The Ballad of Laurel Springs

By: Janet Beard

Narrated by: Jennifer Jill Araya, Andi Arndt, Robin Eller, Angel Pean, Candace Thaxton, Megan Tusing, Nancy Wu

From the internationally bestselling author of The Atomic City Girls, a provocative novel set in eastern Tennessee that “explores the legacies—of passion and violence, music and faith—that haunt one family across the generations” (Jillian Medoff, author of This Could Hurt).

Ten-year-old Grace is in search of a subject for her fifth-grade history project when she learns that her four times-great grandfather once stabbed his lover to death. His grisly act was memorialized in a murder ballad, her aunt tells her, so it must be true. But the lessons of that revelation—to be careful of men and desire—are not just Grace’s to learn. Her family’s tangled past is part of a dark legacy in which the lives of generations of women are affected by the violence immortalized in folk songs like “Knoxville Girl” and “Pretty Polly” reminding them always to know their place—or risk the wages of sin.

Janet Beard’s stirring novel, informed by her love of these haunting ballads, vividly imagines these women, defined by the secrets they keep, the surprises they uncover, and the lurking sense of menace that follows them throughout their lives even as they try to make a safe place in the world for themselves. “This inspired story of Appalachian folklore” (Publishers Weekly) will move and rouse you.

Critic reviews

"Seven narrators perform these tragic love stories, which echo one another through the years. When 10-year-old Grace asks her mother about a “murder ballad” called “Pretty Polly,” she learns it’s about her “three times” great-grandmother, Polly, who died tragically in the 1890s. Each chapter, skillfully narrated by a different narrator, features four elements: a descendant of Polly, a child, a murder ballad, and a death. The narrators craft their performances to embrace the rural Appalachian culture and the women who sing these sad songs. While listeners rarely hear the melodies of these haunting murder ballads, their meanings ring clear, as do the string of tragic love stories, each revolving around a folk song that harkens back to Polly."

This was a great read!

I really loved the way the story is told from the perspective of multiple generations of women from this remote Tennessee town. I read the book in four days and was engaged for the whole book. I loved it. Themes of feminism, betrayal, and the subjective nature of history. Trigger warning for those sensitive to depictions of domestic violence.

Fantastic Fun ..

I'm from East Tennessee and go to the Smokies often, I loved this. Great way of weaving through the past and connecting a family. After I finished it I started it immediately over again. LOVED IT!!!!!!

UNEVEN

This author is a good storyteller, but doesn’t no when to stop. She does some compelling stories of intergenerational family development, but doesn’t put it together well. The next to the last section left me cold.

An Appalachian soap opera

From one generation to another love stories with weak women and unlikable men. Not a stimulating read

Beautiful

Loved this book-Easy listening-goes through generations of women. Loved it! Written well, characters easy to follow.