Seven top books about Appalachia

Kaytie Norman joined Open Road Integrated Media in 2019 after spending three years writing and editing books for Media Lab Books. Her hobbies include cooking, honing her Liz Lemon impression and encouraging people to read Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. At Early Bird Books she tagged seven eye-opening books about Appalachia, including:

Child of God
By Cormac McCarthy

Set in Sevier County, Tennessee, Cormac McCarthy’s gothic novel about a serial killer is not for the faint of heart. The writing style jumps between first-person narration, near poetic prose and clear description, and all comes together to tell the story of Lester Ballard. Depressed and violent, Lester’s tale explores isolation, sexual deviancy, cruelty and survival—all in 1960s Appalachia.

Read about the other entries on the list.

Child of God is among Laura Benedict's nine "unlikeable" protagonists in literature and Glenn Skwerer's ten top real-life monsters in fiction.

--Marshal Zeringue