GODPRETTY IN THE TOBACCO FIELD

(See Special Author's Note at the Bottom)

“Beauty and sweetness weave a diaphanous fabric
against the stark backdrop of poverty and cruelty.”
— Sara Gruen, #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, "Water For Elephants"

A Coalminer's Daughter meets Winter's Bone tale of tender love and loss which examines the power and importance of land, crushing poverty, and the oppression of Appalachian women then and that which is relevant now.

Atmospheric, poignant, and searingly honest, GodPretty in the Tobacco Field follows a young, artist through the course of one blazing summer, as heartbreaking revelations and life-changing decisions propel her toward a future she could never have predicted.

*Longlisted for the Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize

*Mayor of Louisville, Kentucky Book Club Pick for the Louisville Free Public Library

"A great piece of work." - NPR, WFPL Radio

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“Like its predecessor Liar's Bench, GodPretty in the Tobacco Field is a powerful coming -of-age story complicated by lingering prejudice. Ms. Richardson’s portrait of the neighboring families’ hopeless lives stands out as one of the book’s major achievements. That achievement includes pitch-perfect representation. This beautifully textured novel raises many challenges for its main characters to overcome and, as it comes to a close, many surprises. Saying any more would ruin it for you.” – Southern Literary Review

“Richardson’s brilliant writing made me feel as though I were transported back in time to poor parched Nameless, Kentucky and actually there witnessing this poignant heartfelt story. To be able to do that to a reader is a sign of a truly gifted novelist.”— Charles Belfoure, NYT Bestselling author of The Paris Architect

“A voice rich and authentic, steeped in the somber beauty that defines life in the South. Richardson knows this place well, and GodPretty sings of that honesty.” — David Joy, Where All Light Tends To Go

"A reader always recognizes when the author has poured her soul into a body of work. "GodPretty in the Tobacco Field" is a tender, beautifully written second novel."-- Ann Hite

Praise

GodPretty In The Tobacco Field

" Filled with the music of Appalachia, the wrath-of-God discipline of a sinner trying to keep a youngster on the straight and narrow, and the bred-in-the-bone dignity of a downtrodden community so secluded that its barefoot children don’t even realize they’re considered “poor,” GodPretty in the Tobacco Fields, a memorable story of secrets and scandal, reckoning and redemption, is fine Southern fiction."- Historical Novel Society

"Richardson's deft second novel paints a picture of the hard life and bright dreams of young RubyLyn Bishop in Nameless, Ky, during the summer of 1969.  Richardson skillfully develops RubyLyn's plight in this tale steeped in the tobacco hills of Kentucky." - Publishers Weekly

“Richardson’s latest contains beautifully drawn characters and honest, lyrical language. Through the author’s expressive dialogue and vivid descriptions, the textures of the rural Kentucky landscape – along with the aching emotions that come from RubyLyn, are felt. RubyLyn’s connection with Rainey is sweet, poignant, and tender. This powerful story will leave an impression on readers long after they complete it.”– RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars

“Setting is everything…The reader learns a great deal about the impact of President Johnson’s War on Poverty in rural Kentucky and, equally, about the place of women in that society in the late 60’s…Sympathetic characters whom readers will wish a happy ending.”– Booklist

"Kim Michele Richardson aptly portrays the impoverished life of the hill people with her images of the beauty yet hardship of the mountains as well as the way this particular world experienced discrimination in the sixties." - The New York Journal of Books