A poignant tale of a once-proud Pennsylvania coal town destroyed by a mining disaster, Tawni O'Dell's second novel, Coal Run, follows its wounded inhabitants as they try to come to terms with what is gone and what remains. "The Great Ivan Z"--Ivan Zoschenko--is a mythical football hero who, after being injured on the eve of a promising professional career, heads for Florida (and the bottom of the bottle) for a decade before limping back to Coal Run and getting a job as deputy sheriff. The novel spans a week's time, but recollections and suppositions of the characters add depth; the book's an engrossing adventure in self-redemption and acceptance.

Multiple plot lines abound: Ivan keenly awaits the release from prison of his teammate, Reese Raynor, who beat his wife into a coma and whom Ivan visits regularly in the hospital; Reese's brother and his family struggle with many kids, little money and fewer prospects; Ivan's boyhood hero, Val, a Vietnam veteran who likewise spent years elsewhere, returns with eyes for Ivan's sister, a waitress, former beauty queen, and single mom. And, of course, there's a love interest. Stood up by her date, Ivan contemplates: "What could possibly be more important than sitting across a table from this woman and watching her put things in her mouth? I wonder as I take a seat." Despite somewhat predictable plot elements, O'Dell has the benefit of so many different story lines and characters to choose from that the novel is well-paced and allows her powers of observation to shine. For example, Ivan notes: "I need a drink. I'm not embarrassed or apologetic about the craving. Needing a drink isn't any worse than needing to collect Beanie Babies. I'd rather be a drunk than a moron."

Coal Run is a pitch-perfect story of a town's rediscovery that the best thing about it is its people and their ability to survive and retain a sense of pride, even after its identity and many lives were lost. --Michael Ferch

From Publishers Weekly
O'Dell (Back Roads) explores the dynamics of a tiny Pennsylvania coal-mining town in her probing, heartbreaking second novel, which centers on the fortunes of former college football hero Ivan Zoschenko. The novel literally opens with a bang in a flashback that recalls the tragic underground explosion that took the life of Zoschenko's father and killed 96 other men from Coal Run. Some 15 years later, just after Zoschenko is drafted by the Chicago Bears, his knee is crushed in an accident in the same mines. His subsequent fall from grace is long and hard; he moves to Florida, hits the bars and works as an exterminator. He returns home only when he hears that Reese Raynor, a former schoolmate who beat his wife, Crystal, into a coma, is being released from prison. Despite his drinking problem, Zoschenko is hired as a deputy by the local sheriff, getting back in touch with his gorgeous sister, a single mom and career waitress; his boyhood hero, now a reclusive Vietnam vet; Reese's troubled twin brother, Jesse; and Crystal, who is still comatose and reminds Zoschenko of a shameful incident in his past. That past is linked to Reese Raynor's, and the novel builds to the inevitable brutal collision of the two men. O'Dell's portrait of Zoschenko is deep and penetrating, but even more moving is her portrayal of the coal-town community. Ravaged by disaster and callous corporate treatment, the citizens of Coal Run still can't imagine any other life. As Zoschenko puts it, "Long before [the mine] became the site of so much death, it had been a source of life for all of us. For me it was the closest thing I had to God." Though it occasionally flirts with sentimentality, this is a fierce, sharply drawn and richly sympathetic tribute to working-class America. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From AudioFile
O'Dell's novel opens with a vivid, gripping, and disturbing description of an explosion at a coal mine in western Pennsylvania from the perspective of a small boy whose father is in the mine. The rest of the story explores the effects of that event on the boy, his friends and family, and the mining town itself. Daniel Passer's low-key narration lets the beauty and strength of the author's writing shine through. At the same time, he creates convincing characters with distinct and recognizable voices. This is a strong, difficult story, beautifully told. J.D.P. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
*Starred Review* As in Back Roads (1999), O'Dell's debut novel, which became an Oprah selection, the setting here is a run-down Pennsylvania mining town, but this time there is far less emphasis on melodrama. What remains is a glorious story of love and loss, of achievement and disappointment, of hope and despair. After more than 15 years living in Florida, Ivan Zoschenko returns to his home in western Pennsylvania, his arrival coinciding with the release from prison of his high-school alter ego, Reese Raynor. Ivan is not thrilled to return home: he had gladly left behind memories of the explosion at the mine that killed his father and nearly 100 other miners when he was six, and he doesn't look forward to hearing the locals' reaction to the bizarre injury that brought his career as a pro football player to an abrupt end. But here he is, sleeping on his sister's couch and working temporarily as deputy for the sheriff's office. The novel takes place over the course of only one week, yet O'Dell manages to give the story an epic dimension through masterful intercutting of past and present. Reese's pending release drives the plot, and as the day nears, Ivan confronts his own demons and secrets with true-to-life reluctance. Like Russo's Miles Roby in Empire Falls (2001), Ivan begrudgingly comes to savor the small-town life he thought he hated. A beautifully written, sweeping story. Mary Frances Wilkens
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

The New York Times Book Review
Tense, conflicted, and involving, O’Dell’s novel deftly captures the voice of a teenage boy who’s in trouble.

Chicago Tribune
An intense story of family, frailty, and dysfunction... captivatingly told.

New York Newsday
O’Dell has tackled the real stuff of stories, and she’s done it with compassion and a unique voice.

Book Description
At once riveting and heartbreaking, Back Roads, with its pitch-perfect characters, captured the maddening confusion of adolescence and announced the arrival of a formidable talent in Tawni O’Dell, a writer who finds the humor and humanity in the bleakest states. With her eagerly awaited second novel, Coal Run, O’Dell takes us back to the coal mining country of western Pennsylvania, the territory she renders with such striking authenticity. Ivan Zoschenko, the local deputy and erstwhile football legend, "The Great Ivan Z," sidelined years ago by a knee injury, spends a week seemingly preparing for an old teammate’s imminent release from prison. In doing so, Ivan introduces a rich cast of characters—his unexpectedly wise and comic former beauty queen sister, his former idol Val Claypool, and the young woman whose life he changed forever. And during the events of this week, Ivan confronts his demons and reveals himself to be a man whose conscience is burdened by a long-held and shocking secret that must be reckoned with. Driven by the same raw energy, humor, suspense, and compassion for a place and a way of life that made O’Dell’s first novel so unforgettable, Coal Run is an uncompromising and absorbing novel that advances on, even transcends, the incredible promise of Back Roads.

Download Description
"An engrossing drama about a native son, his fall from grace, and his heroic efforts to rectify the past-from the author of the New York Times bestseller (and Oprah's Book Club selection) Back Roads At once riveting and heartbreaking, Back Roads, with its pitch-perfect characters, captured the maddening confusion of adolescence and announced the arrival of a formidable talent in Tawni O'Dell, a writer who finds the humor and humanity in the bleakest states. With her eagerly awaited second novel, Coal Run, O'Dell takes us back to the coal mining country of western Pennsylvania, the territory she renders with such striking authenticity. Ivan Zoschenko, the local deputy and erstwhile football legend, "The Great Ivan Z," sidelined years ago by a knee injury, spends a week seemingly preparing for an old teammate's imminent release from prison. In doing so, Ivan introduces a rich cast of characters-his unexpectedly wise and comic former beauty queen sister, his former idol Val Claypool, and the young woman whose life he changed forever. And during the events of this week, Ivan confronts his demons and reveals himself to be a man whose conscience is burdened by a long-held and shocking secret that must be reckoned with. Driven by the same raw energy, humor, suspense, and compassion for a place and a way of life that made O'Dell's first novel so unforgettable, Coal Run is an uncompromising and absorbing novel that advances on, even transcends, the incredible promise of Back Roads."

About the Author
Tawni O’Dell was born and raised in the Allegheny mountains of western Pennsylvania.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Coal Run is a community of ghosts and memories. After a mining explosion took the lives of so many men and transformed their families, the reverberations are still being felt in the generation of survivors thirty years later. Narrator Ivan Zoschenko, the local deputy and erstwhile football legend ("the Great Ivan Z"), his pro career sidelined by a knee injury, spends a week seemingly preparing for an old teammate's imminent release from prison. In doing so, Ivan introduces a rich cast of characters - his unexpectedly wise and comic former beauty queen sister, his former idol Val Claypool, and the young woman whose life he changed forever. And during the events of this week, Ivan confronts his demons and reveals himself to be a man whose conscience is burdened by a long-held and shocking secret that must be reckoned with.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

O'Dell (Back Roads) explores the dynamics of a tiny Pennsylvania coal-mining town in her probing, heartbreaking second novel, which centers on the fortunes of former college football hero Ivan Zoschenko. The novel literally opens with a bang in a flashback that recalls the tragic underground explosion that took the life of Zoschenko's father and killed 96 other men from Coal Run. Some 15 years later, just after Zoschenko is drafted by the Chicago Bears, his knee is crushed in an accident in the same mines. His subsequent fall from grace is long and hard; he moves to Florida, hits the bars and works as an exterminator. He returns home only when he hears that Reese Raynor, a former schoolmate who beat his wife, Crystal, into a coma, is being released from prison. Despite his drinking problem, Zoschenko is hired as a deputy by the local sheriff, getting back in touch with his gorgeous sister, a single mom and career waitress; his boyhood hero, now a reclusive Vietnam vet; Reese's troubled twin brother, Jesse; and Crystal, who is still comatose and reminds Zoschenko of a shameful incident in his past. That past is linked to Reese Raynor's, and the novel builds to the inevitable brutal collision of the two men. O'Dell's portrait of Zoschenko is deep and penetrating, but even more moving is her portrayal of the coal-town community. Ravaged by disaster and callous corporate treatment, the citizens of Coal Run still can't imagine any other life. As Zoschenko puts it, "Long before [the mine] became the site of so much death, it had been a source of life for all of us. For me it was the closest thing I had to God." Though it occasionally flirts with sentimentality, this is a fierce, sharply drawn and richly sympathetic tribute to working-class America. Agent, Liza Dawson. (July) Forecast: O'Dell's first novel got an Oprah boost, which sets the bar high for her second. Riveting storytelling and genuine emotional punch should help this excellent sophomore effort keep pace. 10-city author tour. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

O'Dell sets her second novel in the same western Pennsylvania coal-mining region of her successful debut, Back Roads. When the story opens, five-year-old Ivan is waving good-bye to his father as he leaves to work in the local mines. Years later, Ivan returns to his hometown a fallen local hero whose promising football career came to a dramatic halt owing to a knee injury; he takes up work as a deputy and awaits the release of a former teammate from prison. Aided by his insightful mother, his wise sister and her loving sons, and the nearly omniscient town doctor, Ivan reconsiders the course of his life. As she did in her acclaimed debut, O'Dell displays a marvelous gift for serving up eccentric, believable characters and vividly captures the bleakness and harshness of coal-mining country. This captivating novel is recommended for most public libraries. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 3/15/04.]-Andrea Tarr, Corona P.L., CA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews