Jennifer Niven has given the reader a wonderful coming of age Appalachian story with her new novel Velva Jean Learns to Drive. Set in the mountains of North Carolina between 1933 and 1941, we follow Velva Jean through her mid to late teens as she tries to forge a life for herself while dreaming of becoming a singer at the Grand Ol Opry in Nashville.
Much is happening in these rugged and sparsely settled mountains as the end of the depression gradually sets in. The CCC boys are building the road over the mountains, what will become the Blue Ridge Parkway. There are more “outlanders” moving into the remote areas for many reasons. Traveling preachers regularly hold revivals and try to save souls. There is some mining going on, the end of the gold and the hunt for gems. Sometimes there is a doctor, but, often, just an Indian medicine man, a midwife, or a healer, to take care of the sick and injured. The coves and hollows are full of people who are strong, who preserver, yet who face unknown battles as the world makes inroads into what has for centuries been a relatively closed culture.
In the midst of all of this, Velva Jean sees her mother pass away, her father walk away, and her eldest sister take the place of parents with more than a little resentment. But, the extended family of brothers, sisters, grandparents, and aunts and uncles holds fast. Velva Jean, scared of the devil, is saved, then saved again. She marries a preacherman. Mostly she wants to sing and write her songs, yearning for a life of music and rhinestones. So, Velva Jean saves; she saves for her time, her future, her music; she saves a little money and she saves a lot of people…but, not like she was “saved”. And, when Velva Jean learns to drive, she does much more than drive her old yellow truck.
Velva Jean Learns to Drive is an outstanding Appalachian novel. Although this is Niven’s first foray into fiction, she is no stranger to writing. She is also the author of The Ice Master: The Doomed 1931 Voyage of the Karluk, as well as Ada Blackjack: A True Story of Survival in the Arctic, which was a Booksense pick and one of my staff picks in 2003. With roots in the very mountains about which she writes, Niven gives us a remarkable look into historic Appalachian culture. -Deal
