Storming Heaven: A Novel

Being a coal miner has always been a hard, dirty job. Miners are tough people as we learn. Carrie Bishop is a strong woman who endures many sad times but follows her heart till the end. I appreciate these hard working people so much after reading this book.

I first read Storming Heaven when it came out 30 years ago. I thought I’d re-read it given the attention coal mining is getting currently and the fact that people still don’t know how the coal companies stole the land in WV and KY and about the harsh treatment of miners and their families before unionization. This fictionalized account incorporates events leading up to a shoot-out in Matewan, WV in 1920 and the Battle of Blair Mountain in 1921, which involved over 10,000 armed miners confronting the mining companies’ private army supported by the U.S. government.Denise Giardina tells this important story effectively through four first person perspectives, in their own language. The perspective of a Sicilian immigrant is hard to follow and doesn’t add much to the reader’s understanding of the complex relationships among the characters. That would warrant dropping my rating to four stars except that the other three characters and several additional characters are so well developed.It’s a great, but sad, story. And Giardina has told the story very well.

I got this because I'm interested in the mine wars/Battle of Blair Mountain and heard the was a novelization of some of that history. The author takes some pretty serious liberties with history, which is fine, just don't come to this book expecting to meet Sid Hatfield swaggering around or see many Baldwin-Felts thugs get what's coming to them or anything like that. It's more of a family saga than a historical fiction.The writing is okay--most of the characters have believable motivations and so forth, the geography is spot-on (I'm from near a lot of the locations mentioned---my grandma lived in Jenkinjones for a long time, for example) which was fun for me. The blase attitude toward interracial marriage seemed a little unrealistic to the era--I know that it wasn't *quite* as bad in the coalfields as the rest of the country, but it still wasn't a non-issue as it is mostly depicted here.But again, not terribly accurate to the more action-centered parts of the history of the labor riots/mine wars of the early 20s.Your enjoyment of this novel will depend heavily on your expectations/what you want from it. If you want a fictionalized history of one of the least-talked about parts of American history....maybe keep moving. If you want a sweeping Appalachian romance/drama written from several perspectives, then you'll probably dig it.

As I wrote above I am a coal miners daughter from a small Southern West Virginia town. I am now married to a coal miner as well. First of all I will have to say that I loved this book from beginning to end. The only problem I had with it is that the language is a little hard to understand. I understand some people in West Viriginia talk like this, but most of us do not. But, This book is so amazing and while I was reading it I felt like I was 7 again at my Great-Grandfather's house listening to his many stories about coal mining in the old days. I feel that this is a part of history that often gets looked over. I mean the Battle of Blair Mountain, was the largest labor uprising fought on US Soil. How many people know that? Not many. I read this book my junior year of college in my West Virginia History class. I not only feel like it is great West Virginia history, but American History as well. I can not praise this book enough! Everyone should read it! Thanks so much Ms.Giardina for bringing this tale of the struggles of coal miners to life!

The dialect of the region of course, slowed my reading initially. Much of the story coincided with some of the stories I heard from family. It is a shame that American History during my school years did not convey the information of our National Forces being sent in to kill our citizens who were risking death every day by entering the coal mines to feed industries that relied on the coal. Too many died trying to fight for fair wages. Thanks to Denise Giardina for telling the story.

This book was a raw and realistic account of what life must have been like for the coal miners of early days. You could tell Ms. Giardina had close connections to the accounts. Writing is one thing, but when you write what you feel you've accomplished something beautiful. The only reason I didn't give the book five stars is because the characters jumped around a little too much for my liking, but as the book progressed I got used to it. I have already purchased another of Ms. Giardina's books, The Unquiet Earth.

Hailing from the coal regions of Northeastern Pennsylvania, when I learned of this title, I quickly ordered a copy and read it within a day and a half. I could not put it down, and, in fact, kept returning to passages because Giardina's prose is brilliant. The characters are so alive that I was actually upset to end the book and lose Carrie Bishop as a friend. Being a writer, I am in awe of Giardina. In fact, off I go to read the other Giardina book I ordered, "The Unquiet Earth." Anyone from coal country, be it NE PA's anthracite field or coal country in other locations, will readily identify with this story for its historical worth. Reading it is like listening to tales as told by our great-grandparents who worked in the damp,dark underground and their families, who toiled above.

This book was actually required reading for my Appalachian Studies class. Growing up in the Appalachian mountains in the coal-mining region of SW Virginia, as the daughter and granddaughter of coal miners, this book hit close to home. I had heard many stories about the conflicts between the union and the gun thugs hired by the coal barons, but until I read this novel, I had not considered the depth of despair suffered by these mountain folks. Carrie Bishop was a tower of strength and a woman to be revered. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and now have a new-found respect for all those who lived and died, all for the sake of the "black diamond".

In 1920-21 America experienced the largest insurrection since the Civil War. The coal fields of West Virginia were the setting for a violent and bitter struggle by the miners and their families against the operators and owners, aided by private armies backed finally by the US Army and president Harding. The conflict culminated in the Battle of Blair Mountain.Denise Giardina recounts that time in this passionate novel.She begins in the late 19th century when first the railways then the mines break up the mountain communities. Farms are lost and once independent men, and their children, have to go underground to make a living. Labour is brought in from all over – black workers from the South, Italian immigrants from across the seas. The appalling conditions are well described. The owners control all aspects of life – homes and shops and amenities are in company towns . Resistance follows – particularly the fight to build a union. Denise gives an insight too into the role of family and religion and ethnicity in lives of struggle and resistance. The events are narrated by a small cast of characters, centred on the redoubtable Carrie Bishop.This is not a subject I knew about. Storming Heaven has sent me to the few histories that I could find.The novel is also a story of passion in a more conventional sense. The central character is the redoubtable Carrie Bishop. Carrie’s heart fights its own battle for the love of the belligerent and independent union organizer, consoled by the security offered by the tender and kindly preacher man.I found it great to read a novel about ordinary people living heroic lives.

This was one of those unexpected little pleasures in life that puts a smile on your face.I bought Denise Giardinas book by mistake and loved it.Based in west virginia this is a history of the coal miners struggles told over several generations.All characters are believable ,none of them are perfect,most are struggling for survival one way or another.Although a gritty read you will also find magic and beauty in this book.

good story