Mine Work: A Novel

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Summary: Not your standard western fare...
Review: MINE WORK is not your standard western fare. It combines mystery with an episodic quest for a middle-age man's family history and identity. The story focuses on the plight of Markus Cottin and his search for a reason why he's estranged from his father and why a troubled younger brother committed suicide. Along the way, the author weaves in many little known historical and social elements of the 1940's and 1950's American West, including the struggles of the socially disenfranchised Navajo Nation, a dimension which lends this story a Hillerman-esque feel. The novel was a little difficult to digest in the early sections, however after a few chapters this reader was absolutely enthralled with the story. The writing is vivid and accomplished - the story itself, heart-wrenching.

Small company politics and manipulations mangled many laborers' lives during this bleak era, including the parents of Markus Cottin, about whom he knows almost nothing. Physically and emotionally alienated from a father who lives as a hermit and spits venom on the rare occasions they meet, Cottin pursues all leads in the hope that someone can give him some idea of who his father is, and why he's so consumed with bitterness and hatred. Revelation comes at last when Cottin is made to understand the horribly tragic experience of the oppressed working-class Colorado miners, second only in emotional devastation faced by the economically hapless Navajos. The author succeeds wonderfully in bringing these peoples' heroic struggles to life, allowing the reader to look back at a excruciatingly tragic episode in 20th Century American history.

MINE WORK is a powerful "western". I'd recommend to my friends of the most sophisticated tastes. This novel is as go

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Summary: A lesson in the harsh life of Colorado mining towns
Review: This is the story of a young man's journey to discover the mystery behind his family's troubled history. It is rich in its description of life in the Colorado mining towns, including the mistreatment of the miners, and the degradation of the Navajos. The characters are well-developed and the reader is left feeling like she knows each one personally. However, I did feel that some of the descriptions were overly dramatic, and some of the prose seemed redundant. I enjoyed the book, as it enriched my knowledge of the Colorado mining towns and the shameful politics that surrounded that life; however, the book was full of misery from start to finish.

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Summary: Anguished Family Past Interweaves with Personal Justice
Review: Written with a compassion for working men in much the same vein as John Steinbeck, "Mine Work" treats the ruins of memory and the need for family reconciliation in the backdrop of desolate mining country in the Southwest. The author, Jim Davidson, deftly inerweaves the present (in which a tormented son despeately attempts to piece together three generations of family tragedy) and the past (in which a compelling narrative of injustice, racism, and personal pain) seamlessly.

One of the significant themes of this beautifully-paced first novel is the disgraceful treatment of Native Americans by rapacious industry and racist individuals. Markus Cottin's quest for knowledge and inner-peace cannot exist without a coming to grips with this aspect of history. The author has not written a polemic, however; Mr. Davidson's language is elegant, spare and precise.