In Mountain Mulekick, Catherine Astl delivers yet another captivating tale steeped in the rich history of the Great Smoky Mountains. Astl’s meticulous attention to detail, facts and immersive storytelling make this novel a must-read for anyone with an interest in Appalachian culture and history. From the first page, I was drawn into their world, where the allure of moonshine and the struggle for freedom collide in a whirlwind of drama.
This book brings together historical fact and fiction in a way that feels both authentic and engaging. Through her vivid descriptions and compelling characters, she transports readers to a time and place where life was hard but filled with moments of unexpected beauty. Mountain Mulekick is all about the enduring spirit of the Appalachian people and a reminder of the power of storytelling to shed a light on the past and inspire those of us in the present. I wholeheartedly recommend this novel to anyone looking for an immersive and thought-provoking read!
Mountain Mulekick
“Taste it, and man, you got yourself a mulekick. Gets ya just like a mule kickin’ you when you’re loadin’ him up.”
“The vices of humans have a wonderful flavor to them, but also a violent and sad bitterness that can never be washed away.”
Cades Cove is known to millions as a beautiful mountain valley tucked within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. But before its eventual inclusion in the park’s opening in 1937, this stunning place saw a successful and industrious society for 119 years. And in its southwest corner, a suburb cropped up called Chestnut Flats, whose legacy of moonshine and illicit activities would steer the two communities through decades of conflicting ideals, each having vastly different interpretations of the American spirit of freedom.
Moonshine has a way of tugging at people’s emotions. Some say it’s evil, some sympathize with the idea of doing what one wants on one’s own land. Some say it’s good and even patriotic to rail against the government’s taxation; some say it’s wicked and wrong. Which is it then? Within the pages of Mountain Mulekick, readers are tasked with the heavy choice between the pull of peaceful and orderly freedom and the equally inspirational glamour of free will; the same choices that faced the people of Cades Cove and Chestnut Flats so long ago.
Exhaustively researched and expertly written, all people and major events are true, with historical facts and exact quotes taken from some of the best sources, some from the very memoirs of the people themselves.
Just as Oliver’s Crossing and Gatlin’s Gateway invited you to pull up a chair and stay awhile, Mountain Mulekick keeps you there, urging you to “stop and look around for a bit…lie back on the earth and its soft ridges will fill you with their memories. You will feel it most when the sun hides for another day and the moon nudges itself in for a closer look.
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Catherine Astl is the bestselling author of Smoky Mountain Historical Fiction: Oliver’s Crossing, Gatlin’s Gateway, Mountain Mulekick, and more to come!
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