Last Ballad (Cash) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
In the retelling of the Loray Mill strike and the courageous role of Ella May Wiggins, Cash vividly blends the archival with the imaginative. As the historian Perry Anderson has noted, good historical fiction has the ability “to waken us to history, in a time when any real sense of it has gone dead.” … Cash, with care and steadiness, has pulled from the wreckage of the past a lost moment of Southern progressivism. Perhaps fiction can help us bear the burden of Southern history, which is pressing down hard on us today.
Amy Rowland - New York Times Book Review


With his vibrant imagination, vigorous research, and his architectural skill in structuring this novel, Wiley Cash has lifted the events of the past into the present and immortalized a time that holds valuable lessons for our country today.
Charlotte Observer


Cash transports readers into the world of real-life ballad singer Ella May Wiggins, a central figure in workers’ battle for unionization in North Carolina textile mills.… [S]uspenseful, moving… [it] will resonate with readers of John Steinbeck or Ron Rash.
Publishers Weekly


Cash…writes with earnestness and great sympathy but reveals the outcome early, taking the bite out of the story's climax. Verdict: Admirers of Ron Rash's Serena and its Appalachian setting will find much to like here. —Michael Pucci, South Orange P.L., NJ
Library Journal


Wiley Cash’s third novel is a sweeping, old-fashioned saga with an inspirational but ill-fated heroine at its center… Ella May is such a rich, sympathetic character.… Powerful and moving, exploring complex historical issues that are still with us today.
BookPage

 
Although it is initially a bit difficult to keep so many points of view straight, it is satisfying to see them all connect.… Cash highlights the struggles of often forgotten heroes…. A heartbreaking and beautifully written look at the real people involved in the labor movement.
Kirkus Reviews