Photos of the pack librarians of the early 20th century have been all over library social media recently, so I was pleased to find a book about the service. While this story includes the pack service as a central element, the real story is Book Woman Cussy Mary, a member of blue people of Kentucky. Not only is Cussy Mary a woman attempting to develop a career as a librarian, she is also different because of the blue color of her skin. I was prompted to research the blue people because I’d never heard of them, and was fascinated to learn about how the families evolved.
The story here is hard to read, given the horrible living conditions of people in the Kentucky hills in the early 20th century, which were even worse for women and those who were different. I was surprised and unsettled by the violence against Cussy Mary so early in the book, and had to actually put it down for awhile to process what happened to her. I did pick up again and finish the book, finding comfort in the fact that she eventually ends up okay, but the path there was so filled with bigotry, hatred, and violence that I would warn readers who are triggered by violence against women and minorities to be cautious reading this.
Published By: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: May 7, 2019
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy
It's All About the Book 