Denise Giardina Books

This is one of the best-edited anthologies I've ever read. The poems show such a diversity of talent and there is real meaning in their placement within the volume.

For anyone interested in Appalachia, the mining industry (no matter what your take), American History or current events, it just has something in it for everyone. Very well done! I recommend it to anyone interested in contemporary poetry.

A compelling story that brings a little know era of US history to life. The characters are developed richly throughout the book. The author pulls no punches in terms of bringing the circumstances of the early days of coal mining to life. I read this in the context of a book group. Some members found it hard to follow the many characters. I found the author's treatment of them to be interesting and enjoyed the shifting of perspective.

If you like historical fiction with well-developed characters and you have even a passing interest in Appalachia, you will enjoy Storming Heaven.

Storming Heaven is a retelling of the unionization of the Coal Mines in Rural West Virginia and Kentucky. This is a tale of stolen land and power crazy coal owners that will go to any length to get the coal. It is very heart wrenching to read this story. At the very end, the author has an afterword, which leads me to believe this is based on a true event and even uses the real name of the people involved. The characters are very true to life and the dialect is spot on. Anyone who wants about the history of the area, should include this book in their must read list.

This book was masterfully crafted with in-depth insights into the characters, the nature, the culture, and the time. At times, it is absolutely thrilling and other times it is heart-wrenchingly sad. A definite must-read.

Most of this book is written in hill people style speak. So unless your house has wheels on it, you also will find this type of diction very annoying to read. I was turned off by this after the second chapter. I was assigned to read this book for a class so instead of throwing it into a fire; I continued reading hoping it would get better. My hopes were never realized and I was actually happy when one of the main characters was cut down by machine gun fire. A good author is supposed to get the reader to empathize with the characters, not pray for their deaths. Trust me save your money pass this one buy.

Between 1910 and 1920, one million people moved to the coal fields of West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia. Hundreds of thousands of folks who were already there were sucked into the coal mines or run off their lands into the coal mines by the combination of big coporations and the governments they bought from Washington down to each county and town. Some were mountaineers from the region, some were immigrants from Italy, Hungary, and Poland, and some like my grandfather Henry Hudson Jones were Black miners from Alabama who thought they could make more money and have less Jim Crow up there.

This book is the story of those people and the struggles they had with the coal companies and the bosses' government. It is told not historically but in the voice of four different people who are not just examples for history but real people struggling for love, to fit into or get away from their families, and who learning about life.

This is a good read, a page turner that does not need to be melodramatic because the lives of its characters have such real drama.

I enjoyed the way the author tried to inhabit the voice of her characters by having them (with the exception of her Italian character) speak in the language that they would have used. However, I am familiar with that language from people in my family as well as having spent years studying Appalachian folk music. I am not sure how someone not familiar with these varients of English would have found this novel.

I live in Florida, but I am in touch with people in the coal fields. Old mines are being reopened in the Appalachians due to the high price of oil and the cheapness of coal. Mining companies are being set up with the same greed that powered the exploiters described in this novel, often with a get rich at any cost while the oil prices are high approach. There are expanding battles coal miners are facing in the Western coal fields in Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming that are now the center of the expansion of the mining industry. Battles are taking place in the West where the new militancy of immigrant workers especially from Mexico has given strength to the UMWA.

Moreover, people in coal areas of Appalachian and no doubt the West, are facing ecological disasters--floods, ruined water, higher risks for cancer and other diseases--as a result of the rapacious way mining was and is being done.

And every year more miners are being killed, more miners are being injured, as safety is disregarded. Unionization a life and death question for miners and their families. Fewer accidents and death take place in mines where the union mobilizes miners to defend their rights to safety and health.

Of course, in a larger sense, all working folks and farmers are up against the same greedy capitalism we see in this novel. We've got no other solution but to get together and realize that we are in a war with the big business system, with the politicians in the Democrat and Republican party supported by that, and we need to follow the example of the fighting miners we read about in Storming Heaven.

After saying all these things about the social and political questions, I want to emphasize that this book sensitively describes the lives of real people, not just in the face of the mines and the struggle but in the real ways we all reach out for love and identity.

This is one where you really feel bad that the book ends. I hope Denise Giardina and other children of the mountains have more like this.

A powerful novel about an inspiring man. I read this book some time ago, but now that I'm an Amazon reviewer I wanted to revisit it -- her portrait of Bonhoeffer and his world, the courage in his spirit has stayed with me. This is not great art, but it is a fine historical novel, a compelling story, and a great example for the rest of us.

Like Schindler's story, Giardina's novel introduces to us a story that some of us may never have known before. This novel introduced me to a real figure who is very inspiring and very human. Too many historic "heroes" seem like myths or memories. Giardina cures this illness by making Bonhoeffer real, and making him exist once again. It is both an important and well told story, based on something terrifying and real. This is the novel that developed my interest in Bonhoeffer and his life.

Giardina teaches at West Virginia State College, the school that I attend. I have had the opportunity to take her Fiction Writing Workshop class. A friend recommened this novel to me. It remains my favorite Giardina novel. Serious, but entertaining. Touching and compassionate. This is one of the greatest books I have ever read.

Before I read this book I had just read "Cup of Wrath" by Mary Glazner and though the later was a much better portrait of Bohnoeffer, has friends and family, and was a much better written version of the German mindset during the Nazi rise to power. This book was fine, but the dialogue was very unprofound and seemed too-well scripted. Much of the words the author puts in Bohnoeffer's mouth felt ...unconvincing. Many of the scenes, such as the scene were Dietrich's black friend is refused service, come off overly-contrived and riddled with cliche. I also didn't find the writing to be incredibly sophisticated and the overall book didn't leave me thinking much. It almost seemed like it was written for more of a young adult audience? Overall: there is a much better product out there.

I bought this book because I had some knowledge of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and because I've read several Ballantine's Readers Circle novels and found them all to be interesting, challenging, and worth my time. Saints and Villains has made me think again about Jews and their place in European history. I have known of the Holocaust since I was a small child, but this novel made me think about day-to-day life as Hitler grew from being a fringe leader (like Pat Buchanan), frightening no one, to the leader of a warring empire, sometimes seeming unstoppable. It's hard to imagine a time in which Hitler seemed unstoppable, but I think we all must, if we can, in order to understand how fear made average people do uncommonly evil things--and, like Pastor Bonhoeffer, uncommonly good.

This book is several things. First, it is the story of a heroic man's struggle to do his part to fight the evil that he knew existed in Germany during World War Two. Second, it is a story of a boy growing into a man, imperfections and all. Third, it is about the development of one man's soul and sense of purpose. Finally, it is the story of Germany, of a country as it descends into an abyss.

The book is extremely well written. It introduces us to an "inside" view of Hitler's rise to power and Germany's response to it. We meet our hero as a boy, and watch as he grows into a man. We follow him through school, through his search for self and meaning. The main character is undoubtedly a hero, but not in a story-book sense. He is - like all of us - not a perfect being. He has trouble with relationships. He has fear - great fear. He has uncertainty. But that makes his heroism all the more striking.

Bonhoffer is from a very wealthy, famous German family. He is safe - had he sat back and kept quiet, there is little doubt that he would have made it through the war untouched. Yet, he rises to the occasion. The story is fascinating in its unique perspective - this man, from this very German family, gives us a glimpse of how Germany descended into insanity. We watch as he struggles with his own doubts, his own feelings of frustration and anger, and as he struggles with doing what is right versus fighting against his own country and government. It is simply gripping to read.

The writing is clear and crisp and filled with meaning. The story literally flows... you will find yourself unable to put the book down. Read this book and watch and as an incredible man faces danger and fear, and rises above it. A great read!

Giardina has done a marvelous job of getting us a richly textured portrait of Henry, the man as well as the king. So skilled is she that it's hard at times to know where history leaves off and her imagination takes off (for instance, Merryn was NOT an historic character, but Oldcastle was).

I have to admit being just slightly disappointed that Henry's Agincourt speech paled in comparison to Shakespeare's famous "band of brothers" soliloquy, but that's to be expected.

The main thing about this book is that you really begin to care about Harry and the people around him. You feel you understand him and even pity him. Of course, whether the real Henry V was as honorable is another whole matter. But if I wanted only facts, I would have checked the non-fiction section.

A good rousing and yet thoughtful tale.

This was so good I bought an extra copy and gave it to a homeless man. Really, really great!

Although historical fiction has always been very popular, I don't
believe that this kind of fiction--recreating a real human being's
life--has ever come into vogue as much as it has in the last
twenty-five years or so. Just in the last year I have read several of
them, including Margaret George and Nigel Tranter, and I'm sure
there are dozens more that I don't even know about. Even Ronald
Reagan's life has been fictionalized, and he hasn't even had the
good grace to pass on yet!

Normally, a writer of historical
fiction will research a particular period of time, create their own
characters, put them in place, and let them go. This personalized
kind of thing--putting a voice to a known historical figure--seems to
me to be a much more difficult task. First of all, you have to stick
to the known facts. As much as you think you know, there is always
going to be somebody out there who knows more than you, and who will
gleefully hammer you if you get something wrong. Secondly, you have
to be bold enough to use your imagination when there are gaps, and at
the same time to do so in such a way that these suppositions fit in
with things which are known. For example, Henry was known to frequent
what were considered to be lower-type establishments in his youth. It
is unlikely that he smoked opium, or engaged in homosexual conduct, to
give just a couple of bizarre examples of the way history is often
distorted. Lastly, while conforming to these strictures, you have to
do the normal things that fiction writers do; you know, like creating
character, and sustaining a compelling narrative.

Ms. Giardina has
chosen to complicate matters for herself further by fictionalizing the
life of no less a personage than Henry V, who must rank very high on
the list of well-known English monarchs. A lot of people know about
him. Oh, and one other thing: Henry V has already been done. What
was the name of that guy? The playwright?

Indeed, this is what
this book appeared to be after the first 100 pages or so: a
novelization of the great Shakespeare plays: Richard II, Henry IV part
I and II, and HenryV. But no. It is so much more than this.
Clearly, Ms. Giardina did her own research, probably utilizing many of
the sources used by the great one. It is her own project completely,
from her recreation of historical events, to her imagination of
fictional situations, and to the motivations of her characters. And
she makes them all come delightfully alive.

The plot itself is
more than you could want for intrigue and adventure. It starts with
Henry, (his nickname is Harry) as a boy. He is held hostage by
Richard, and expects to die when his father, Henry Bolingbroke, usurps
the crown. As prince he serves under his father, who despises him,
and spends years in an effort to subdue a rebellion in Wales. He
finds a girl there, starving and alone in an empty hut with her dead
mother. She will become his only true love. As a young man, and
under the care of his father's lieutenant, he discovers a plot
against his father, and escapes in the middle of the night on
horseback. He earns glory by being made a captain in his father's
army and defeating these enemies at Shrewsberry, only to learn later
that his promotion was made by those who expected and hoped he would
be killed. Eventually, his own father plots against him, the
archbishop plots against him, and other supposed allies plot against
him. And then there are those who favor the legitimate heir! Even
after he becomes king, the intrigue doesn't end. Uneasy lies the
head which wears the crown!

But that's the historical stuff. As
to the made-up stuff, most of which occurs during Henry's early
life, Giardina succeeds as well. She wisely avoids the temptation to
recreate Shakespeare's bumpkins and clowns. No Falstaff will you
find here, and smart for her not to try. But her own creations are no
less compelling, and equally believable. Henry falls in love here,
meets true friends here, and learns duplicity here. He forms a bond
with the commoners which serves him later on, making him the kind of
king he becomes.

Shakespeare's Henry is a great nationalist,
appealing to the glory of England. Other versions paint him as a
megalomaniac, arrogant, and angry that the French don't give him
his due. Giardina's Henry is motivated by wanting to do good. He
recognizes the suffering of the peasants, and feels it is his duty to
make life more bearable for them. This is his motivation for the
French invasion. France, torn by civil war, was being ripped to
pieces by raping and pillaging bands of soldiers. Henry, having
brought peace to Wales through benevolent leadership, feels it is his
duty to bring his vision across the sea. He tries, and despite great
hardship and primarily through the force of his own will, he achieves
his greatest success at Agincourt.

But victory is often elusive, and
Giardini gives us no easy answers. Henry is a conflicted, sensitive
man, and constantly doubts himself. He recognizes that both his
actions and inactions result in the death of innocents. He despairs
when he sees that the small good he accomplishes is so easily
undone.

This is a terrific book. If you are looking for adventure,
it is here. If you are looking for a solidly researched history, it
is here. If you are looking for fine literature, it is here.
Ms. Giardina should be commended. This is historical fiction at its
best.

Denise Giardina's "Good King Harry" is an in-depth exploration of one of England's most beloved characters and kings, Henry V. A comet who briefly streaked across the sky of northwest Europe, "Good King Harry" was a man who knew little of defeat yet experienced much loss, a man who bent his knee to no man but gave his soul to his beloved Welsh lass, Merryn, and a man who sought to bring peace with the sword.

Told in the first person (the language is more archaic, and slightly less accessible, than that used by other authors of medieval historical fiction such as Sharon Kay Penman or Bernard Cornwell) by Harry himself, "Good King Harry" spends as much time on Harry as a youth as it does as king. The eldest son of a warrior king, Harry is a bitter disappointment as he prefers wrestling and racing to the noble joust . . . and he also has the temerity to enjoy a little book-learnin'. The father-son disputes between king and prince are packed with as much baggage as any parent-sibling rivalry, only also with the added threat that father and son are capable of bringing swords to bear. Harry spends much of his youth balanced on the razor's edge between wilful disobedience and treason, and this battle weighs the otherwise radiant spirit down.

True, Harry does find his Falstaff in Sir John Oldcastle, who may not be as wondrous a character as Shakespeare's creation but is still a worthy comrade in cups as Harry raids the brothels and taverns of England. This relationship sours in the end, but not as expected . . . and it is a bitter schism indeed. Still, we get a lot of wenching from our beloved Prince Hal, and Giardina does not shy away from Harry diving into various beds and bottles.

Most of us know our Henry V from Shakespeare, and Giardina's Henry is true to Shakespeare's creation, even if not nearly as poetic. Her novel takes a broader scope of Henry's life, and through this wider expanse we meet Henry's true love. The Prince of Wales reluctantly goes to war in Wales to bring the rebels to heel, and in the course of doing so develops a love for his fellow Welshmen, and in particular for a Welsh maid, Merryn. A hotly contested love, Merryn is as fiery a spirit as Henry and not burdened by the weight of nobility. Giardina creates a romance for the ages with these two, and their bitter early parting is the most moving passage in the book.

Harry, as we all know, eventually becomes king and raids France. The Shakespearean Henry V is not nearly as conflicted about this raid as Giardina's, and these heavy doubts make Henry a wonderfully conflicted character. Giardina can write a battle scene very well, although she does not spend as much time with the battles as, say, Bernard Cornwell, she still throws a bunch of action at the reader.

But the high points of the book are easily Henry's emotional peaks and valleys as he contemplates his loves and his losses and the heavy price a king must pay to lead his nation. All in all, "Good King Harry" depicts a wonderful man who achieves great things -- some of them terrible, some of them astounding, but all of them great. While not the best historical fiction you can pick up, this is still an excellent book that will please fans of the Shakespearean Prince Hal/Henry V as well as those who have never experienced the Bard's take. A worthy choice.

I have just completed this book. If not for a rigorous work schedule I would have completed this book in only a few sittings. Giardina does a phenomenal job of capturing the feeling of the language Henry would have spoken without making it unreadable to modern readers. I studied the history of English monarchs and Shakespeare in college and found Henry V to be my favorite. Giardina actually creates a persona for Harry which is unlike most other authors, biographers and historians. Truly a great read and highly recommendable. I would have my English classes read this.

After the wonderful Storming Heaven I was so excited to read this book, and then so disappointed. The plot is melodramatic, the characterizations cardboard.

I loved The Unquiet Earth... I loved the relationships and determination of the characters.... After I read this book, I wanted to read it again and again.... There is one thing I suggest you do before you read this one... I suggest you read Storming Heaven.... Storming Heaven is about Dillon's mother and father, and about Tony Angelelli's mother.... If you read this one first you can get their background.... But, Unquiet Earth is hands down my favorite book!! I highly recommend reading this book! The way it is written is really good to understand what each person is thinking during each situation.... You should definitely buy this book! I hope this persuaded you to buy this book...

I really liked this book. Did I like it as much as it's predecessor 'Storming Heaven'? No. But for a sequel, it was very good, and it takes you right into the lives of the offspring of the main characters from the first book.

In fact...this book is much like the first, just in more recent times. It spans from the 1930's to 1990. But to really understand the depth and tragedy of this town, you have to have read 'Storming Heaven' first. It will help you to understand just how long the fight has been going on, where Carrie, Rachel, Dillon, and Jackie all came from, and just how much this town has already been through.

Overall, I'm very glad I found these books. It was interesting to read about the coal strikes, the floods, and all the heartache that plagued the people of this small Appalachia coal mining town. If your at all interested about life in the mountains, and how these folks lived, then definitely pick these up. Ms. Giardina grew up in a town much like the one she portrays in her books, so you can be certain she knows what she's talking about. These may be fiction books, but they're a very real look at coal miners and their families, and all the hardships they had to face.

This was one,if not the only, book that I was forced to read in college that I came away from adoring. The story, which is based on real events (national coal strikes, and the Buffalo Creek Disaster)with a small fictional liberty, is a wonderful piece of American literature that I believe can cross cultural and geographical lines of America. I loved how it followed the lives of two generations during sweeping national events and how it effected everyone, even in a little hamlet in West Virginia. I believe this movie is excellent potential for a movie adaptation. If you want to see a MOVIE that relates to this book, watch John Sayles "Matewan".

This true story takes place in the area where I grew up; I was familiar with its happening. My father was involved in these events. Although I cannot say I enjoyed the book, ( because it was so realistic and tragic), I found it very ,very well written and so moving I lived with it for weeks. It is written entirely from the miners view, and is therefore one sided, but is nevertheless accurate in content. It is obvious that the author knew these people. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the history of this area. katydid

Wow! I didn't even mean to find this in our local bookstore. There was one copy in the way back and it had me interested by the cover. Its wonderfully written with action, adventure, and love. I love how you find out about the main characters life and how she became the way she is before she starts out on her adventure. It also shows that just because you are a 50+ woman, doesn't mean you forget about how powerful love can be. I thought it was slow at first but it really picked up. If you are in the mood for witty and action packed (at least 2/3 packed) book, this one is for you. My review might not be as great as the others here, but I really enjoyed this book, take a chance and i hope you do too.

I finished this book and the only reason that I finished it was because my library was closed. This book waivers across too many genres. It is about time travel and explores the ideas of paradox, wormholes, and the math involved. But I have just gone as deep as the book did in these areas. Then it changes to a fantasy book, then a 18th century religious-political book, then finally a love book. At no point does this book really suck, but at no point does it really stand out.
I found that it read really slow and at the end of the book it sounded like Ms. Giardina got tired of the characters and finished the book.
I am not angry that I read the book but I also cannot suggest the book to anyone.

I stumbled onto this book quite by accident. Boy am I glad I did! What an excellent book! Good plot, story line, believable characters and an interesting fleshing out of theories involving time/space continuum! The story line ended in such a way that a sequel is a possibility! Being that it was published in 2003, maybe there's still hope for a follow up; she can't leave it with the skeleton still in the cave!!! I just can't imagine them getting so close and then failing. On the edge of your seat page turner! ENJOY

Yes - this book is like The Outlander series in the theory of "falling through stones" into another era - but the writing is different, the story line different - and both are imaginative and fun. Read The Outlander series first - and then read this with the idea of having a fun read. Yes - she left it open for a sequel when, at the end, the skeleton hides something other than the celtic cross - but isn't that what good books do - take you down more paths and leave story lines open? Take a chance and read this - even if you get it at the library. It is worth the time and you will be rewarded with wishing time travel were a possibility for yourself.

I liked Ms. Giardina's story. Set in south-central West Virginia, Ms. Giardina weave the history of the area with the local roadside tourist attractions and creates an entertaining story. Lyddie, with her obscure beginnings, returns home when her beloved uncle (and guardian) dies. While going through his belongings, she finds a key to a red door, located in a local tourist attraction. As she explores the underground cavern, and yes, is transported in time to 17th century England, she unlocks the secrets of her family and her passions.

Appalachia has a mysticism that appeals to many people. Fallam's Secret tells a story that contains the mysticism, the grit, and the integrity of an isolated group of people.