The Women of the Copper Country

By: Mary Doria Russell

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

From the best-selling and award-winning author of The Sparrow comes “historical fiction that feels uncomfortably relevant today” (Kirkus Reviews) about “America’s Joan of Arc” - the courageous woman who started a rebellion by leading a strike against the largest copper mining company in the world.

In July 1913, 25-year-old Annie Clements has seen enough of the world to know that it’s unfair. She’s spent her whole life in the mining town of Calumet, Michigan, where men risk their lives for meager salaries - and have barely enough to put food on the table for their families. The women labor in the houses of the elite and send their husbands and sons deep underground each day, dreading the fateful call of the company man telling them their loved ones aren’t coming home. So, when Annie decides to stand up for the entire town of Calumet, nearly everyone believes she may have taken on more than she is prepared to handle. Yet as Annie struggles to improve the future of her town, her husband becomes increasingly frustrated with her growing independence. She faces the threat of prison while also discovering a forbidden love. On her fierce quest for justice, Annie will see just how much she is willing to sacrifice for the families of Calumet.

From one of the most versatile writers in contemporary fiction, this novel is an authentic and moving historical portrait of the lives of the crucial men and women of the early labor movement “with an important message that will resonate with contemporary readers” (Booklist).

©2019 Mary Doria Russell (P)2019 Simon & Schuster

How did the mispronouncing slip through?

As someone who lives in Michigan and absolutely loves Calumet this book was a great story! However “pasties” and “Houghton” are 100% mispronounced. It made me cringe and grit my teeth at each mention. How did this mistake go unnoticed? It needs to be re-recorded.

Educational and Enlightening

I listened to the audio version and it was like fingernails on a blackboard hearing the mispronunciation of Houghton and pasty. Michigan Technological University was referred to as Michigan Technical University. Story was very enlightening and educational!

Great story, Cringe-worthy narration

Just to clarify, pasties with a long "a" sound are tassels worn by strippers. Pasties with a short "a" are the iconic hand pie of the Upper Peninsula. Would have been really nice if the narrator, director, or editor had bothered to learn that, or how to correctly pronounce several town and family names that just made me wince. It's a very good book, and a fascinating story that deserved much better narration.

Wonderful story ....... but .....

I really enjoyed the story line and history of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The performance was wonderful with the exception of glaring mispronunciation of several significant items; most notably "Houghton" and "pastie". It was such a consistent distraction that it ruined the audio-book for me. If those had been corrected, i would have given performance five stars. There is so much character and charm in the mixed cultures of the U.P., how does that slip by?

Pronunciation!

The pronunciation of Finnish names can be difficult. I recommend speaking to someone of Finnish heritage before reading. Words like “pasty” should also be investigated. Pasty is pronounced “p- short a- stee” not p- long a-stee ( that’s what the dancing girls wear!!

Fascinating story!

Cassandra Campbell is one of my favorite narrators - but the mispronunciations of Houghton and pasty so detracted from the story! At least she pronounced Sisu correctly.
But lived the history and story as my mother’s Finnish family lived in the area at this time.

inspiring story, great history

loved many of the characters. reasonably well written and performed. would recommend to all citizens, made me very grateful for the union workers at the turn of the century wide sacrifices won us many of the rights we have today. I had very limited knowledge of this history.

Sue

A wonderful account of the horrific start up of labor unions depicting why they were needed. The story line carries the reader along with both the fictional and actual people in the novel. A great read. Narration was perfectly done and added considerably to the overall story.

A story that should be adapted to film

With it's strong characters and a compelling storyline that set within fascinating and interesting historical and geographical context, Mary Doria Russell's book "The Women of the Copper Country" screams being adapted into a movie.

Excellent historical fiction

While I can understand how the narrator’s mispronunciation of some words would grate on people from the UP, I don’t have that context so it didn’t bother me. Once again Mary Doria Russell gave us a beautifully written novel that was true to the historical facts. The characters were well developed and the plot line flowed along seamlessly. The labor movement is an important part of US history that is easy to overlook with everything going on in the early twentieth century. You have to wonder if we are just letting history repeat itself.