{"product_id":"kinfolks-the-wilgus-stories-paperback-softback-9780917788109","title":"Kinfolks; The Wilgus Stories (Paperback \/ softback) 9780917788109","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eKinfolks\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eThe Wilgus Stories\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eGurney Norman (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780917788109\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePaperback \/ softback, published 1 January 1977\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e128 pages\u003cbr\u003e17.8 x 14 x 1 cm, 0.162 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eTen spare short stories, set in eastern Kentucky, which revolve around the relationships over two decades of a poor working-class hill family. All the stories stay on the surface of people’s lives, but the surface is a telling, rich one of everyday speech and gestures. Most are at least in part about Wilgus Collier, whom we meet first as a young farm boy surrounded by argumentative relatives, and whom we follow into his twenties, when he visits home for a weekend after college (and is still surrounded by argumentative relatives). Mr. Norman is especially good at writing about the high currents of feeling that perpetually anger and annoy close members of a family.\u003c\/p\u003e (The New Yorker) \u003cp\u003eA collection of stories portraying the adventures of Wilgus Collier and his relationships with his family in eastern Kentucky in the years following WWII. Unlike Norman’s first novel, \u003ci\u003eDivine Right’s Trip,\u003c\/i\u003e a story of the American counterculture, \u003ci\u003eKinfolks\u003c\/i\u003e is about growing up in the Kentucky coal country. However, it does resemble Norman’s earlier work in its protagonist’s gradual progress toward self-discovery. Only nine years old in the first story, Wilgus grows in understanding about himself, the complex personalities of his relatives, and his ties with them. . . . Norman’s characterizations are sharp and clear, his stories well paced, and his themes should have significance for a wide range of readers.\u003c\/p\u003e (Choice) \u003cp\u003eThe title of this collection announces its two major subjects and themes: kinship and the relationships between family members-specifically, by the use of the Appalachian term \u003ci\u003ekinfolks,\u003c\/i\u003e an Appalachian family; and the focus on one particular person, Wilgus Collier. Unlike many other collections of short stories, these ten stories published together in 1977 are unified by this focus on subject and by a focal character. The stories can surely be read individually and each one analyzed separately, but they can also be read collectively as a kind of novel.\u003c\/p\u003e (Journal of Kentucky Studies) \u003cp\u003eLike Sherwood Anderson's \u003ci\u003eWinesburg, Ohio\u003c\/i\u003e or Hemingway's Nick Adams stories, both of which it resembles in form and style, \u003ci\u003eKinfolks\u003c\/i\u003e is a short-story cycle dramatizing the growth of a young boy to early manhood, particularly as his development is reflected in changing relationships within a large Appalachian family. Like that of his mentors, [Gurney] Norman's work is novelistic in scope while preserving in the individual episodes the essential qualities of the short story. . . Norman may be the outstanding Appalachian storyteller of his generation.\u003c\/p\u003e (Louisville Courier-Journal)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished in 1977 by Gnomon Press.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eKinfolks\u003c\/i\u003e is a novelistic collection of short stories centered around Wilgus Collier, a young boy growing up in rural Kentucky during the 1940s and 1950s. The stories follow Wilgus from childhood into his early adulthood, exploring his relationships with his extended family and his Appalachian community.\u003cbr\u003e Gurney Norman introduces readers to Wilgus’s world through a series of vignettes that depict experiences with his family, particularly his parents and grandparents. These stories highlight the challenges and joys of rural life, offering a poignant look at complex family dynamics and the deep-rooted traditions of Appalachia.\u003cbr\u003e Throughout the book, Norman’s writing is characterized by its rich, evocative descriptions of the Appalachian landscape and its authentic portrayal of the region’s culture and people. \u003ci\u003eKinfolks\u003c\/i\u003e-adapted for the screen as \u003ci\u003eThe Wilgus Stories\u003c\/i\u003e-is celebrated for vivid storytelling that captures the essence of life in Kentucky coal country.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Distributed Titles","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52584774205720,"sku":"9780917788109","price":12.87,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/kinfolks-the-wilgus-stories-paperback-softback-9780917788109","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}