Clay's Quilt
by Silas House
Published by Published by Algonquin Books
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Reviewed by Andrea Sisco
Clay Sizemore's mother died a violent death when he was four years old. Clay is raised by his aunt Easter and surrounded by other aunts, uncles, cousins and friends who love him deeply. What Clay misses the most is a sense of belonging that he thinks can exist only with siblings, and a mother and a father. And that leaves him with an empty place within himself that he can't fill up.
As an adult, Clay becomes a coal miner, moves a few miles from Free Creek, in Appalachia, to find his way in life and to determine who he is as a man. But it is the people who love him that truly shape his life. Aunt Easter is his solid rock and the nurturer of his life and soul. His uncle Paul is a quilter who teaches Clay that the castoff bits and pieces of life can create beauty. And it is Paul who gives Clay a special gift from his mother.
But it is the fiddler Alma, who inches her way into Clay's heart and brings him back from despair. Together they face obstacles that threaten their happiness and their safety. Together they find answers to the questions that have haunted each of them. And new life helps Clay realize his life is good and the family he has always yearned for has been beside him all along.
Sometimes a story grabs a hold of you and won't allow you to shake free. Silas House, author of Clay's Quilt has written just such a novel. It is a poignant story with touches of sadness and joy mixed together; much like real life. His prose invites the reader into the lives of his characters and allows us to live their experiences and feel their emotions. I didn't want the novel to end. I simply wanted more of Clay's story.
House has written two other books since Clay's Quilt. They are The Coal Tattoo and A Parchment of Leaves.