremely conscious of my Appalachian roots, and sadly very little has changed in many areas where my extended family still lives. They – we – need more people like Cussy.Blog Twitter Bloglovin Instagram

Fascinating historical fiction combining the blue-skinned people of Kentucky and the Pack Horse librarians of the Depression, who traveled through the backwoods of Appalachia to deliver books to its poor and isolated residents. Cussy Mary, also known as Bluet, is brave, generous, loyal and hard-working. She takes her role as the titular Book Woman of Troublesome Creek very seriously, and tries to find the right book for each patron. Because of her blue skin she is subject to fear, prejudice, abuse, and violence from the townspeople, but most of the hillfolk who rely on her book deliveries treat her with respect and gratitude.

This isn't an easy book to read; Cussy Mary's story includes poverty, hunger, illness and death several times over (including the death of young children), and even members of the healing profession treat her as subhuman in their attempts to understand the reason for her unusual skin color. There is an understated love story and a glimpse of happiness, but even that is marred by ugliness. The book ends rather abruptly and although it is a hopeful ending, I'm subtracting a star for the author's insistence on leaving the reunion of Cussy Mary and her true love off the page. Still, this is a unique story and a “footnote in history” that deserves to be better known.

ARC received from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

I learned a lot while reading this book, about the blue people of Kentucky, Appalachian culture, and more. The story was nicely told, if a bit predictable. It was an interesting look into something I hadn't known about before.