In the Fields of Fatherless Children: Book Review

I reviewed this one for the Historical Novel Society’s May issue. Absolutely loved it, and it was selected as an Editor’s Choice. It’s set in my favorite place–Appalachia.

Book Description

In late 1960s Appalachia, many things loom darkly over June Branham. The Vietnam War is dividing the country, and a strip mine is eating away the mountain at the head of the holler where she lives, threatening the natural landscape and the only way of life she has ever known. While still in high school, June has fallen in love. She is pregnant, and the father may be Ellis Akers. Ellis is the son of Solomon, a mortal enemy of June’s stepfather, Isom. The feud is so old it fuels two vengeful men with the power of long animosity between rival families.

June’s brother, Tom, leaves to enlist in the war, and so does Ellis. Suddenly, June is on her own, at sixteen with a newborn, and is a mother unable to protect her daughter from the wrath of Isom. Without warning, her baby is kidnapped. Guided by her love for the generations of women before her, but now desperately alone, June must carefully navigate the search for her child alongside family and strangers in a wild and disappearing landscape.

In the Fields of the Fatherless Children is a powerful story of love and perseverance, masterfully told by a writer of exquisite care who intimately knows the rural people of this time and place.

Book Review

Appalachia, 1960s. June is pregnant and sixteen, and that is just the beginning of her problems. The young man she loves, Ellis, is of mixed race and is the son of her racist stepfather’s enemy, escalating a longtime feud. Then Ellis and June’s brother Tom are sent to Vietnam, and she just tries to survive. But her infant daughter is taken away right after birth by her stepfather, who will not allow a child with dark skin in his house. With help from this world, and the next, June leaves her small town in order to find her child. She begins a long and difficult journey, pursued by someone who cares little for her life and wants to take her daughter for themselves.

Gorgeous, lyrical writing and authentic Appalachian dialect make the culture of a 1960s coal mining town come alive. Impressive writing intertwines life in a coal mining town with the faraway war. For example: “Up on the mountain, another explosion. June pictured tree roots wrenched from the earth, dirt and rock bursting up from the ridge, peppering back to the ground, the same way the muted explosions of Vietnam came across Rena’s TV.” As June sets out with her own life on the line in pursuit of her child, other mothers are losing theirs to a war in another land.

The story is told mostly from the points of view of June, her mother, Bethel, and Granny Justice, who has passed away, but cannot move on due to “unfinished business.” This bit of magical realism ties into the spiritual side of Appalachian culture. Nuggets of folklore are also woven into the story, making it even more authentic. Compelling and moving, this novel captures the soul of Appalachia. Highly recommended.

About the Author

Pamela Steele received her MFA in Poetry from Spalding University, and her poetry collection Paper Bird (Wordcraft Oregon 2007) was nominated for an Oregon Book Award. Steele is the author of two novels: Greasewood Creek (Counterpoint 2011) and In the Fields of Fatherless Children (Counterpoint 2026). Although she is a native-born Appalachian, she now lives and writes on a ranch in northeastern Oregon.

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