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Bezig met laden... The Heartsong of Charging Elk (2000)door James Welch
Bezig met laden...
Meld je aan bij LibraryThing om erachter te komen of je dit boek goed zult vinden. Op dit moment geen Discussie gesprekken over dit boek. I gave this book a B+ in my collection. A native American whose life changed radically as the settlers took over their territory in United States , went with a group to France as part of a touring Wild Western show. Due to an injury, he was left behind without identity papers when the group returned to America. So as a stranger in a strange land, he had to survive and build a life for himself, even as by appearance he was definitely unique in this totally unfamiliar civilization. We see him get employment, cope with his new life with some new friends. Then he falls in love with a girl in a brothel. His romantic dreams lead him to plan a life for them together, but this ends when she betrays him and puts him in danger from a sexual molester in the brothel. Protecting himself, he is tried for the murder of this attacker. The story unfolds as we see him cope, and when he is finally released, he find a life in this society. This book seemed to take off in the middle, and all of a sudden I found it hard to put it down. I enjoyed it. Honestly, I thought this was a lukewarm and boring book. Granted, it's an interesting idea for a story, and some parts were intriguing. Also, Welch is a skilled writer capable of creating thoughtful passages. Overall, though, this one just didn't touch me. I felt little to no urgency while reading, and Charging Elk just didn't spark for me as a compelling character. I would recommend this to readers interested in Westerns and the Wild West -- which I am not. Perhaps they will get more from it than I did.
Despite some contrived plot twists, Welch's study of a man forced to adapt to a world utterly unlike his own—and a richly imagined world it is—is well sustained. An amply rewarding read.
"Inspired by actual historical fact, James Welch's The Heartsong of Charging Elk tells the story of an Oglala Sioux who travels the extraordinary geographical and cultural distance from tribal life in the Black Hills of South Dakota to existence on the streets of Marseille. As a young boy, Charging Elk witnessed his people's massacre of Custer's Seventh Cavalry at Little Big Horn, followed by years of futile fighting and wandering until the Sioux were finally lured to the Pine Ridge reservation. But he prefers life in the Stronghold, living by his wits and skills in the old way." "Ironically, it is Charging Elk's horsemanship and independent air that cause Buffalo Bill to recruit him for his Wild West Show, which travels across "the big water" to create a sensation in the capitals of Europe. Charging Elk and his Sioux companions are living a life touched by fame and marked by previously unthinkable experiences - until he falls ill in Marseille and, through a bureaucratic mix-up, is left behind in a hospital while the show travels on. Scared, disoriented, Charging Elk escapes - only to fall into a series of events, including a love affair with a prostitute and a shocking murder, that will change his life utterly beyond his imagination."--Jacket. Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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Google Books — Bezig met laden... GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde:
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The story actually begins at this point with his confusion and fear at the "sickhouse". He manages to escape and lives on the street but is found and turned over to the American embassy. One bureaucratic bumble after another prevents his return to America. He is eventually placed into the home of a fishmonger who treated him well and he learned some French and learned to love the family. After a while, however, he moves to his own place and yearning for a wife and family begins to visit a whorehouse. He falls in loves with a woman who isn't quite sure what to think of him. Earlier at the fish market a well known homosexual chef had eyed Charging Elk and he forces the whore to give him a drug so that the chef can molest him CE wakes up during the encounter and stabs the man to death. A very unfair trial follows and CE winds up in a remote prison where he becomes a model prisoner and learns to garden. He is eventually released again to a home of a farmer who treats him well. Natalie, the daughter falls in love with CK and they sort of "live happily ever after." Many more complications although the ending might be a bit too pat. Still a very good read and interesting look at the European fascination with the American West and the sad story of a man forced to leave everything behind and forced into a totally new culture. ( )