A while ago I was blown away by Wiley Cash’s debut novel, A Land More Kind Than Home, and so when I heard he would be releasing a new novel, I knew I would have to pick it up immediately. Moreover, he would be promoting the book on its release day at our campus. I went to the event, of course, not only to get a copy of the new book The Last Ballad and to get Cash to sign my copy of A Land More Kind Than Home, but also to hear him speak about the inspiration behind The Last Ballad. The event combined an interview between Cash and Charles Frazier (the author of Cold Mountain) with an exquisite ballad singer.

I finally made it through The Last Ballad, despite having been reading it throughout the fall semester. The novel tells the story of Ella May Wiggins who organized an integrated worker’s union during the Gastonia Textile Strike in 1929, and lost her life for it. The novel had a variety of touchstones in modern American culture and it was interesting to read the story of a woman who has been lost to history. Once again, Cash delivered the story through beautiful lyrical prose. 

After reading these two novels by Cash, I would highly recommend his works, even though I still have yet to read his second novel, This Dark Road to Mercy. I am definitely planning on reading the last book as soon as possible, but who really knows when I'll get to it... Let me know down in the comments if you've read anything by Wiley Cash!

-Laura