Downstate-based novelist Kelsey Ronan spoke at the Munising School Public Library on Sept. 27 about her debut novel “Chevy in the Hole”. The author spoke about the book, her writing process and more as part of the Two Books, Two Communities program shared between the Munising and Marquette libraries.
The books selected for Two Books, Two Communities this year shared a theme of hope, which was a stark contrast to the beginning of “Chevy in the Hole”. Pulling from the painful personal experience of losing a loved one to drug overdose, Ronan skips the first chapter in all of her reading engagements. It’s a tough introduction for some readers, with Ronan sharing a story of a woman who came to one of the book tour events just to “meet the person who wrote such a depressing book”.
“Everytime I (read chapter one), I see how depressing it is,” she said. “I’d get so many questions about addiction and that influences the tone moving forward.”
Instead she starts in chapter two, when the main characters start to rebuild and lay the foundation for happiness and growth despite the world around them.
The book itself is described as a love letter to the tribulations and resiliency of Flint, using historical events to shape the relationship between the two main characters of Gus and Monae. Starting out as a selection of short stories based on local history through the eyes of various family members, the book evolved to focus on the two characters that were added later in the writing process.
“Originally, the book was a chronological story from the UAW strike in ‘37 to the water crisis,” Ronan said. “It then went from a chronological story to a love story impacted by the history around it.”
“Chevy in the Hole” is one of many recent books depicting the Midwestern Industrial Renaissance as people in places like Flint try to take their hometown of abandoned automobile factories and make it something new again. While the notion has become objectified by many – the New York Times review of the story spent more words romanticizing the plights of Detroit and Flint instead of actually reviewing the book – Ronan’s first-hand experiences resonated with the small crowd. Reading the depictions of her and her family’s response to the changes in Flint reminded local readers of the stories their parents told of the mining towns in the Copper Country and the paper company’s impact in Manistique.
“There’s so much similarity between company towns. This showcased the resiliency of people that live there through storytelling,” Munising School Public Librarian Lisa Cromell said. “I don’t know if (“Chevy in the Hole”) is a redemption story, but it is a story about getting back up.”
Ronan’s engagement at the library was the last Two Books, Two Communities event in Munising this year. A digital event with the other author Becky Chambers and her Hugo-winning novel “A Psalm for the Wild-Built”was canceled, but a discussion about addiction will be held at the Peter White Public Library in Marquette on October 12.
