The Native Americans angle

Discuss the January 2016 book of the month For the Love of Suzanne by Kristi Hudecek-Ashwill.
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Re: The Native Americans angle

Post by literarycat »

bookowlie wrote:I liked the Native American historical angle and learned something about a period I didn't know much about. I agree that it feel in the plot, but the violence and treatment of women was a harsh subject to read about.

-- 02 Jan 2016, 20:59 --

Note to self...don't type comments on the tablet! Between the auto-correct and the touch-tone keyboard, the errors become embarrassing. :) My previous post should read "I agree that it fit well in the plot" - I don't know where "it feel in the plot" came from. It felt out of the sky onto the tablet screen - ha ha ha.
I agree that the violence and harsh treatment of women was a little hard to read. Some elements hit a little to close to home sometimes for me though. But that made it a little more relatable for me.
The world breaks everyone, and afterwards, some are strong at the broken points ~ Ernest Hemingway.
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Post by TrishaAnn92 »

I liked the incorporation of the Native American History, it made Cody and his internal conflicts with turning Suzanne over to his Chief and wanting to keep her for himself and protect her more real and understandable. I was able to empathize with him better, I believe, because of it.
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Post by Paliden »

L_Therese wrote:I thought it was interesting to incorporate the Native American part of history, but I wish it could have been done more thoroughly. The portrayal seemed too simplified with precious little real cultural elements. The story would have been so much richer if the actual culture was used as a contrast to the local dominant culture. Another point I'd raise is that Cody Black Fox refers to the Native Americans as "Indians". Historically speaking, though the people at the fort and surrounding areas would have been using that term (possibly among others), anyone connected to the Native American people would have referred to them by the name of their Nation - whichever one it was.
I agree with this too!
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Post by TrishaAnn92 »

Paliden wrote:
L_Therese wrote:I thought it was interesting to incorporate the Native American part of history, but I wish it could have been done more thoroughly. The portrayal seemed too simplified with precious little real cultural elements. The story would have been so much richer if the actual culture was used as a contrast to the local dominant culture. Another point I'd raise is that Cody Black Fox refers to the Native Americans as "Indians". Historically speaking, though the people at the fort and surrounding areas would have been using that term (possibly among others), anyone connected to the Native American people would have referred to them by the name of their Nation - whichever one it was.
I agree with this too!
Definitely some good points raised. Of course if you aren't very familiar with the Native American History most of it is easily gotten away with. My grandfather is Cherokee Indian so growing up I have always wanted to research and learn more about the Native American History in general but have never done it.
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Post by V_bansal2912 »

I loved the history provided and it completely complimented with Cody's character and behaviour.

It was something new and refreshing.
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Post by bluemel4 »

stoppoppingtheP wrote:
psyche wrote:It seems to me that unless the time travel was to a parallel universe, it should not affect how the historical elements are treated because the character is going back to our "real" past.
I agree. When writing a book the author should research the historical elements of his/her story properly. This is because, even though it is a novel, readers take in that information and assume it to be a correct portrayal of history.
I completely agree with both of these points. The Native Americans felt more like stereotypes than an actual tribe. What made Cody's tribe different than the others? If you are going to go through the trouble of naming the tribe at least give little details about them that make them unique.
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Post by rssllue »

I think that it was quite interesting that the brutality of the tribe, led by Tall Deer's actions was contrasted by a similar brutality of the military unit, led by the Major's apparent insanity. I really felt that both of the leaders were out of their minds with absolute power and control over the people around them. They treated those people as if they had no value at all and could be used as nothing more than playthings for their every whim.
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Post by bluemel4 »

rssllue wrote:I think that it was quite interesting that the brutality of the tribe, led by Tall Deer's actions was contrasted by a similar brutality of the military unit, led by the Major's apparent insanity. I really felt that both of the leaders were out of their minds with absolute power and control over the people around them. They treated those people as if they had no value at all and could be used as nothing more than playthings for their every whim.
That is an interesting point. It seemed more like Chief Tall Deer's brutality was aimed at white women. He did not really hurt anyone unless they messed with his slaves (white women) or went directly against him. Major Richards was just cruel for no reason and a bit insane. Perhaps it was the isolation that made him "loco." As he said in the novel there was no law but him because they were in the territories.
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Post by rssllue »

The brutality definitely crossed all racial/cultural boundaries in the book.
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Post by Skoraeus »

The history of the native Americans do serve a purpose. It made the main protagonist act like 'one'. It also provides us with a deeper insight and view of his personality. The way he acts around others, his attitude, behavior. The intentions and move behind his actions. It allows us to contemplate and have a better understanding of his actions and decisions throughout the story. A 'backstory' in this case, beautifully executed.
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Post by CLRogers90 »

I originally had no intention of reading this book, but after reading so of your enthusiastic responses I am considering picking up a copy. It is always wonderful to hear of a book exploring the history of Native Americans. I feel like that is something that we see far too little of in popular literature.
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Post by Vermont Reviews »

It is never easy to account for history in any book.
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Post by LivreAmour217 »

DarkestbeforeDawn wrote:I feel very uneasy reading about histories and cultures that are not my own, because I feel like a lot of the time, the truth is glossed over in favor something that is a little more tolerable. The history of the Native Americans and their plight isn't really something I feel comfortable reading about in fiction unless there was extensive research involved or the author shares cultural roots.
You make some excellent points here. I don't know if the truth was purposefully glossed over, but there are probably some perspectives from that era that were not represented in this novel. I do agree that research is necessary when writing about a culture that is not one's own, and I would have liked to see a bibliography at the end of the book that listed the author's sources. I'm pretty sure that she did conduct research, but we don't know anything about it.

-- 14 Jul 2016, 13:58 --
Vermont Reviews wrote:It is never easy to account for history in any book.
Agreed!!!
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Post by AishaTBN »

The addition of the Native American history in this book was an insight into something not many of us are aware of. I felt it made the book more interesting.
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Post by AuthoressofMystery »

L_Therese wrote:I thought it was interesting to incorporate the Native American part of history, but I wish it could have been done more thoroughly. The portrayal seemed too simplified with precious little real cultural elements. The story would have been so much richer if the actual culture was used as a contrast to the local dominant culture. Another point I'd raise is that Cody Black Fox refers to the Native Americans as "Indians". Historically speaking, though the people at the fort and surrounding areas would have been using that term (possibly among others), anyone connected to the Native American people would have referred to them by the name of their Nation - whichever one it was.
I agree with you L_Therese. No matter if the book is considered Historical or not, I prefer my stories to be as close to the truth as possible. If it's not, then it can take me out of the story and if it is really bad, I feel like the author is, in a sense, trying to change history or simply lying. I consider it the author's responsibility to make certain they are portraying their chosen time period correctly. If they fail terribly, I see it as lazy writing.
As a side note, I am an author so maybe my standards are higher because it is my profession! :-)
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