In the prologue to Silas House’s 2001 debut novel, Clay’s Quilt, the reader is privy to the conversation of a carload of riders on an icy Appalachian mountain. The conditions are dangerous, but beyond that, there’s clearly something else causing tension.
We jump forward fifteen years, and meet our protagonist, Clay Sizemore. He’s a young miner, trying to find his place in the world, and he lost his mother on that icy mountain night when he was just four years old. Despite his limited time with her, Clay has grown up much like his mother Anneth: He’s a little wild, but he’s good with people. He’s spiritual, but doesn’t respond to his family’s organized religion. He’s a passionate young man, responding deeply to music and the land. He still feels rootless because of the mysteries that still envelop his past.
The novel deals with Clay’s coming of age, particularly in terms of his relationships. He has to form adult relationships with his aunts and uncles, help his pregnant cousin Dreama negotiate her young marriage, and figure out how his friendship with his best friend Cake should progress as they outgrow weekends of wild partying. Most importantly, he falls for Alma, a gifted young fiddler who’s married to an abusive man. Divorce is frowned upon by her family, and her husband is a dangerous man to cross. As if all this weren’t enough to figure out, he also slowly pieces together the mystery of what happened to his mother, the identity of his father, and how he can reconcile past and present.
You’ll feel the suspense as Clay does, trying to figure out how he’s going to navigate life’s puzzle. But even better, Silas House creates likable characters with believable flaws. His understanding and love for his Appalachian home is obvious on every page. These aren’t anybody’s stereotypical hillbillies, but their lives do move to different rhythms, and through this novel, even a city reader can begin to understand those rhythms. House shows how powerful influences like substance abuse, a love of music, complicated family ties, or connection with home lands change people, both for better and for worse. The people of this book are grounded, and only a writer who is grounded himself could capture this so effectively.
Anyone who loves literature about the South, about country people, or about human relationships should make a beeline to one of House’s three novels. The others are called A Parchment of Leaves and The Coal Tattoo.
Check the WRL catalog for Clay’s Quilt
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