Perspective

"Rocket Boys," is written from the perspective of an adolescent boy in a town that exists solely for the purpose of extracting bituminous coal from the ground. He comes from a family of coal miners, his grandfather, father, and uncles are all miners. His aunts and mother are the wives of miners. Sonny knows little outside of Coalwood, the tiny southern West Virginia coal mining town in which he lives. He does know that most boys grow up to be miners, or join the military. In recounting his story, Sonny generally does not judge the ideology, or beliefs, or any of the townsfolk. He merely recounts his experiences, his actions, choices, and those of others around him. It is clear that he longs for the love and attention of his father, in a household where hugging is infrequent, but learns to appreciate and respect his father, even more...