Books Set in North America: Canada and Maine, United States

The Berry Pickers, by Amanda Peters (2023)

Read:  August 19, 2025

4 Stars

Books Set in North America; California and Oregon

Small World, by Jonathan Evison (2022)

 

This novel starts out with a train crash in the winter somewhere in Oregon en route to Seattle.  Walter Bergen is on his final run as engineer before his retirement.  After the crash, we meet several of the passengers, who come from all walks of life and backgrounds.  Not only do we meet them, but we are introduced to their ancestors and their struggles to make a life in America.

 

The novel switches from the present day to the 1850s where we learn of the immigrant experience of several families.  Walter Bergen descended from an Irish family who fled Ireland during the potato famine.  There is Jenny Chen, whose ancestor Wu Chen, came from China in the 1850s and began life in California panning for gold.  He acquired a small stash of gold, which he turned into thriving grocery business.  Malik Flowers is a young basketball with dreams of being drafted by the NBA.  He is descended from a run-away slave.  Laila, whose ancestors were Native Americans, hopped on the train to escape from an abusive husband.

 

I enjoyed reading about the backgrounds of all of these characters.

 

Read:  September 13, 2023

 

4 Stars

Books Set in North America: United States: South Dakota

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

Books Set in North America: United States: Arizona

The Bean Trees, by Barbara Kingsolver (1988)

This is a very quiet novel about everyday life of love and friendship.  The novel is mostly narrated by Marietta Greer, a young woman who reinvented herself and changee her name to Taylor when she left her home in Kentucky and headed for adventure.  When she made a stop in Oklahoma, near a Native American reservation, a Cherokee woman dropped a toddler into her beat-up VW Beatle and asked Taylor to take the baby.  Taylor did so without question.

Taylor knew nothing about the toddler and the child was in a catatonic state.  Because the baby clung to Taylor, Taylor began calling her Turtle.

Taylor drove on through the American West until she landed in Tucson, Arizona when her car broke down.  In Tucson, she became friends with Mattie, the woman who ran the auto repair shop and fixed up Taylor’s car.  After some time, Taylor began to realize that Mattie had a secret ~ that she was assisting undocumented immigrants find safe havens out of the State.

In the meantime, Taylor befriended Lou Ann, another young woman with a baby and an abandoned husband.  The two women shared a house and took turns taking care of each other’s respective children.

When the State became aware that Taylor was not the legal guardian of Turtle, Taylor must make a critical decision.

This is a short book, but it didn’t hold my interest.  

Read:  February 12, 2020

3 Stars

Books Set in the United States: North Dakota

The Round House, by Louise Erdrich (2012)

This novel is narrated by the adult Joe, recounting the events of the summer of 1988, when he was 13 years old.  Joe’s father is a judge on an Ojibwe reservation in North Dakota.  He imagines his father presiding over, and deciding, cases of immense importance.  During the summer, he comes to understand that a tribal judge actually has very little jurisdiction over matters involving Native Americans and non-Natives.

Joe’s mother, Geraldine, was brutally beaten and raped.  For weeks after the rape, Geraldine refused to speak of the assault.  Slowly, we learn that it occurred near the Round House ~ a sacred ceremonial spot of the tribe.  The exact location of the assault is not so clear.  Near the round house are state, federal and tribal lands.  Each have differing laws and officials.  Thus, determining the exact location is important if justice is to be had.

Joe wants justice for his mother.  He and his three closest friends seek ways to find evidence to help his mother.  Joe goes to the Round House to search for evidence. When the rapist is finally caught, Joe and his family breathe easy, until he is set free over jurisdictional issues.

In between seeking justice for his mother, Joe interacts with various extended family members, including his old grandfather who recounts tribal lore, and Sonja, the former stripper who lives with his uncle Whitey.

The story got bogged down in the middle.  The boys spy on the new Catholic priest.  When the priest catches the boys spying, the encounter seems off.  One of Joe’s friends, Cappy, has a relationship with a young girl.  When Cappy confesses to the priest, the priest’s reaction, again seems off.

In the afterward, the author notes that the laws in effect in 1988, did not grant much relief for Native-American women who were raped, and 86% of rapes and assaults on Native-American women were perpetrated by non-Natives.  The Tribal Law and Order Act was signed into law in 2010, which seeks to restore sovereign justice.

Read: July 29, 2018

3 Stars