The Kentucky Trace

The Kentucky Trace is written by Harriet Simpson Arnow in 1974. The novel claims to be a story about the American Revolution. The truth is the American Revolution is in the back of the background for the story. The novel follows Leslie Collins in some of his adventures across the midwest during the war. There is some minor military references, but not enough to really call it a story of the Revolution.

The real story occurs when Leslie finds an abandoned child and chooses to adopt him as his own. The child is not truly abandoned, but the mother wants the child killed because he is born out of wedlock. How Leslie manages to adopt the child is interesting.

My only real complaint of the story is it's abrupt ending. There is no real resolution to the story. It's as though the author just decided to stop writing. The book is out of print, but there are many inexpensive copies available through Amazon.

Book Rating: 3 Stars