The Hum and the Shiver
First Tufa novel about a wounded soldier returning home.
The Hum and the Shiver is an urban fantasy novel by American writer Alex Bledsoe, released in the U.S. in September 2011 through Tor Books. It kicks off a seven-book series centered on the Tufa, a mysterious community in a secluded Appalachian valley of East Tennessee. The Tufa are said to be descendants of Irish fairies, already living there when European settlers first arrived. The book earned mostly favorable reviews and was named a top fiction work of 2011 by Kirkus Reviews.
Bledsoe dedicated the novel to South Carolina singer-songwriter Jennifer Goree, crediting her for the title and the music. The title comes from Goree’s third album and its lead song, both called *The Hum and the Shiver*. Bledsoe later named every subsequent Tufa novel after one of Goree’s songs.
The idea for the Tufa originated with Bledsoe’s father, who told him folklore about people living in the north Tennessee mountains long before Europeans arrived. That notion of a group with unknown origins stuck with Bledsoe for thirty years before he developed it into the Tufa series. He also drew inspiration from the Melungeons, groups of uncertain ancestry in central Appalachia who are often noted for their slightly exotic appearance. During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Bledsoe wondered what might happen if a soldier like Jessica Lynch belonged to such a clan. That thought became Specialist Bronwyn Hyatt, the novel’s heroine.
Bledsoe noted that these stories of unknown origins tap into the “fear of otherness” in southern culture. The underlying theme of the Tufa books, he said, is about making peace with the world when hiding is no longer possible. He derived the name Tufa from the Tuatha Dé Danann, a fairy-like race in Irish mythology. The third book in the series, *Long Black Curl*, reveals that the Tufa were exiled from Faerie by the Fairy Queen, who cursed them to travel west across the ocean.
Music is central to Tufa culture. Bledsoe explained that the Tufa manifest their fairy magic through music, using its power to influence the world. Song lyrics in the books come from traditional ballads and independent musicians. When he couldn’t find a suitable song, Bledsoe wrote his own lyrics, though without composing music.
Quick Facts
- Author
- Alex Bledsoe
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Series
- Tufa
- Genre
- Urban fantasy
- Publisher
- Tor Books
- Pub Date
- September 2011
- Media Type
- Trade paperback
- Pages
- 304
- Isbn
- 978-0-7653-2744-4
- Followed By
- Wisp of a Thing
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The novel follows US Army Specialist Bronwyn Hyatt, a Tufa who returns home after being wounded during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The Tufa typically look like typical Appalachians with a slightly exotic appearance, and are said to be descendants of Irish fairies. Music is essential to Tufa culture, passed down through female relatives (and sometimes inherited by men), and empowers them with magical abilities including healing, flying, and communicating with haints. Bronwyn recovers from her injuries but is troubled by a haint and discovers her mother is plagued by death omens. Her former abusive boyfriend, Dwayne Gitterman, begins stalking her again. The Tufa have split into two factions: Bronwyn's group, led by Mandalay Harris of the First Daughters, preserves Tufa culture and magic, while Dwayne's group, led by Rockhouse Hicks, has lost its magical abilities.
Reader's Guide
The Hum and the Shiver is significant as the opening work of Bledsoe's Tufa series, which draws on Appalachian folklore and the real-life Melungeons—groups of dark-skinned people of unknown ancestry in central Appalachia. Bledsoe derived the Tufa's name from the Tuatha Dé Danann of Irish mythology. The novel's title comes from the third album and lead song of South Carolina singer-songwriter Jennifer Goree, to whom the book is dedicated. Bledsoe stated that the underlying theme of the Tufa books is 'when it's no longer possible to hide from the world, how do you make your peace with it?' The book received mostly positive reviews, with critics praising its prose, world-building, and treatment of music. However, academic Kathy Lyday criticized its depictions of rural East Tennessee communities, particularly the Melungeons, calling the characters one-dimensional and the story full of stereotypes. The novel was selected by Kirkus Reviews as one of the best works of fiction in 2011.
Did You Know?
- The novel's title comes from the title of Jennifer Goree's third album and its lead song.
- Bledsoe derived the Tufa's name from the Tuatha Dé Danann, a race of fairy-like beings in Irish mythology.
- The third book in the Tufa series, Long Black Curl, explains that the Tufa were exiled from Faerie by the Fairy Queen using a curse that sent them west across the ocean.
- Bledsoe said the idea for the Tufa came from his father's stories of people living in the north Tennessee mountains long before the first European settlers arrived.
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