Sunday People

In Kiser’s novel, members and friends of a family in Kentucky ruminate on their lives while attending a wedding in 1992.

Orson Caskill is 68 years old and dying of cancer. Born and raised in Kentucky (leaving only for a formative stint in the army before returning), Orson is now taking stock of his life while at a family wedding. Similarly reflecting on past choices are gathered friends and family members whose respective life paths have all crossed in one way or another. The story focuses on a select few, highlighting the perspectives of Orson; Sarah Beth, Orson’s wife; Fergus, Orson’s best friend; and Darcy Anne, Orson’s childhood girlfriend, among others. Orson has recently joined a church at the insistence of Sarah Beth, though he prefers to spend his Sundays at a little cabin overlooking what he refers to as “God’s pond.” His mortality forces him to consider the choices he made in youth; regarding his family, he “want[s] them to know the truth about [him], whatever that means.” . . . Kiser’s story is not plot-driven; the narrative mainly consists of characters considering their pasts and presents in an evocative hodgepodge of personal histories interspersed with lyrical prose about Kentucky and connection (“I was sailing along on the surface of things…ignoring the slow, dark mutter of my homeless soul and getting high on all- night talk in the dorm and on shards of poetry flung aside by professors,” reflects Darcy Anne.) Occasionally, the prose grows a tad overwrought which, when combined with multiple character backstories and an intentional lack of clarity regarding events in certain characters’ lives, makes things somewhat confusing: “Brisson was a pretty how town with up so many — really — floating bells down.” Overall, Kiser’s story is moving and a worthy effort that could use a couple of tweaks.

An emotional read with lyrical prose.

Sunday People is a novel about living and dying. It opens from the first-person viewpoint of Orson Caskill, store owner, philosopher, and family patriarch, whose memories and intentions drive a story of family choices and consequences. From its opening lines, Sunday People embraces a special form of reflective reasoning, allowing its readers to enter Orson’s life to understand his intentions in reviewing it for future generations. . . . Readers will appreciate the thoroughly compelling “you are here” focus that brings to life the events shaking Osier County, Kentucky as well as the family’s legacy. Readers interested in the experience of Kentucky’s coal-mining towns and heritage will especially appreciate how Kiser builds her story around history as well as disparate personalities. . . . Sunday People’s passages about Kentucky’s evolving culture create a hard-hitting, reflective work that should not be missed.

Orson Caskill is 68 years old and dying of cancer. Born and raised in Kentucky (leaving only for a formative stint in the army before returning), Orson is now taking stock of his life while at a family wedding. Similarly reflecting on past choices are gathered friends and family members whose respective life paths have all crossed in one way or another. . . . Orson has recently joined a church at the insistence of Sarah Beth [his wife], though he prefers to spend his Sundays at a little cabin overlooking what he refers to as “God’s pond.” His mortality forces him to consider the choices he made in youth; regarding his family, he “want[s] them to know the truth about [him], whatever that means.” . . . An emotional read with lyrical prose.

Sunday People is a deeply intimate portrait of family and generational ties. Kiser does not shy away from tough subjects, instead inundating the work with hard realities and philosophical questions that are difficult to contend with. It is the type of novel that begs further examination and one that would be a joy to re-read for its sharp language, symbols, and structure.

Kiser is an eastern Kentucky native, spending her early days there. The region left an imprint on her. . . . [Sunday People] is the story of Orson Caskill and the people close to him. The author mines her own experiences and memories to weave her tales. . . . She has divided the book into chapters narrated from the points of view of Orson and his people. . . . One by one our narrators pass along Kiser’s story baton. She excavates enduring characters, embroidering their stories with delicacy and emotion.

In “Sunday People” . . . Osierville residents gather for a wedding uniting the niece and nephew of respective aunts with a conflicted past. The event launches seven eponymous chapters whose accounts’ whole surpasses their singular sum. . . . On Sarvis Mountain, as everywhere, stories tightly bound together remain each teller’s own. Eastern Kentucky’s parochial and progressive characters honor and defy stereotype, living interesting, human lives.”