When I found out that we were reading a play based in the Appalachian Mountains written by someone who had spent possibly only a day or two there, I was a bit uneasy. I’ve been here for going on three years and I doubt I could capture the essence of Appalachia. However, I quickly found myself falling in love with this “Kentucky Cycle”, but I do find it does have some faults. The character of Patrick is truly the chilling one in my eyes. The man is ruthless, cold, and bloodthirsty. When the judge comes to collect his land and he sends his own children out to be ready to kill the judge, that was heavy, but not nearly as heavy as the bargaining scene. The thought that this man was willing to give up humans to pay his debt was uneasy enough, but finding out that one of the slaves was his own half brother and still not blinking an eye is what is truly disturbing to me. I just cannot wrap my head around the idea that this man is so cold to everyone and so willing to kill. I can definitely see why so many people have critiques of this book. Seeing as many Americans have never set foot in Appalachia, nearly all of the characters, Patrick included, portray the exact opposite image that a region would want to convey. While the author claims that this book is about the American population as a whole, the fact that Kentucky, a state in Appalachia, is in the title does not bode well for the region. I feel as if there needs to be a real sympathetic character in the book and not just an old slave crying for her son. I don’t know if there will be a character, but I really hope there is, because I don’t know how much heaviness I can take.