The Women of the Copper Country: A Novel

I loved Doc, I loved Epitaph, I respect and admire Mary Doria Russell greatly. I'm originally from Michigan, and today is Labor Day. I wish I loved this book.

Russell is brilliant at historical research, and turns it into vivid, living human stories. Copper Country, unfortunately, feels like the historical notes have overwhelmed the narrative. The completely fictional or more heavily invented characters have more life than the historical ones do. Eva Savicki, Carla Coretto, and Jaaki Kivisto are warm, living, feeling people; Annie Clemenc, for all her amazing courage and perseverance, remains a stoic "Lady Liberty," mostly known for being tall and carrying a flagpole no one else can shoulder. While mine manager James McNaughton's Snidely show more Whiplash character is documented unmistakably in the memo and letter excerpts embedded in the action, we hear more about his house, his bathroom, and his curtains than we ever get to understand about him. Famous leaders like Mother Jones and Ella Bloor appear, make inspiring speeches and bring money, then disappear. Even the horrifying Italian Hall disaster in which 73 people - mostly children - were crushed in a panicked stampede down a steep stairwell feels more like reportage than tragedy, even in the hands of a skilled writer like Russell. Her afterword note describing how a friend's grandfather, a survivor of that night, pulled the car over as they passed the site decades later and sobbed at the wheel with no explanation, carried more power.

It's perhaps not fair to compare Copper Country to [b: Germinal|28407|Germinal|Émile Zola|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388208755l/28407._SY75_.jpg|941651]. But Zola added an atmosphere of menace by making the mine itself a character: brooding, gasping, rumbling, smoking, always looming. Calumet's mines are dark, dangerous holes, to be sure, and perhaps Russell shows us less of them because the women themselves don't go down into them. But they do not have the same life - or death - force. Both novels end roughly the same: the miners lose. The workers shuffle back down. Good people suffer and die, bad people prosper. In that regard, Zola would be proud of Russell.

Well-intentioned, some fine writing ("A scrawny boy comes at the third [man], all stupid bravery and righteous anger, but he goes down like a dropped doll when one of Fisher's men clocks him.") And a message that we should not ignore. But not her best novel. show less

Mary Doria Russell's Women of the Copper Country is a story that sneaks up on you, the way a hollow quiet will precede an earthquake. Like her other works, this one is grounded in the true historical accounts of the time. In this case, the subjects are copper miners and their wives, many of them immigrants, initiating a pivotal workers' strike in Michigan's Keweenaw peninsula at the start of the 20th century.

The central character and focus of this story is Anna "Big Annie" Klobuchar Clemenc, a miner's wife who would eventually emerge as a figure of American labor activism. I knew nothing of the people nor these events prior to reading and it's always a pleasure to read Mary Doria Russell's somewhat fictional version and then show more subsequently compare its historical accuracy. The author's afterward does exactly this and I promise some of the revelations will surprise you.

I'll admit, about halfway through I considered putting the book down. I just wasn't engaged like I'd hoped. I'm glad I didn't. By the end I couldn't stop thinking about Annie Clemenc and the strained, seemingly caged existence of a typical miner's family in Calumet, Michigan in 1913. Weeks have passed since I finished the book and I'm still thinking about it. show less

Big Annie Clements, a tall woman with a formidable spirit, takes a leadership in the Women's Auxiliary in support of the miners' union and strike in 1913. Beginning in June and following events in the copper mining town of Calumet, this historical fiction illuminates an all-but-forgotten time and place.

Mary Doria Russell's books have a habit of ripping out your heart and mind, and putting you back together again, hopefully wiser and more empathetic for the experience of it. This book is no exception, though to entirely explain why is to give away everything. I love her books; I can read only one a year. A phenomenal book that has everything I look for in a good historical fiction - wonderful characters, great sense of place, and an show more author's note that parses truth and fiction and gives me suggestions for what to read next. show less

"And we aren't going to wait around for the Second Coming, are we! We won't wait for Jesus to come back and make things right. We aren't going to beg for a decent life, a good life, a healthy life. We are going to demand those things--for ourselves! For our neighbors! For our children! And for all the working stiffs who come after us."

"And that, children, is how you by-God raise some hell."

The setting is 1913, in a copper-mining town in the upper-peninsula of Michigan. Annie Clements spent her whole life in this town and saw the mining industry destroy her loved ones and weaken the community, forcing them to completely depend on the mining company, to survive. The conditions were abysmal, to say the least.
With the help of a union show more organizer, Annie takes on the arrogant mine owners, calling for a strike, knowing it will, most likely destroy her marriage and threaten her life. I normally don't fall for the female main characters, in the novels I read but I had to say I found, twenty-five old Annie Clements quite appealing and not only for her looks and stature but also for her sharp mind, her fearlessness, and unflagging dedication. Team that up this author's deft research skills and her robust writing chops and you have a terrific, hard-hitting story, that also happens to be based on actual characters and events. Yep, MDR has delivered again. show less

This fictional account of the 1913 strike against the Michigan copper mining giant C&H Mining, is told primarily from the point of view of "Big Annie" Klobuchar Clements, a woman of great physical presence and a mighty will to improve the lives of the families of Calumet, Michigan. Annie became the icon of the labor movement for a time, through photographs and articles featuring her carrying a huge American flag at the front of parade after parade of striking miners and their families, despite the fact that her own husband was one of a fairly large contingent of miners who did not approve of the work stoppage. This is a grand tale, featuring Mother Jones and other strong women of the era, as well as the nastiest coldest villain since show more Ebenezer Scrooge, James MacNaughton, owner of everything. The detail of life in the paternalistic society of industrial America at its most unbridled is vivid and unnerving. In the book, as in history, the ending is sad beyond belief, but Russell added a couple twists of poetic justice to soften it a bit. As totally engrossing as every other novel of hers that I have read. Russell gives us an author's note at the end, explaining where she has taken the most liberty with the historical record. show less

The Women of the Copper Country - Russell
4.5 stars

I look forward to any book by Mary Doria Russell. This one did not disappoint. It takes place in Calumet, Michigan in July of 1913. It follows a year long wildcat copper miners’ strike. The ‘wildcat’ is the female instigator and leader, Anna Klobuchar Clemens.

It’s a hard story. Russell is good at depicting brutal conditions, physical suffering, and extreme poverty. In the set up to the story, it becomes easy to see why the miners may need to strike. At the same time, Russell is able to easily and naturally, disclose all of the political and social threats that impede the growth of labor unions. She doesn’t spend a lot of time on state and national issues in any way that slows show more the story arc. There’s just enough historical background to give a wider context to an ill-advised wildcat strike.

This is an immigrant story. The town of Calumet is populated with first and second generation European immigrants; Swedes, Finns, Pole and Italians. One of the inspired organizational strategies of the Women’s Auxiliary was to translate informational pamphlets into 33 different languages. There’s no escaping the exploitation and bigotry at work in crushing the strike. It’s not at all difficult to see current day parallels, as I’m sure the author intended.

Most of all, this is a feminist story. Anna Clemons was a crusader. She inspired the other wives. She instigated the strike vote. She lead the marches. She organized the food and clothing drives. She paid the price, and was jailed with the elected union leaders. Russell took some fictional liberties with Annie’s personal history. She becomes an interesting, complex character.
This strike happened seven years before the ratification of the 19th amendment. Anna CLemons had very few legal protections from the rich mine owners or her own abusive husband. The book draws a clear connecting line between workers’ rights and women’s rights. (Cue a chorus of Bread and Roses).

This story was interesting, even inspiring. It was also very sad. Russell used quotes from Romeo and Juliet as epigrams to each chapter. The year ended in tragedy, not victory. show less

In the early 1900s, the Calumet and Hecla Mining Company was one of the most profitable copper mines in the United States. But they got there on the backs of their workforce, comprised almost entirely of immigrants, who were seen as expendable by the “real American” mine owner, James MacNaughton. While C&H prided itself on building a company town that provided housing and amenities for its workers, MacNaughton’s top priority was worker productivity. He had little care for the dangerous nature of the work and the inevitable injuries and fatalities.

Enter Annie Clements, the wife of a miner and a natural leader. When a miner is killed while working with the new “one man drill,” Annie mobilizes the women into a force for change. show more They begin holding daily marches, asking “what price copper?” by calling attention to the many lives lost in pursuit of profits. Their activism built support for unionization, which ultimately led to a strike. The way the strike unfolded, its impact on management and miners alike, and the way in which the strike came to an end, make for fascinating reading, all the more so since the story is told almost entirely from a female perspective.

Mary Doria Russell is known for writing meticulously researched historical fiction, and this is yet another example. Since women’s stories are less well documented, she often had to infer or extrapolate, but the Author’s Note helpfully acknowledges where this was required. Russell’s characters are well developed, and the story is well-paced, especially in its portrayal of the dramatic events which ultimately ended the strike. I can’t say enough about this book: just go read it, already! show less