We are chased into this life. We are chased by what we do to others and then in turn what they do to us. We’re always looking behind us, or worried about what comes next. Margaret Atwood, Toni Morrison and Louise Erdrich form the holy trinity of contemporary writers for me. They each produce impeccable novels on a regular basis, featuring strong but very human characters who are dealing with complicated and heartbreaking situations, and usually ending with pain tempered by some small hope. Race, […]
Should be required reading for everyone
Arnold “Junior” Spirit doesn’t exactly have an easy time of it. Born poor and hydrocephalic, it’s pretty much a miracle that he survived infancy. Suffering from stuttering, his over-large head, bad eyesight and frequent seizures, he’s routinely picked on by both children and adults on the Spokane reservation, finding solace in basketball, his drawing and his best friend Rowdy. When Junior transfers away from the school on the reservation to get a chance at a real education, Rowdy feels deeply betrayed, like Junior’s sold out […]
All things are connected. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the children of the earth.
Purely by coincidence, I read Solar Storms during the week that included Columbus Day — a holiday that made me uncomfortable for some time and now makes me sick. Solar Storms is set amongst Native Americans living in northern Minnesota in 1972-73 as their lands are being overtaken for development. Author Linda Hogan, a Chickasaw writer, uses her gifts for language and character development to tell a spellbinding story of connectivity, brokenness, environmentalism, and spirituality with a focus on four incredibly strong and thoughtful women […]
In which I endorse a recent NPR romance recommendation
Listed as an honorable mention for Beverly Jenkins in NPR’s recent 100 recommended romances list, I gave Topaz a try as it covers two bases I haven’t much encountered: Westerns and African-American hero/ines. All things considered, I liked Topaz very much; though, admittedly, I found the prose to be lacking in sophistication (which is what knocks off the fifth star.) Still, Jenkins obviously has her finger on the pulse of what makes a romance successful. Katherine Love is a newspaper reporter in the late 19th […]
A true story of the cost of native american assimilation in colonial America
Caleb’s Crossing is an engrossing piece of historical fiction that takes place in colonial America, based on the true story of Caleb Cheeshahteaumauk who was born into the Wampanoag tribe on what is today known as Martha’s Vineyard in Massachussetts, and was one of the first native Americans to attend, and brilliantly succeed at, Harvard College against tremendous odds. Author Geraldine Brooks, an Australian who today lives with her family on Martha’s Vineyard, narrates the tale of Caleb through the voice of the fictional […]
On Passion
My hand is a human hand. My heart a human heart. My feet walk the earth to which our bones return. Directed by His voice, His hand, by the prompting and guidance of His spirit, what else was I to do? ~ Father Damien in a letter to the Pope The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2001. I’ve reviewed two of Erdrich’s other novels — The Plague of Doves, which won a […]
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