The Red Heart by JAMES ALEXANDER Thom
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Book Reviews of The Red Heart
Book Review: Amazing historical fiction
Summary: 5 Stars
This is serious historical fiction. Long and descriptive and SO worth the effort to read. I am in awe of James Alexander Thom's dedication to authenticity and his exquisitely detailed storytelling. Last year when I read Panther in the Sky, I figured none of his other books could be as good. I was wrong, lucky me.
The Red Heart details the life of Frances Slocum from age five until her death at age 74 in 1847. Frances was a Quaker girl in the Susquehanna Valley of Pennsylvania. She was stolen by Delaware (Lenapeh) Indians when she was five years old. To us it sounds barbaric, but many Indians felt justified in taking white children as replacements for their own children who were killed by white soldiers.
Frances quickly adapted and was assimilated into the Lenapeh life, and later, through marriage, the Miamis. She had numerous opportunities to come forth and be taken back among the white people. Instead, she carefully covered her bright red hair and avoided contact with those who might suspect who she was. Her skin was white but her heart was red, and she chose to stay with her adopted people.
The Slocums, her birth family, never stopped looking for her no matter how many years went by. Their efforts are an amazing part of the story as well. Her brothers went on numerous lengthy treks searching for her, and followed up every lead and rumor. It took real courage to travel unarmed among hostile Indians, as dictated by their Quaker beliefs. It's easy to get caught up in Frances' new life among the Indians, but the author always takes you back and reminds you that she had a wonderful family who loved her and suffered from their loss.
I just can't say enough good things about Thom and the way he brings these stories to life while remaining true to historical records. He provides detailed Author's Notes at the end of his books, where he gives his sources and clearly explains how much is fact and how much he had to fill in with his own store of knowledge and imagination.
Book Review: awesome! bravo!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one great book.
It is based on the true story of Francis Slocum, a 4 year old Quaker girl who was kidnapped by Delaware Indians in the 1770s on the Pennsylvania frontier near Wilkes-Barre. (There are recreation areas named for her in both Pennsylvania and Indiana)
It is also the story of her family's 60 year search for her across the Midwest and even into Canada.
It is also the story of the relentless American westward movement and how the Indians dealt with it.
The reader also gets a fantastic lesson on daily life among the Delaware and Miami Indians.
If you're a Star Trek: The Next Generation fan you'll remember the epidsode in which Picard is "attacked" by the alien probe from the long-dead world that makes him live an entire lifetime among their people in his mind in just a few seconds so that their way of life will never be forgotten. (It's the one where he learns to play the little flute-type instrument). Well, this book reminds me of that - you are drawn into this woman's life and initiated into Indian culture as she is. you learn along with her. You grow up with her, feel her disappointments and joys and her confusions as she learns that her white family is searching for her (should she seek them? should she run? Would it be best to take advantage of her white skin and abandon her Indian family as the times get harder and harder?)
I have a few quibbles with the book but those are dwarfed by Thom's overall accomplishment. Honestly, at the end of the book, when Francis Slocum dies, I felt as though a longtime friend who'd lived a wonderful and fulfilling life had died - and that is the greatest compliment I think I can give it.
Bravo!
Book Review: The Red Heart and Political Correctness.
Summary: 5 Stars
I really enjoyed reading this novel. It not only inspired me to read other books by James Alexander Thom, but also made me want to find out more about Frances Slocum. It was in doing this research that I discovered that Thom had played a little loose with the facts of Slocum's abduction. I believe he did this simply to place her Indian abductors in a better light. Yes, it was a little disconcerting; but this discovery did not ruin my overall enjoyment of the book.The novel attempts to view the history of Old Northwest from a very pro-Native perspective. Thom wants the reader to be fully aware that what happened to the Indians of the Old Northwest was a tragedy and a blot on the history of the U.S. And I think he is absolutely correct in that viewpoint. However, I felt that occassionally he went a little overboard in attempting to illustrate this point. His portrayal of the differences between whites and Indians sometimes came across as simplistic and condenscending. It can be annoying since I've read children's books on the subject of Indian captivities that presented a more even handed and realistic look at racial relations- Sally Keehn's "I Am Regina" is an excellent example that shows that cruelty could be found on both sides.
However, "The Red Heart's" political correctness is a quibble that really does not deter from its effectiveness as a terrific novel. It's really well-written, and is about one of the most poignant and fascinating stories in American history. If you love historical fiction set in early America and have enjoyed James Alexander Thom's work then you will surely enjoy this book.
Book Review: More Than a Culture Clash Novel
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the story of a young quaker girl taken by the Indians in a raid, and adopted first by a loving Indian woman who had lost her own children in raids by the whites. The author lets us see the struggles by the Indians to survive the attacks on their villages by the whites, while showing us the longing and anquish of the non warring quaker family for their kidnapped daughter. As the story unfolds, we see the young quaker girl, first called Waletawash(good face) then Maconakwa(Little Bear Woman) grow up and become a respected Indian woman of her adopted people. The reader sees the good and bad aspects of Indian life, including the devastation and personal losses caused by the introduction of alcohol by the whites. Although the Indians suffer many defeats, they survive with determination and hope, not only in the flesh, but in the spirit as well. In the end, with very little land left to live her Indian way of life, Maconakwa is called on to make a very important decision concerning her future and way of life for her family and the few remaining Indians, which to me was the right one. This is one of the best books I have read, and one I will read over a number of times. Thanks to the author for giving us such a wonderful story. A readerBook Review: An Incredible and Inspiring Acounting of her life
Summary: 5 Stars
I just finished this book and miss it already. The author, again, not only told you the story of survival of an incredible person, but also a story based on fact. This book tells what it's like to be a real woman, a woman of strength and dignity. This book tells what it really must have been like to be a (Native) American back in those horrid times. I'm ready to plant my garden and I want to plant in the natural, efficient, grateful way the natives did, and this book speaks of, and compare it to the "wapsi" ways I have been taught all my life. To me, had the natives had a better understanding of Christ,( perhaps by better examples), they would have lived as close to Eden as any culture has ever achieved. Too bad greed and alcohol and fear devestated that Eden so thoroughly. Thank you, James Alexander Thom, for reminding us and refreshing our view of who we are, and how we got here by your historic novels and accountings. Readers, try "Follow The River" and "Panther in the Sky", too, other books by Thom that will enrich you with sociology, history and geography, and a few gardenning pointers, too!