In Kate Pearsall’s debut novel Bittersweet in the Hollow, Linden James is a member of the special James family, which has resided for centuries in West Virginia’s small, quaint Caball Hollow. In Caball Hollow, family ties are strong, the residents do not appreciate those who are different and, even though Linden has lived in Caball Hollow for her entire life, many of the residents view her and her family with astute suspicion.
After Linden disappeared last summer, only to be found steps away from the last place anyone saw her, Linden began suffering from extreme nightmares, exhaustion and insomnia. She also became the subject of many of Caball Hollow’s most rampant rumors, and when Linden finds her friend Dahlia dead in a local creek, Linden not only begins discovering the truth about her own family but many of the town’s citizens. She also learns a few things about herself and what it truly means to be a woman hailing from Appalachia and the James family.
Part of the appeal of Bittersweet in the Hollow is its focus on Appalachian culture and the societal makeup of small, rural towns dotting West Virginia and other regions of Appalachia. Despite its fictionality, Caball Hollow might strike some readers knowledgeable with the South as eerily familiar. Caball Hollow is a town where few people leave to see what lies beyond its mountains and fields, and long-standing family feuds, grievances and histories define everyday interactions.
The latter is most evident in the novel’s portrayal of the James family’s relationship with the Spencer family. Both families have occupied Caball Hollow for centuries. Linden has a keen romantic interest in Cole Spencer, the mayor’s son, with whom she once had a deep friendship. However, after Linden’s mysterious disappearance and reappearance, Linden’s relationship with Cole shifts, and the two become distant. Nonetheless, the two cannot deny that because of an ancient family secret harkening to the town’s establishment, they’re inevitably linked.
While it is not the novel’s main focus, the novel also highlights the lack of opportunities facing young people in rural Appalachia. For three generations, the James women – all of whom are born with a unique, supernatural gift – have managed the family farm and the Harvest Moon, a restaurant specializing in Appalachian delicacies like fried chicken and various homemade desserts. Few of the James women – other than Linden’s sister, Sorrell, and the mysterious Aunt Zephyrine – have left Caball Hollow. Other young women, like the murdered Dahlia, escaped abusive, impoverished families to not only pursue a college education, but also escape Caball Hollow’s confines. Their generational stories of survival, education and perseverance resonate with the emerging number of Appalachian women making headlines throughout Appalachia as business owners, academics, scientists and oral historians of some of America’s most misunderstood regions.
Bittersweet in the Hollow, too, incorporates one of cryptozoology and Appalachian folklore’s most famous figures — Mothman (referred to as The Moth-Winged Man in the novel). The incorporation of this well-known cryptid adds a horror element to Linden’s story. The Moth-Winged Man’s presence does not dominate the book, but for readers who appreciate such folkloric figures, The Moth-Winged Man’s appearances add a psychologically startling element to the plot. The Moth-Winged Man, however, is not interjected into the plot merely for shock value. The cryptid’s presence is adeptly incorporated as another means of binding the James and Spencer families together. Also, the monster’s appearance establishes the importance of folklore in Appalachian culture and how superstition plays a significant role in the area’s storytelling tradition.
Bittersweet in the Hollow is a spellbinding novel, one in the ilk of Emily Hart’s gripping, magical Weyward. The female fortitude the James women exhibit is inspiring, especially as women’s rights come under attack in Appalachia and the United States. The novel’s reliance on traditional storytelling techniques inherent to preserving Appalachian folklore in modern society make it a standout read in the horror fiction realm. Its message about embracing one’s talents and identity in the face of adversity, and in a realm where those talents and identity are criticized and judged harshly, will inspire readers of all backgrounds. Most of all, much of the book’s substance lies in its exploration of a realm where beauty, death, darkness and history hold hands and walk forward in a new visceral and enchanting way.
FICTION
Bittersweet in the Hollow
By Kate Pearsall
Putnam
Published October 10, 2023
Southern Review of Books 