The Coalwood Way: A Memoir (2001) - Plot & Excerpts
This is the second book that Homer Hickam wrote about his life and the troubles he has. An autobiography that covers his life, Homers, in his last year in high school. With a total of 360 pages it was finished in 2001. With the title “The Coalwood Way” it is very easy to figure out what the book is about, and that is what it’s like to live in Coalwood. tThis book is about Homer as a teenager and how he and his dad just can’t seem to get along with one another even though they still love one another. It goes around showing how Homer is starting to realize how bad it really is for everyone around him for finical problems and everything else for the first time in his life. The town Coalwood being owned by the steel company, that is a very greedy company, is starting to make things hard for everyone and people are losing their jobs and homes.tThe problem with the steel company is never resolved completely in this part of Homer Hickam’s life and may have never been but the problem with his dad is slightly resolved though. His dad still doesn’t completely understand his son but he does give in to what he is doing. As for the coal mines his dad opens the 11 east mine up again and they find more coal mines, which requires more men to work on it so more men have jobs.tNot the best book in the world but is a very interesting book that has to deal with both suspense and truth in it that really happened. On top of being a real thing that people had to live through it also is a very knowable book about rockets a great companion with the fist book “Rocket Boys”. It is not a book for everyone simply because most people don’t have interests in other people’s lives.tHomer Hickam is an easy character to sympathies with. He is a person that goes through many things that you have. He has had loss, sadness, happiness, and many great trials that many have to go through also. In all I think this is a very good book to read if you just love to read any book you can get your hand on. If you aren’t I don’t think you will like this book.
If you had asked me after I finished Rocket Boys, the first part of Hickam's biography, I would have told you it was deeply personal and very real. After finishing this second installment I can honestly say that there was much more to come. Rocket Boys covered the years from Sputnik to high school graduation in 1960. Coalwood Way covers only the fall of 1959 but it covers that period in an in-depth way that shows just how powerful a writer Hickam is - and how traumatic such a short period of time can be to a teenager. The first book spend most of its time covering the building of the rockets and the development of the relationships between the boys and the adults who helped or hindered that project. The 2nd book is much more insular, dealing with Sonny's relationship with his parents and brother, with all its ups and downs. As always, the coal mine in Coalwood, WV plays a major role as the town revolves around its workings.This is a great series of books and I can't wait to read the next episode.
What do You think about The Coalwood Way: A Memoir (2001)?
It's a wonder Homer Hickam Jr. could remember all those details about his life at sixteen years old. Clever, honest, and although nothing really massive or suspenseful or gripping occurs at the end of every page, when the end of page comes you cannot help but turn it over and continue. The very wit and intelligence and clarity with which the author conveys his every experience is entrancing.Loaded with country sayings. If you grew up in the mountains but don't live there anymore and find yourself wishing you did, read The Coalwood Way. If you grew up in the city and have no idea what I mean by country sayings, read The Coalwood Way. If you grew up, read The Coalwood Way.
—Stacy
Listened to the audiobook from Recorded BooksNarrated By: Frank MullerHomer Hickam is the #1 New York Times best-selling author whose life inspired the critically acclaimed film October Sky. In The Coalwood Way he returns to his childhood home of Coalwood, West Virginia for an inspiring memoir about growing up in a town that’s slowly fading away. Homer and his close buddies, who call themselves the Rocket Boys, are high school seniors in 1959. Their rocket building experiments amaze the locals, thanks to top-quality moonshine for fuel, “liberated” materials, and Homer’s self-taught understanding of higher math. But no matter how brilliant their experiments are, they can do little to help preserve Coalwood’s way of life. With the coal mine on its last legs, prospects for the town are unpredictable at best. For anyone who’s ever dreamed of greatness or wondered what an uncertain future might bring, this book will seem warmly familiar. Frank Muller’s affectionate narration captures both the spirit of ambition and the spectre of gloomy prospects.
—Johnsergeant
