Owens' fabulous characters and his descriptions of the Island where they lived and the times in which they lived as well as his attention to the changing conditions of their intertwined lives made me feel like I was one of them. I shivered in the snow and ice with Everett, salivated when Henri explained a dish he would cook, shuddered at the torture of Father Ray and through it all, prayed that they would all be spared from the harsh environment and the many challenges each of them faced. For the historical/adventure buff, this is a terrific read. I hope there is a sequel in the making.

Early in Peter Owens' fine novel Rips, Everett, a trapper and
fisherman on the St. Lawrence River, declares the central theme of
this work: "Ain't nothin' worse than a channel current goin one
way and the wind goin the other. That rip'll kill yah." The
unknown and deceptive can spell disaster.

Surviving in the North
American wilderness of the 1750s on the frontier between Quebec and
New York required a keen understanding of wind, water, sailing, the
river, Indians, soldiers, mariners and other people of all kinds, not
to mention bugs, animals and plants, and most important, the
all-pervasive, murderous weather. This thrilling tale skillfully
weaves the lives of six people as they fight to stay alive and
together in conditions that demand resourcefulness, experience and
courage.

Everett lives on an island in the St. Lawrence with the
widowed Ella, whom he has rescued from her burnt-out cabin, and her
son, Jamie. When the novel begins, Everett is trying hard to be a
father to Jamie, help Ella through the loss of her husband and to
steer clear of the warring French, British, Huron, Mohawk and
Iroquois, as well as protect them from thieving rival trappers and
fishermen; but the outside world keeps intruding on their already hard
life.

The fortunes of Everett, Ella, Jamie and their friends Lucy,
a half Iroquois trading post owner, Henri, a deserter from the French
navy, and Gilles, a French ship's officer, intertwine and fragment in
ways that are sometimes tragic, sometimes funny, and always exciting
as they risk their lives to help one another. We come to know these
people intimately and to share the author's affection for them, and
along the way we learn a lot about the human spirit and an
appreciation for the realities of survival.

Clearly Owens has a
vast knowledge of the period and place he creates for us, and tells
his story in some of the most beautifully written scenes I have ever
read. With wisdom and compassion his muscular prose leads us through
myriad complex adventures. Whether Everett and his friends are trying
to stay afloat in crushing ice, flying like the wind across the
river's surface in an ice boat, or crawling on their bellies through a
frozen swamp with a band of Indians, the writing carries us along with
the sureness and depth of the St. Lawrence itself. Rips is a deeply
affecting and exciting novel.

I look forward to seeing other books
by this talented author.

Rips provides an exciting look at the French and Indian War from a unique perspective, inhabitants of an island in the St. Lawrence River. The book reminded me of the recent movie (and classic work) LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

Debu's journey brings together many opposites: east and west, thoughts of adults on the young, old country -- new country, Hinduism -- Christianity, tradition and modernity. His odyssey takes him from an ancient land to a new one; sacred rivers flow through each, he creates himself anew as he moves between cultures. It is a voyage of discovery, but not just of places and environments and new friends and colleagues; there is an inner voyage that takes place too. In this kind of journey -- which takes place over decades, on several continents -- although most of these stories are set in Idaho in the last 20 years -- there is ample room for reflection, and doubt and crises of identity. Do I belong to one culture? Or another? Or does that question even have meaning any more? Not least of the gifts of this book is that as Debu ponders the changes that have come about in himself, among his fellow Indians who have come to the United States, and in everyone who has come to the American West, he sees himself in new ways, and we see ourselves in a new light too. That is a valuable gift.

Idaho and Calcutta. Himalayas and Tetron. Indians and Americans. Ganges and Snake river. All comes for a fascinating contiguity in all 16 episode composed by Debu Mojumder, an Indian from Calcutta transformed to American in Idaho Falls. He tales this story of transformation through different characters and creeds busy to establish their own identity. Along with the characters the nature, surrounding with all its content living or non living reacts in harmony. All are foreigner at some point. Episodes that can be shared by all in the global village.

From The Ganges To The Snake River: An East Indian In The American West is an engaging, thought-provoking collection of essays written over a period of twenty years in which Debu Majumdar (who was born and raised on the banks of India's Ganges River) wrote while living in Idaho Falls, Idaho during the 1980s and 1990s. The essays cover everything from Mormon missionaries and Native Americas to fishing and horses. Highly recommended and totally engaging, these cultural essays include: First Idaho Winter; Idaho Trout; Fourth of July; Tiger Hunt; Hunting; Mountain River Ranch; The Missionaries; Be Crazy About; An Excursion on the River; Pollywog Pond; The Poets' Club; A Place to Hang Your Hats; Oh Calcutta; At the Windcave; The Ramayana; and Indians Across the Ocean

I had to read an adventure book for a book report. This was a good one. It started slow, but it got better when Celou was tracking her family. It got really exciting at the end -- I didn't know what was going to happen to Celou next! It was yukky to read how Celou fed and cleaned up her baby brother, but I guess that's how they did things back then. Neat book about a girl who was a heroine.

Celou's family has been taken captive by another tribe-except for her and she has to save them. She follows them to their camp and has to figure out a plan. But what can she possilbly do? She must also survive herself. But how? Very, very exciting!

Celou's father is a French fur trapper and her mother is a Shoshone Indian woman. Celou's father has gone away for a month to sell the year's pelts. Celou, her mother, and her two younger brothers are alone in their remote summer camp. All of a sudden, four Crow warriors arrive and take Celou's mother and brothers captive. Celou mannages to escape. She rides for help at the main Shoshone camp nearby, but finds that it has been attacked by the enemy. Now Celou is completely on her own. Can she save her family, or will she be captured as well?

When I read this book, I wanted to read "Dream River" because it featured my two favorite characters in the Wabash trilogy: Amy and Rain. I liked Libby and Farr but the closeness between them was underwritten. In the next two books, they seem to share an unbreakable bond that is envious to their family and friends but it is impossible to see how this closeness came about by reading this book. Although the readers can appreciate how and why Libby fell in love with Farr, Farr's love for Libby simply appeared. There was no explanation about how his lust for her turned to love. I like these two as individuals, but I did not see them as a couple until "Dream River" and "River of Tomorrow". The story of Farr and Fawnella is heart-breaking and incredibly ernest. Also, Willa and Colby's romance is sweet. But the greatest love burns in the two kids, Amy and Rain, and they finally get their turn to shine in "Dream River". "Lonesome River" has unforgettable characters, such as Juicy, Elija, Maude, and George Washington. These are colorful group of people, most of whom do not appear again in other books. A pity. All in all, this is a good book for everything except the lead players. The author should have focused more on them than on everything that was going on around them. Perhaps, she could not wait to get to the telling of Amy and Rain's story, just like I couldn't after I read this book.

Spectacular... intriguing... suspenseful... romantic... touching... fun, and more! This is now one of my favorite Dorothy Garlock stories. Liberty is the perfect main character... feisty, defiant, and bold! I loved reading along as her temper gets the best of her... frequently!!! Farrway Quill is the typical strong woodsman that Ms. Garlock tends to write about... but with much more substance (though I still haven't found a better male character than Johnny Henry from Garlock's With Hope series).

Characters from "Love and Cherish" appear (Juicy, Rain Tallman... and Sloan and Cherish Carroll's son, Colby Carroll) appear throughout the book. Rain and Colby being Farrway's closest friends.

Though the time and location of the setting of this story is surrounded by the struggle of land between the indian and white man... this story tackles another danger, the struggle of the white man and what he will do for power. All of Ms. Garlock's books include a high respect for the indians, but also shows savages in both the indians and the white man. This book is no exception... and you'll be amazed at the strength of Liberty Carroll and the strength others find in themselves when near her.

This story thought ended beautifully, left some interesting untied ends of revenge and love, knowing they will be settled in the next book - Dream River. I'm anxious to read this book, and excited that it is about Rain Tallman... as every time he appeared in this story, his character just stood out among all others.

This book was the first book I read when I was living in New York.I was 16yrs old and I lost it when I moved to Puerto Rico and have been trying to look for it ever since.So when I look up Amazon.com I said maybe I can find it here and i did. Thank you

This is a beautiful collection of stories. The writing is vivid, the character portrayal rich with detail and emotional depth. I remain haunted by what I read in this book: the unsettling images, the keen insight into a town on the other side of the globe, the energy of the characters. This ranks among the best-written books of short stories that I have read, and I heartily recommend it.

Mark Brazaitis has done a wonderful job of capturing the human experience in this terrific collection. I found myself being drawn into each of the stories and falling in love with the characters. His use of magical realism captures the spirit of Latin American literature perfectly. I highly recommend this collection and look forward to reading future works by this extremely talented new writer.

This is an extraordinary look at what may seem like an ordinary town. The stories here vary from the horrific ("Jose Del Rio") to the mournful ("The Whale") to the humorous ("How They Healed") to the epic ("Bathwater"). Throughout the collection, the author shows immense compassion for his characters.

I'm actually puzzled why no one else has reviewed this book - it has been so helpful to me as I've struggled to understand the mysteries of Amazon art. For me the keyword has to be accessibility - I felt as I was there under the canopy as I turned the pages. Highly recommended.

With the ever encroaching Western civilization and corresponding shrinking Indian population of the Amazon the result has been a diminishing indigenous culture. Along with the collection itself this book helps to preserve those artifacts from the Amazon. This beautiful book shows off the collection of Adam Mekler who has probably the best collection of it's kind in the United States. Since much of the art of the Amazon is consumed by the environment and made from items suseptible to decay, such as wood, animal feathers, cloth and fibers it is important to preserve these windows into the souls of their makers. This book is primarily a picture book, filled with magnificnet colorful photographs, many of which are full pages. The book relies heavily on the feather work created from the birds of the Amazon such as parrots, mackaws and hummingbirds. The items shown in the book are headdresses, dance costumes, necklaces, various ornaments and other artifacts associated with ceremonies. Many of the pieces are those used in shamanistic rituals. The text is brief but the explanations for the various pieces illustrate the use of the items quite well. The explanation of the South Amerindian beliefs in a perfect hidden reality behind the perceptible and imperfect world that is accesssed through altered states of awareness is pretty good. The transformation comes about by doning the costumes of the spirits and animals and thus joing them. Although from a laymens perspective these practices seem novel , the doning of costumes is much more as the adornments are an armor revealing status through the power accrutements. The text is extremely interesting and worth reading rather than just glossing over because of the abundance of beautiful photographs. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves the indigenous arts of America, specifically the Amazon, it's people and their culture. More than a picture book, this is a glimpse into the known unknown of the many surviving tribes of their dissappearing and distinctive cultural and linguistic traditions.

Beckham has done more to understand the history of the Indian people of the Oregon coast than any other author. As a member of the Coos tribe, I am grateful for his attention to a history which not only very few non-Indians but also Indian people are aware.

However, mostly missing in this book is the Indian voice, or a discussion of the motivation and understanding of the Indian people who were being uprooted and systematically killed. While Beckham is clearly sympathetic to Indians, this is still a book written from the dominant culture's perspective; even so, the discussion of the motivations of the non-Indian settlers is somewhat superficial.

Because so little is written on the subject, this is an important addition to the history of the Oregon Coast in the early 19th century.

Professor Beckham's presents a terse and lucid account of the displacement of the natives of the Rogue Valley and surrounding areas. I grew up in the Rogue Valley and in fact my family homesteaded there, although they began a couple of decades after the natives had been displaced to reservations. I wish very much that this book had been required reading in my high school, because we were raised to be essentially blind to the melancholy history of our area.

The book is essentially a scholarly memoir, with extensive footnoting for anyone wanting to find more detail in the historical record. Yet, the writing is accessible and vivid. This is a highly recommended read.

This book examines and coveys the creation tales of the Watunna tribe located in tropical rain forest of Venezuela as collected over 15 years by the author. The stories and the descriptions of the story weavers are spell binding. One of the more interesting books I have ever read! See if you can find the connections and similarities between the creation stories of your people and the Watunna!

WATUNNA : An Orinoco Creation Cycle, by Marc de Civrieux, edited and translated from the Spanish by David M. Guss. 195 pp. North point Press, 1980.

I first learned of this book from a review by John Updike, 'Happy on Nono despite Odosha,' which was reprinted in his 'Hugging the Shore' (Penguin Books, 1983, pp.669-75). Normally I don't read much anthropology, and have no particular interest in myths, but Updike's was such an excellent review and got me so excited about this book that I decided to get a copy. It turned out to be the most fascinating compilation of myth I've ever run into, and one with a significant difference.

Rather than being recast in the scholarly prose of your standard anthropologist, the Watunna Creation stories are given to us as they issued from the mouths of the Makiritare themselves, a tribe which lives in the mountainous regions of the upper Orinoco in Southern Venezuela. They were pieced together by French ethnographer, Marc Civrieux, who spent over twenty years visiting the villages of the Makiritare and listening to their vivid and moving myths of the world's creation, and the role their tribe played tribe within it.

The word 'myth' is, of course, a convenient catch-all. In fact it explains nothing. All it does is serve to excuse us from further thought, as does the word 'instinct,' a word which really refers to a kind of intelligence that we do not understand at all. But if even a tiny fraction of what the Makiritare are saying is true - if in fact these stories are not myth, but, as they themselves firmly believe, real history - it would indicate a knowledge of human history that reaches back in time for tens and perhaps even hundreds of thousands of years.

But whether 'myth' or 'history,' the Watunna stories are fascinating, and they have been beautifully rendered into English by David M. Guss. Here are a few lines from the opening of the book:

"There was Kahuna, the Sky Place. The Kahuhana lived there just like now. They're good, wise people. And they were in the beginning too. They never died. There was no sickness, no evil, no war. The whole world was Sky. No one worked. No one looked for food. Food was always there, ready. // There were no animals, no demons, no clouds, no winds. In the highest sky was Wanadi, just like now. He gave his light to the people. . . ." (page 21).

Besides a Translator's Preface, and a 19-page Introduction on the history of the Makiritare and the nature of their Watunna, which in its highest form is communicated from the spirit world in a secret language, and is heard only by initiates while in trance, the book also contains a section of eight interesting photographs of the Makiritare people, a detailed 20-page glossary, and two maps. The book, as is customary with North Point Press, is well-printed on excellent paper, stitched, and bound in a glossy wrapper.

If you're looking for something both different and utterly compelling, and if I haven't succeeded in convincing you, check out John Updike's review, because I'm pretty sure he will. He certainly convinced me, and he was right!

This is a story about contemporary American Indian life around the Washington State and Oregon border. The author begins his acknowledgments by telling us "...this novel places fictional characters in actual places and against some historical events." The acknowledgments continue to reveal his considerable research into the history and anthropology of the Indians who live along the Columbia River, even as to the variation in pronunciation and spelling of certain Native American words from band to band. Indeed, the book reads as if many of the incidents, conflicts and jokes in the story are embellished recollections of actual events. Although billed as fiction, River Song is more a chronicle on the folklore and contemporary lifestyle of some Northwest Indians. I'll call it Indian Gonzo Journalism.

In River Song, you are going to read about the trials and tribulations of a people living in trailers or BIA housing, and who refer to The Treaty on occasion. They are stuck together by an ethnic bond, but in culture that allows them to con and cheat one another. These people know how to pronounce Tiskaatpama and Tsau-tsau; they might eat at Cimiyetti's restaurant or picnic in Happy Canyon or at Preacher's Point. Although the principal characters have common names like Danny, Jack, and Willis, you will also meet Iggy Two Medicine, Lucy Pretty Mink, and "one of the best-looking young women around Mission," who never wears a bra, called Trudy Two Sleeps, perhaps because her winnemucca has been here and there.

These people survive near the bottom rung of the ladder by rodeoing, picking fruit and fishing. They save the Segram's Seven for "Code Blue Emergencies." As migrant workers, Danny and Jack work along side illegal immigrants, Mexicans, who are the brunt of all their jokes.

River Song is not just about the economic struggle of a band of contemporary Native Americans. Mr. Lesley tells us something of their history, and their beliefs, about Steah-hah masks, Night Ghosts, Weyekin animal spirits, and the value of dentalia shells. Danny, the protagonist, has a vision of the Chinese Massacre of 1887 on the Snake River, an actual event. At first, Danny doesn't know the relevance of this vision, doesn't recognize the river, and is even uncertain as to whether the victims are Indians or Chinese with suntans. To sort it out, he consults Wauna the medicine woman and we learn how these people tame their ancestral spirits.

Being a Yankee raised amongst buttercups and maple trees, I also learned more than I ever wanted to know about the vegetation in Northern Oregon. Up there they have bunch grass, hackberry, klamath weeds, service berries, snake-biscuit, blue bachelor buttons, bitter brush, camas bulbs, lupine, cheat grass, balsam root, rock lilies, and bluebells, to name a few. Leslie Craig did teach me something valuable, though. Now I can to tell the difference between Indians and Chinese with suntans. The Indian is the one telling the Mexican joke.

"River Song" picks up where Lesley's previous novel, "Winterkill," left off. Unfortunately, it's not as strong as its predecessor, since some of the situations the characters become involved in seem a bit contrived. Lesley seems to resort to the device of suspense to keep the story going: early in the novel, the main character, Danny Kachiah, has a disturbing vision which he spends much of the novel trying to figure out by visiting, among other things, a medicine woman on the Nez Perce Reservation in Idaho. It seems that this whole aspect of the story was added just to tie in certain actual historical events and give the characters an excuse to travel about the countryside in Eastern Oregon and Idaho. Also, Danny eventually figures out where his vision took place, but Lesley never really explains how. In the hands of a lesser writer, this would have been grounds for tossing the book aside, but Lesley has such a talent for evoking place and time that it's hardly noticeable while you're reading. Thus, Lesley's engrossing style tends to gloss over these and other shortcomings, making "River Song" a very compelling tale. The other aspect of the story, the struggle of the Native Americans along the Columbia River to maintain their fishing rights and thereby preserve their traditions, is handled very well. In a very direct yet unassuming style, Lesley adeptly describes the frustations of the River People in dealing with the U.S. government, the local authorities, commerical fishing operations and sport fishermen and even windsurfers. As with "Winterkill," the characters in "River Song" are very believable, and you often find yourself thinking about them as real people - which attests to Lesley's talent as a top-notch writer.

A wonderful novel about the cultures and the rivers of the Pacific Northwest. This is one of my favorite novels. When I teach it, my students find that it changes the way they look at the world. Read it!

_A Bend In The River_ is Nobel Prize winner V.S. Naipaul's effective, if at times ponderously written, study of major disruptions faced by non-black inhabitants of post-Colonial Congo. Naipaul tells his story from the perspective of Salim, a Muslim shopkeeper, whose family emigrated to the Congo from the east coast of Africa many years before. Under the radicalization program of the "Big Man," Salim's business is confiscated and placed into the hands of a semi-illiterate, womanizing, drunkard. Salim's position is reduced to manager and part-time chauffeur to the new owner.

Among those caught up in the "revolution" are Salim's European friends, Reginald and his wife, Yvette. Formerly in an important position of influence with the African "Big Man," Reginald suddenly becomes a persona non grata. In addition, many non-indigenous people are forced to flee their beloved adopted land after threats of arrest and possible bodily harm.

Naipaul has received criticism for racism for allegedly siding with the former European colonialists and in his negative portrayals of the native Africans. On the surface Naipaul may appear to be somewhat one-sided in the book by not touching on any civil rights abuses the Europeans may have previously perpetrated against native Africans. The only evidence of subjugation Naipaul mentions in the book is of Africans having in the past to address European colonialists as "monsieur" or "madam." In fairness to the author, it must be recognized that _A Bend In The River_ is a work of fiction told from the standpoint of a recently disenfrancised Muslim, whose post-colonial experiences would necessarily embitter him and cause his feelings to be skewed. Naipaul has, after all, not pretended to have written a non-fiction record akin to the history of British India, or of pre-Pol Pot Cambodia, or of post-Tito Yugoslavia in which the atrocities of the previous eras should and must be balanced against those of contemporary times.

Naipaul in one of his typically politically-incorrect interviews said these very words about the continent. A BEND IN THE RIVER is therefore a gloomy book and offers a pessimistic view of Africa. If Conrad had not already taken the title, then this book could easily have been called HEART OF DARKNESS. That's not a coincidence either as Naipaul is frequently compared to Conrad in terms of literary style and theme. The setting is the same also. Although A BEND.. takes place in a fictitious African country it can be read as either Congo or Uganda as it is based on his visits to those countries in the 1960's.

The principal character and narrator of the story is Salim, an Indian and Muslim. Indian merchant families like his have been living in the coastal area of the country for generations. The blacks live inland. Salim decides to move to a small, formerly-quaint colonial town in the interior to set up shop and sell cloth. He is immediately at a loss, in conflict, confused - a man in search of an identity in a country in search of itself. Salim must contend with the rapidly changing social, economic and political environment of the newly independent country while at the same time sort out his own world view in the face of the contending opinions of the other characters. There is the influence of the Big Man - and simply because he is president for life - his interests must be served. There are others: a Belgian priest; Raymond, the white speech writer for the Big Man; Yvette, Raymond's wife; Mahesh, a disillusioned Indian, and finally, the most unlikey important character - Ferdinand. He is a simple boy from the "bush", who, in this upside-down country, becomes Governor of the town after the nation is "radicalized" by the Big Man.

The newly-independent former-colony and the various cultural and political influences of the inhabitants are the foils for two of Naipaul's favorite themes. First is his affinity for, and identity with, dispossessed persons. Dispossessed in the personal sense of the word - no home, no country, no identity - a nobody. Following from this personal sense of rootlessness and anomie is Naipaul's un-romantic and oftentimes very critical assessment of the ability of developing countries to sustain the hopes and dreams of their people. This is ably summed up by Ferdinand. "We are all going to hell, and everyman knows this in his bones...everyone want's to make his money and run away. But where?"

Naipaul's prose is direct, not symbolic, so many students of Post Colonial literature have had a field-day dissecting Naipaul's various literary allusions and castigate him as a conservative and supporter of neo-colonialism. If that's your area of interest and particular world-view then you will definitely not enjoy A BEND.. If on the other hand you simply like well written, slightly satirical novels with finely-detailed characters and are inclined to not take writers or your reading material too seriously then this is a book you'll definitely enjoy.

Naipaul's "A Bend in the River" is almost as much reportage as fiction. The novel is set in the city of Kisangani, on the Congo River in Congo (formerly the Zaire river in Zaire) -- though interestingly, the author never says this explicitly. I have never seen an account as to what Naipaul's experiences in Zaire were exactly, but he manages to tell the story of the early days of Zaire's independence, after colonial rule as the Belgian Congo.

The protagonist is a young Indian from the Eastern coast. ("Indian" in the sense of his ethnicity, his family has been in Africa longer than they can remember.) He has purchased a shop in Kisangani, and trys to build up his business as the "big man" consolidates power in the newly independent country. Things go from bad to worse, for the new shopkeeper and the country. Though this is fiction, every word is true.

Naipaul writes beautifully, and has many insights into Africa, colonialism, history, and life. This is one of the few books that I have read and enjoyed more than once.

Some people recommend Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" to readers looking for an "African" novel. But to recommend "Things Fall Apart" over "A Bend in the River" makes sense only if you can read just a single book about Africa. Achebe's novel is set in Nigeria; Naipaul's is about Zaire. It's like saying don't bother with "Brothers Karamozov", read "Great Expectations" instead. I should hope a serious reader would turn his attention to both.

(The last days of the Belgian Congo is the setting for Barbara Kingsolver's "The Poisonwood Bible". Many good nonfiction stories from this time and place are found in "A Doctor's Life: Unique Stories" by William T. Close. A literary approach to the early days of the Belgian Congo is Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness".)