Black Hills, by Dan Simmons (2010)
Black Hills is both the location in South Dakota that is home to the presidents carved into Mt. Rushmore, and the English translation of name the Lakota protagonist of this novel. The novel spans from the Battle of Little Big Horn through the carving of the faces on Mt. Rushmore.
The novel begins when young Paha Sapa (Black Hills) who is counting coup (touching the enemy) touches General George Custer at his moment of death on the battlefield. From that point on, Custer’s spirit enters the body of the young boy. Paha Sapa later realizes that he has the “gift” of forward-visions when he makes skin contact with others. This gift terrifies him and he avoids touching people to avoid seeing his visions of their future.
The novel travels back in time from the Battle of Little Big Horn to the description of how the faces became to be carved into the side of the Black Hills. The Native American tribes are not in favor of the monument on the Black Hills, known in Lakota as the Six Grandfathers, which is a sacred place. Paha Sapa, who in 1936 is known as Billy Slow Horse, has a running joke with Gutzman Borglum about dynamiting the faces off the side of the mountain. Borglum laughs, but Paha Sapa is only half-joking.
During Paha Sapa’s life, he marries and has a son, who we learn, was a soldier in World War I. We know early on that his son never returned, but it isn’t until the end that we learn that he didn’t die in battle, but rather, of the Spanish Flu. I say this because I read this book while under Covid-19 quarantine.
A large portion of the book is devoted to the creation of the Presidential monument. I learned a lot about the Battle and the monument.
The book was interesting, but its constant jumping around from time period was distracting. For this reason, I gave it only 3.5 stars.
Read: April 24, 2020
3.5 Stars
No comments:
Post a Comment