The similarity of this novel to one written by Jojo Moyes is very striking but I won’t get into that book world conflict here. You can google it if you are interested. I have already read The Giver of Stars by Moyes and I loved it. See my review here. Richardson’s book about the packhorse librarians of Kentucky was an assignment for our book club so I decided to read it as well and compare. I liked it just as much, maybe even a little bit more. In addition to the WPA packhorse project, she includes history of those who suffered from a rare congenital phenomenon called methemoglobinemia. Wow, that’s a mouthful! It is not something I had ever heard of before, but it simply refers to people who had blue skin, a rare condition that carried with it racial stigma and superstitious beliefs.
Cussy Mary Carter is the last of her kind, her skin the colour of a blue damselfly. But that doesn’t mean she’s got nothing to offer. As a member of the Pack Horse Library Project, Cussy delivers books to the hill folk of Troublesome, hoping to spread learning in desperate times. But not everyone is so keen on Cussy’s family or the Library Project, and the hardscrabble Kentuckians are quick to blame Cussy for any trouble in their small town.
In writing the novel, the author’s hope was to humanise and bring understanding to the gracious blue-skinned people of Kentucky, to pay tribute to the fearsome Pack Horse librarians, and to write a human story set in a unique landscape. She also describes the appalling conditions of the mines and early efforts to unionise and protect exploited workers. The brave and dedicated librarians travelled on horseback to remote and poverty stricken regions of the Appalachians. They brought children’s books, novels, magazines, newspapers, and scrapbooks containing clippings like recipes and sewing patterns. The librarians were a vital connection to the outside world for those living remotely, a source of encouragement and hope, and a caring check-in for households that were often in need. Being a packhorse librarian was dangerous and exhausting work. Their dedication to literacy and the wellbeing of their community was self-less and exceptional and compelling to read about!
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