The Women of the Copper Country by Mary Doria RussellGratitude
Thank you to Montgomery County Public Libraries for making The Woman of the Copper Country by Mary Doria Russell free and readily available to the public.
Description
The Women of the Copper Country is based on the true story of a copper miners’ union strike in Calumet, MI. As copper mining is extremely dangerous, all of the women have lost people close to them--fathers, brothers, husbands--sons. They do not own their houses and have very little to live off of. When the one-man drill comes into use, they are not only worried about the jobs that it will cost, but also about the danger to the man operating the drill--a man alone can get into as many troublesome spots as a man with a partner, but a man alone has no one to help him out of those spots.
When a non-union worker who agreed to use the drill dies alone, Annie Clements decides that enough is enough. The strike is on.
James McNaughton does not see himself as the villain--he sees himself as the man hired to make the company--and himself--the most amount of money possible. He views the strike as ungratefulness. It is by his benevolence alone that the miners and their families are able to survive.
When a non-union worker who agreed to use the drill dies alone, Annie Clements decides that enough is enough. The strike is on.
James McNaughton does not see himself as the villain--he sees himself as the man hired to make the company--and himself--the most amount of money possible. He views the strike as ungratefulness. It is by his benevolence alone that the miners and their families are able to survive.
Would I Teach This Book?
Would I teach The Women of the Copper Country? Russell’s book was a book club pick, and I doubt I would have picked it up on my own. My take on the book is a little different from my fellow club members. The general consensus was that they had seen this book before in other iterations that they had read in the book club, before my time. As I had not been present for those books, and I generally do not pick up historical fiction books independently, this book did not feel like something I had already read.
Annie is difficult to dislike--she has a big heart, courage, and a can-do attitude. She wants the lives of the people in her community to be fair--they should be able to work safely, and they should have the means to live a slightly less strenuous life. She believes in their right to negotiate as a group.
In a class on historical fiction, the labor movement, or gender studies, The Women of the Copper Country could be a contender. The terrible forces that the unions were up against, and the way that the companies were able to act as they wanted without regulation is hair-raising. I know some about the fight for labor, but I did not know the extent of it. The difficulties that people went through so that workers today can have the ability to collectively bargain is nearly unbelievable. And it's a story that Americans should know.
View all my reviews
Annie is difficult to dislike--she has a big heart, courage, and a can-do attitude. She wants the lives of the people in her community to be fair--they should be able to work safely, and they should have the means to live a slightly less strenuous life. She believes in their right to negotiate as a group.
In a class on historical fiction, the labor movement, or gender studies, The Women of the Copper Country could be a contender. The terrible forces that the unions were up against, and the way that the companies were able to act as they wanted without regulation is hair-raising. I know some about the fight for labor, but I did not know the extent of it. The difficulties that people went through so that workers today can have the ability to collectively bargain is nearly unbelievable. And it's a story that Americans should know.
View all my reviews
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