// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did "Rednecks" say to the bookshelf? You're neck and neck.
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| Author | Taylor Brown |
|---|---|
| Genre | Historical fiction |
| Published | 2024 |
| Publisher | St. Martin's Press |
Rednecks is a 2024 historical fiction novel by Taylor Brown based on the West Virginia coal wars.
Plot summary
[edit]The novel focuses on the camp doctor "Doc Moo" Muhanna, Frank Hugham, an African-American World War I veteran and coal miner, and Frank's grandmother Beulah. It opens with the Battle of Matewan, a major inflection point in the West Virginia coal wars.
Reception
[edit]Gabino Iglesias called it "a superb historical drama full of violence and larger-than-life characters that chronicles the events of 1920 and 1921 as it explores the people and reasons behind the largest labor uprising in American history."[1] In Plateau Magazine, Marianne Leek wrote that "it’s Brown’s richly drawn imagined characters that add a layer of poetic beauty and complexity to this novel."[2] It won the 2025 Southern Book Prize.[3]
References
[edit]- ↑ Iglesias, Gabino (2024-05-23). "'Rednecks' chronicles the largest labor uprising in American history". NPR. Retrieved 2025-05-23.
- ↑ "Book review of Rednecks by Taylor Brown". theplateaumag.com. Retrieved 2025-05-23.
- ↑ "2025 Southern Book Prize Winners".