Coal Dust on Purple Asters by Jeffrey L. Carrier: Hunger and Hardship Pressed Close

Coal is as much a part of the landscape of Appalachia as poverty and struggle. Coal Dust on Purple Asters illuminates the resilience that binds people to the land and back again.

God’s wrath breaks free from the heavens, pouring down in biblical fashion. The people of Burfield County have grown up accustomed to the threat of looming disaster. This time around, retribution seeks out a target who hopes to redeem himself before the floodwaters sweep the town off its foundations.

Choice is in limited supply up in the mountains. There is little room for ambition when sacrificing for one’s family and community is an expectation from birth. The path of criminality chosen by two brothers ends in tragedy, giving those sworn to love them an opportunity to learn what it means to rebuild. Meanwhile, a boy who dares to dream of adventure must leave his whole world behind him to escape certain death in the belly of the coal mines.

Spoiler-Free Plot

The rumour mill grinds ever faster, with the Hicks family as its main subject. Everyone notices Wiley Hicks’ absences, with the gaps between his visits home growing longer each time. Winter found him needing a place to brood, but as the snow melts, releasing the world from its frozen slumber, he swiftly returns to his old ways. His desperate wife sends a plea to the heavens. Chinquapin Holler is blessed with rainfall in return.

Everything is in short supply in the Owens household. Life is lived day to day, sliced into meagre portions that leave everyone unsatisfied with their lot. External accolades mean nothing if they don’t put food on the table. Zeke Owens is the opposite of his brothers-in-law: a hardworking and honest man who puts the wellbeing of his family, including his in-laws, above all else. Unfortunately, no good deed goes unpunished. The misdeeds of the Tompkins boys eventually catch up to them all in dramatic fashion.

Almost every family in the region is one wage away from financial ruin, as the Gibsons come to find out. Were it not for Grandpa Clarence, Evvie and her children wouldn’t have lasted more than a couple of weeks after the tragic passing of two of their loved ones. Survival supersedes desire. A young James Herald is called upon to take up the reins of familial responsibility now left untended. He is desperate to keep his dreams of trains and travel alive, defending them to whatever end.

My Take on Coal Dust on Purple Asters

The short but illuminating introduction to this book gives readers important background that enhances the three short stories that lie ahead. Members of author Jeffrey L. Carrier’s own family share their likeness with the characters, as well as their struggles, fears, culture, and way of life. Their world is layered on top of the fictional Burfield County, Kentucky.

It feels like an ode to one’s lineage, the regional charm of their lives memorialised and expressed with a deep appreciation for the good, the bad, and the ugly, simply for being what it is. The endearing familial qualities and fond memories of time spent in the rural land where the roots of his family tree are deeply implanted leave a lasting impression. Their effect on readers’ minds extends far beyond the three pages that contain them.

We find our minds wandering to our own genealogy, with stories as unique as the leaves on a tree. This book is a reminder of the significance of the past, releasing a wave of sonder as we realise that those whose lives felt so small and contained once lived vivid lives rich with their own complexities and wonders.

While there is a prevailing austerity about the characters and their environment, my only criticism would be how this is carried forward into certain elements of the stories. I would’ve liked to experience more of everything: more emotion, more discussion, more exposition, more description. What we are given is enjoyable, but it could do with a heavier helping of more of the same.

I felt as though the characters and their surroundings had plenty more to give. It would only be a matter of figuring out the wheres, the whats, and the whens. This should really be considered a non-complaint: the author is suffering from the success of his effective writing in this regard. A book with more Appalachia-based stories, or even a novel expanding a single story across 100 pages or more, would do quite well, in my opinion.

Age Rating

16 years and above.

Content Warning

Death, foul language, infidelity, murder, and violence.

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