Mystery
Tales from the Black Gizzard Mine
Big Mabel
Why Read It
If you ever loved a stubborn old animal that had more heart than sense, Big Mabel will feel like family. It's a story about facing the dark with the folks beside you — the kind of tale I grew up hearing. Mabel ain't just a mule. She's every tough, ornery, loyal soul who ever refused to quit when the mountain said otherwise.
About the Book
BIG MABEL isn't just a mule — she's a legend born in the depths of Kentucky coal country, where the air is thick with coal dust and stories echo through the mountains like ghost songs. In this sweeping Appalachian tale, Mabel leads a crew of unlikely heroes — Clarence the high-strung canary, Poncho the theatrical pony, and Shep the loyal shepherd dog — through the perilous underworld of mine shafts, mudslides, and moonlit ridgelines.
Filled with rich mountain folklore, dry mule wit, and the enduring spirit of Appalachia, this sweeping tale follows Mabel and her crew of unlikely heroes through mine shafts, mudslides, and moonlit ridgelines. Where legend meets loyalty, and heroes come with hooves.
Reader Reviews
FUNNY BUT SERIOUS, THERE'S A LOT TO LIKE IN BIG MABEL
"You may find it funny that in John Chaney's Big Mabel its main characters are not human but a group of anthropomorphic figures, led by a no-nonsense, insightful, and hard-working mule, named Big Mabel, who, when we first meet her, is laboring with friends in an Appalachian coal mine. Big Mabel, bright and capable, is obviously the leader of the group — one who handles the heavy lifting (literally and figuratively). There's Clarence, the canary, whose primary purpose is to warn the miners when conditions become dangerous, but not liking being tagged as one-dimensional has developed a musical repertoire ranging from opera to punk rock; Poncho, a theatrically-inclined, feisty pony who dances the Mambo and is driven by a desire to run in the Kentucky Derby; and Shep, a shepherd dog who offers his friends a modicum of stability. There is a lot in this short novel to grab your attention. I found it to be a delightful read and often found myself laughing out loud. But if you dig beneath the surface just a little, you will find life lessons emerging from these coming-of-age characters; and these lessons seemed to have more of an impact coming from animals than if the characters had been human. Read it, and see what you think."
— W Bruce Ayers, Verified Purchase · Amazon, February 2026"Big Mabel brought me straight back to my grandmother's porch in Harlan County. I laughed, I cried, and I thought about it for a week after I finished."
— Amazon Reader Review"John Chaney writes like he's sitting right next to you on the porch telling a story. Big Mabel is one of those books you'll press into a friend's hands."
— Amazon Reader Review