The Ballad of Frankie Silver
by Sharyn McCrumb

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Book Reviews of The Ballad of Frankie Silver

Book Review: Storytelling at its best
Summary: 5 Stars

1) Her exquisite storytelling ability is historically accurate. If the times are set in the early 1830's, she is not going to write in a contemporary style. She captures the dialogue of the era based on written documents of the time. Therefore, her dialogue sounds stilted or dry at times.

2) Ms. McCrumb is a baby boomer. One complaint was that the stories were about people in an older generation. Well, to that I suggest our young reader return to Harry Potter and wait for puberty to pass. McCrumb is a middle-aged adult who writes for adults.

3)When history is viewed as dry and boring, (I fault public school education for teaching history as a dry and boring subject) McCrumb's ballad books will also seem dry and boring. When history is viewed as the true tale of humanity, there is much to learn from her books. Or, to quote George Santayana: "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it." We do not know where we are going if we do not know where we have been.

4) McCrumb's ballad series have overall themes, in other words, a big picture. For example, in the "Ballad of Frankie Silver" the theme is the inequality of justice for poor people. She even explains the theme in the Author Notes at the end of the book. If one has trouble with big pictures, or synthesizing information, he or she will be disappointed with McCrumb's ballad series.

And finally, 5) McCrumb's ballad series is written for thinkers. In the age of fast-paced computer technology, her ballad series books are slow by comparison. They reflect the pace of the times in which she writes.

The above reasons probably explain why a lot of people don't like her ballad series books, but they are exactly why I love them. I especially respect the fact that McCrumb writes for herself. She is true to her own voice and heritage and writes with honesty. She does not seem to have a need to write for false mass appeal to make a buck. She keeps her integrity as a writer and still manages to be on the Best Seller list. In other words, she hasn't sold out. I don't believe many popular authors can make the same claim.

Summary of The Ballad of Frankie Silver

Historical Books

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