The Women of the Copper Country

By: Mary Doria Russell

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

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!!

pleasantly surprised

I belong to a book club and this was the book for this month. I really put off getting it because it just didn't interest me or so I thought. I like the way they did. it made it into almost like a novel rather than a documentary or a true telling story. those very good

Another winner from Mary Doria Russell

Riveting story of the 1913 copper strike f in Michigan, featuring some amazing women, including Mother Jones (yes, THE Mother Jones), Ella Bloor, and one particularly vile mine owner. Excellent book, beautifully read.

A little known story.

Although I have lived in upper Michigan all my adult life, I never knew the full story of the role of women in the Calumet copper history. Our book club enjoyed the discussion of this novel.
One note-the narrator mispronounced two words - Houghton and pasty.

Excellent novel

I lived in Houghton and know stories of the miners, the strike and the Italian Hall disaster. I found this book very interesting. It was difficult to hear Houghton and pasties mispronounced. Houghton= H O ton, pasties are not P A sties

Important story marred by mispronunciations

Mary Doria Russell is a good writer telling an important story. She fictionalizes perhaps a bit more than necessary and does not have the strongest characterizations except for Eva Savicki, whose coming of age is told well and effectively.

The continuous mispronunciations of “pasty” and “Houghton” are distracting throughout. The producers and the skillful narrator simply did not research the place at the center of the story. Russell seems to have been a little sloppy in research: McNaughton did not gift the WCHA with a hockey trophy - it went through many hands before coming to the WCHA almost 40 years after the events of the novel; some Shakespeare quotes appear inexact.

But these are quibbles: what happened in Calumet in 1913 is an important story about American history, the labor movement, problems endemic to extractive industries, and the ongoing struggles for the rights of women. I’m grateful to Russell for telling it.