Empire of the Summer Moon is not for everyone. It’s an elegiac paean to frontier America and the doomed struggle of Comanche Indians to maintain their way of life in the face of an unrelenting onslaught of white encroachment. It broadly encompasses the rugged bravado of American pioneers trying to fulfill their Manifest Destiny and the individual horrors of trying to eek out a life in a hostile world. It walks the delicate line between explaining how these disparate and dichotomous worlds clashed and parsing […]
In which I try not to let my personal pickiness ruin a good book
3.5 stars I can recognize a good book when I see one. The Absolutely True Diary… is touching, thoughtful, considered, and funny. It features a unique protagonist who is fleshed out honestly and whose diverse perspective (drawn from Sherman Alexie’s own experiences) is a valuable addition to the YA landscape. I came away from reading this book not just with an abstractly increased sense of empathy, but with an actual education. Should this book be widely read and roundly discussed? Yes, absolutely. Did I “enjoy” […]
“Death is never added to death, it multiplies.”
I’m not going to review the book too deeply, in anticipation of our discussion. These are just some thoughts I had. I had no idea that Sherman Alexie wrote the screenplay for Smoke Signals. if you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend that you do. If you enjoyed this book, I couldn’t recommend that movie enough. It has a similar tone, and touches on some of the same themes. Stylistically, this book could’ve been written by Stephen King. Maybe that’s a weird comparison to make, but […]
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 […]