Patches on the Same Quilt

Here are some excerpts from reviews:

The writing is all but flawless. The story becomes painfully touching in places, and when all the threads are tied together at the end, the result is spell-binding, beautiful and emotionally moving. Through the course of time, the horse has been man's greatest companion on earth, a point that those of our time do not fully understand. The novel's use of the horse as a metaphor for human longing, human self-preservation--indeed, all of those traits within us that we are apt to call human--comes into clear focus only at the end, and when it does, the effect is breathtaking.
--Brad Burkholder (judge, 2001 Smith Mountain Arts Council Fiction Contest)

Becky Mushko has written a love story...the love for the horses ...the love of men and women both black and white...the love of land and family ...the deep and enduring love of a man for a woman, even beyond death.... Mushko's writing is as colorful as her story. Her skillful use of dialect breathes life into the characters endowing each with a genuine place in the fabric of the area. She possesses acute powers of observation of the human condition and uses these with great accuracy in the crafting of these characters. --Ginny Brock (review, The Lake Bullet

Patches on the Same Quilt is a must for horse lovers, people lovers, for people who feel a kinship with the land. No one who has grown up in the rural south can fail to identify with the characters who though varied each feels a kinship with the same land. Their struggles and triumphs, their aspirations and disappointments, are interwoven with sensitivity and balance. One should also note that in the use of dialect you have joined the exalted ranks of Joel Chandler Harris and Mark Twain. The emotional current generated in the reading lingers long after the book is closed, leaving one feeling as if he has just witnessed a segment of Americana and recognized himself in the crowd.
--Rodney Franklin, author of Tyler's Shop & former President of Valley Writers, a chapter of the Virginia Writers Club

What if you could settle down with a novel so full of history and place that when you finished it, after several good crying spells and some laughter, you began to think it had to have actually happened just that way to real people? That is the impact of Becky Mushko's first novel, winner of the Smith Mountain Arts Council Fiction Award. Patches on the Same Quilt takes you deep into the lives of six generations of one Franklin County, VA family. An extra bonus for horse lovers is that six generations of horses also are major players in this moving piece of fiction.

The chapter headings give you a fine idea of what awaits you (I devoured the book in one sitting, anxious to find out where it all led): Early May, 1865; Last Wish; My Kingdom For a Horse; Sometimes You Gotta Up An' Go; The Farmer Takes a Wife; Confession Good For the Soul; Wishing You All The Best; Forced Blossoms; Lay My Comfort Down; When In Rome; Taking Up The Reins; One Tiny Speck Of Truth; Times Are Changin'; Last Memory; Play 'Moat's Ark' For Me; Full Circle. From Penhook to Rocky Mount, Richmond, Danville, and beyond, this multi-generational tale takes you into the private worlds and culture of people who know courage, compassion, grief, and beauty.

Stitched together, like patches in a quilt, each story, each narrator, carries on the overall design: the life of a family who has known loss, love, and hope. The characters are memorable. The landscape is unforgettable. The Virginia each generation knows will become a part of your own life. Climb into the saddle and roam the landscape of this novel. Hear the train whistles. Hear the rustle of the long dresses, the whisper of the wind in a cemetery, the call of a sad child, the laughter of a contented old man.

This is our best-selling novel at The Blue Lady Bookshop. Natives of the area are intrigued by the realism. Newcomers can discover both the history and the dignity of this special place, where a piano tune and a horse's whinny can bring you to tears.

--Ibby Greer, editor & publisher, BLUE RIDGE TRADITIONS

Becky Mushko is one of the most talented and prolific writers in southwest Virginia, perhaps in all of Virginia and even Appalachia. I've laughed at her "Peevish Advice" column in Blue Ridge Traditions Magazine, enjoyed her prize-winning short stories and essays, and been amused, stirred, and inspired by her poetry. With PATCHES ON THE SAME QUILT, her first novel, Becky now shows that she is a contender in the heavy-weight class of novelists. Patches is a moving, beautifully-written book, with a real feel for rural Virginia over the last century and more.
--Jim Morrison, President of the Virginia Writers Club & author of BEDFORD GOES TO WAR

From the time Blue Ridge Traditions published "Forced Blossoms" by Becky Mushko in October of 1993 and another short story which grew into PATCHES ON THE SAME QUILT, we've known Ms. Mushko had a winner. Her poignant tale of a young boy and his wish for a horse weaves together a family history from the Civil War era to the present. "There's a rhythm to life--something like the rhythm a singlefootin' horse makes. You can hear that rhythm beating in your ear, feel it all through your whole body. Seems like it plays a tune." An excellent read from a fine new author.
--Peggy Ann Sloan Conklin, former publisher, BLUE RIDGE TRADITIONS

Becky Mushko has painted the rhythm of glorious equines for us to admire and has written a story of rural Virginia that allows us to appreciate the beauty of the region and the strength of kinship of its people. PATCHES ON THE SAME QUILT is a snapshot of America....
Each chapter is written in the voice of a different person within the kinship, family or otherwise, of a boy whose dream is to own a horse. Each chapter tells a bit more of the story of six generations and each has its own personal view and manner of speaking.

Becky Mushko has a gift for detail. In every instance of character change, you are able to visualize and even hear the protagonist so clearly that you feel transported to that time and place. From Penhook to Richmond, from the battlefields of the civil war to a birthing bed attended by a baby catcher and from the past to the present, Becky has given us a treasure to cherish. The stories of life used to be handed down through patches on family quilts....
--Heather Froeschl, SENIOR NEWS

It was hard to decide which of Becky Mushko's books to review. Where There's A Will, a delightful collection of short stories for young people, is the newest of her works and include study guides for use in 6th grade Virginia schools under the SOLs. The title of The Girl Who Raced Mules and Other Stories is nearly irresistible, and is a collection of charming, funny and beautiful stories. Peevish Advice is just plain hilarious, described as "a fun and trashy reading experience".

Patches on the Same Quilt, the first of Becky's books that I read, was also my favorite. This short story collection, winner of the 2001 Smith Mountain Arts Council Fiction Award, spans six generations of a fictional Franklin County family. A member of each generation picks up the thread of the history of the family, telling the tale that begins with a young boy's longing for a horse. The family saga twists and turns with the changes of the 20th century, but the strong love of place and deep appreciation and love of fine horses stretches across the generations.

The author's sense of story and of place, as well as a deep understanding of the people of her unique county, are all revealed in the stories that take place in and around Penhook, Virginia. A good eye for detail shows in the descriptions of the area, settling the reader comfortably in the mountains of Franklin County. The dialect is well done, capturing the soft accents of the mountain people. Much of the intelligence and talent of the native Blue Ridge Mountain people is also revealed in the talents of the characters as artists and writers.

Particularly meaningful to me were the stories of the women. A mother grieves the loss of her soldier son, a young girl faces the consequences of a careless decision, a second wife faces the fact that her new husband is still in love with his dead first bride. The ties of mother to daughter, grandmother to granddaughter, sister to sister; all are explored and revealed as strong women face sorrow, loss, gain and growth.

Horses figure largely in the stories, beginning with a Civil War survivor that was once a fine "singlefootin'" or racking horse that was crippled by the war. Her descendants are celebrated along with the family, and there are some telling revelations about the world of show horses and the corruption of the beautiful natural gaits by show practices in the later stories. The loss of the horses as a way of life leads to more hard changes for the family.

The title of the book is derived from a sampler that a character worked: "We may not be cut from the same cloth, but we're all patches on the same quilt" and serves as the theme of the book. The cover artwork is a photo of a family quilt, an heirloom that Becky Mushko has preserved. The theme that each life in a family serves as an interconnected part of a whole, captured in stories told in individual voices with unique viewpoints, is a revelation about the people of the mountains.

Becky Mushko's books are available on-line from several sources and directly from the author. Patches on the Same Quilt must be ordered directly from Becky and is in a second printing.

--Leslie Shelor, Blue Ridge Gazette, June 2006