The Unsettling of America
Shiloh and Other Stories

Kinfolks

Kinfolks is a novelistic collection of short stories centered around Wilgus Collier, a young boy growing up in rural Kentucky during the 1940s and 1950s. The stories follow Wilgus from childhood into his early adulthood, exploring his relationships with his extended family and his Appalachian community. Gurney Norman introduces readers to Wilgus’s world through a series of vignettes that depict experiences with his family, particularly his parents and grandparents. These stories highlight the challenges and joys of rural life, offering a poignant look at complex family dynamics and the deep-rooted traditions of Appalachia. Throughout the book, Norman’s writing is characterized by its rich, evocative descriptions of the Appalachian landscape and its authentic portrayal of the region’s culture and people. Kinfolks–adapted for the screen as The Wilgus Stories–is celebrated for vivid storytelling that captures the essence of life in Kentucky coal country.

More Adult, Non-Juvenile Books

  • The phenomenal true story of the black female mathematicians at NASA.
  • How to Know a Person by David Brooks

    When we are baffled by the insanity of the “other side”— in our politics, at work, or at home — it’s because we aren’t seeing how the conflict itself has taken over.

  • This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.

  • A tragic tale about the disabling effects of war and cultural separation, and a hopeful story of a stranger in his native land, finding his way back to all that is familiar and sacred.