Book Description

The Appalachias of the 1930's are as beautiful as they are remote, and the fierce people who live there are as hard and as untamable as the land they inhabit. Their society is a closed one, made strong, but uncompromising, by their geographic isolation and immutable poverty, and tempered only slightly by their fervent faith in God, their loyalty to family, and their abiding love of their land. C.E. Burns' provocative novel chronicles the struggles of this poor mountain society, as it struggles to deal with the explosive issues of lust, greed, revenge, "unnatural passion", and illicit love. Some Must Stay is the powerful story of Appalachian life and its hardships as seen through the eyes of two very different sisters: beautiful and willful Jenny, whose courageous love for a man of color pits her against her family's and communityOs mores, and shy, handicapped Lindy, caught between her sister's unconventionality, and her community's intolerances. The violent repercussions that follow will forever change both their lives. Eloquently told and elegantly written, C.E. Burns' style captures the nuances and flavor of mountain life and the culture of the Appalachian people of that era, and brings to life a sweeping tale of heart-breaking tragedy and poignant beauty. Culminating in a tension-packed courtroom drama reminiscent of Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird, this spell-binding tale of tragic love casts the reader into a complex web of opposites: between the ugly consequences of racial prejudice in an intransigent society, and the all-pervasive beauty that underscores everything in the lush, wild hills of Appalachia.