When we began reading Whistlin’ and Crowin’ Women of Appalachia by
Katherine Kelleher Sohn I was very skeptical. Reading a dissertation piece for class was uncharted territory for me. Never having read a dissertation piece I didn't know what to expect. I went into it expecting the worst, but I gained a lot of interest as I continued on. I greatly enjoyed the stories told from the perspectives' of Jean, Sarah and Lucy. The way Sohn laid the book out gave you great background detail into all three of the Appalachian women's lives. What I enjoyed most about it was reading the hardships that these women overcame. To me this book was almost inspiring. That being said, I didn't appreciate Sohn changing the dialect of the women. She mentions in chapter one how she changes the grammar of the women, yet it doesn't seem fair to take that personal identity away from them. All in all I enjoyed the reading and feel as though I gained more knowledge of Appalachia. The dissertation proved to be entertaining and informative, and proved my skepticism wrong.
I was also unsure of what to expect when I began reading Sohn's book as it was related to her dissertation work. It also did not take me long to become interested in the topic as I learned a lot from these women that helped me to understand their culture. I agree with you that she may have taken away from the stories by changing the dialect of these women.
ReplyDeleteI felt the same way going in when we had to read this book. It took me a minute to really give in to reading it. I think it was a well laid out book. Even though it was a dissertation, I agree with you about the fact that hearing the women's stories from their perspective was a great touch to it. Sohn was able to make the book move along like a story, which was nice. You're right that it was pretty inspiring to hear about how far they made it from what they started with. As for changing the dialect, I can't decide if I agree with you or not. I am afraid I would have had trouble reading it had it been in their dialect, but I do agree it took away from their identities. You gave a nice review of the book. I was able to agree or see where you were coming from with the points you made.
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