Bucket of Blood: The Ragman's War by R. S. Sukle is an earnest book that attempts to put faces and reality to a facet of American history too often forgotten or ignored. A novelization of the miners' strike in the coalfields of Western Pennsylvania in 1927, this work strives to portray the lives of one family in particular as it survives layoffs, sickness, beatings, rape, strife and murder, and peripherally the other members of their community going through those things, as well.

Based on family writing and oral history, the author has the flavor of the area right, and a fairly accurate portrayal of the time and the lifestyle. However, the prose shifts from a documentary style to purple and back again. Dialog is often labored, and tends to unnaturally force the story along instead of informing the reader and building to what is coming next. Some of the local dialect works, but then at other times rings untrue.

The main character, The Ragman of the title, is not particularly likeable, and spends a good portion of the book disassociated from his family, and thus not a part of the storyline. The reader will root for other members of his family, though, as they do their best to avoid starvation and hold true to their beliefs in time of privation. The involvement of the Communist Party and the unions in the action is interesting, and their eventual betrayal of the miners and their families is heartbreaking.

This was an interesting book, but it would have been a better one if the author could have decided whether she wanted to write a historical novel, a soap opera, or a non-fiction work. Cycling through the three genres did not work for this story, which was already an exciting one. There is potential here, and I hope that the author decides to continue bringing this largely ignored era and culture to life, without so much hyperbole.

iUniverse Inc, 2003: ISBN 0595661378