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Title: The Red Heart by JAMES ALEXANDER THOM ISBN: 0-345-36471-6 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 28 September, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.48 (21 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Fantastic historical fiction.
Comment: I finished this 533 page novel in four days, and I read from page 264 to the ending in one sitting. I think that pretty much sums it up that I really, really enjoyed reading this book. It is on such a fascinating subject which is not too often found in adult literature. Most historical fiction novels on white children taken captive by the Indians are written for juvenile or young adult readers.
This novel is based on the true story of Frances Slocum who at age 5 was carried off by Delaware Indians right in front of her family in 1778. Her family searched for nearly sixty years until they finally found her- the widow of a Miami chief who could not speak any English or even remember her given name except for Slocum. Thom details what occured in the sixty years before that reunion. Mostly, it is a story of young Frances adapting to her new life, her growth into womanhood, and her experiences with the tragedies that occur to her Indian people as the Americans take their lands and destroy the entire fabric of their lives. Thom also details the Slocums' attempts to find their lost child during that same period. Thom does a great job of capturing what must have been the emotions when that lost sister met her Slocum siblings for the first time in six decades. Truly poignant.
My only complaint about this book is Thom's rather simplistic portrayals of the Indians and whites. With the exception of the Quaker Slocum family, every white in this book is a brutish lout; and with the exception of a couple drunken brutes, the Indians are all portrayed as wonderful people. The historical reality was a little more complex, and even most children's books on the subject of Indian captivities present a more even-handed picture. For instance, historically the Indians, who carried off little Frances, also carried off two other children who they later killed for crying too much, and that they had killed a "boy" on the Slocum farm. Thom doesn't ignore that the Indians also took other captives with Frances or that they had killed someone at her family's farm, but he has the other captive being ransomed back to the whites, and he has turned that killed "boy" into a soldier. I think that is being a little dishonest for sake of "political correctness," which is annoying.
Rating: 5
Summary: The Red Heart and Political Correctness.
Comment: 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.
Rating: 4
Summary: Somewhat sad story. Overall enjoyable.
Comment: This is the story of Frances Slocum, as well as a sad tale of the Native American people's loss of homeland and life at the hands of the 'new' Americans. Based on the life of the actual historic Frances Slocum, the novel's Frances is kidnapped in 1776 from her Quaker family at the age of 5. The history has been edited, but this is a novel and doesn't claim to be nonfiction. Frances is taken to replace the dead child of an Indian woman whose own daughter was killed by whites. Frances and her adoptive family, Tuck Horse and Flicker spend many years running from war in search of a peaceful place that the Americans will allow them to call home.
The storytelling is simple and well done. The descriptions of Niagara Falls, the Great Lakes and American lands are wonderful. Thom manages to give Frances the voice of a child when she is young and her voice matures as she grows. As she grows, so does the population and expansion of whites into territory once occupied by Indians. More and more information about how the Indians are being killed and pushed out of their homeland is woven into the narrative in later chapters. The history of the politics sometimes overwhelms the story of Frances, but it does explain a lot. There are occasional updates on her Quaker family's constant search for their missing relative. These updates are brief and do not interrupt the flow of Frances' life story. They illustrate how the Slocum's always kept her in their heart and thoughts and prayers. Both Frances and her family are depicted as such kind and good people, which seems too simplistic for realism, but it made for very nice reading. Because of the accounts of Native American life and the heart-touching persistence of her family, I enjoyed this story in spite of the suffering inflicted on the Indians. Recommended.
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Title: Panther in the Sky by JAMES ALEXANDER THOM ISBN: 0345366387 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 13 February, 1990 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Follow the River by James Alexander Thom ISBN: 0345338545 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 01 December, 1996 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Long Knife by James Alexander Thom ISBN: 0345380746 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 01 July, 1994 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: The Children of First Man by James Alexander Thom ISBN: 0449149706 Publisher: Fawcett Books Pub. Date: 01 September, 1995 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: From Sea to Shining Sea by James Alexander Thom ISBN: 0345334515 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 01 December, 1986 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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