Cherokee America

By: Margaret Verble

Narrated by: Emily Sutton-Smith

Length: 15 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

From Pulitzer Prize finalist Margaret Verble, a multilayered, wholly original epic of the American frontier

A baby, a black hired hand, a bay horse, a gun, and a neighbor have all gone missing in the same corner of the Cherokee Nation West. Cherokee America Singer, known as Check, is none too pleased with these developments. As a wealthy farmer, the mother of five boys, and the matriarch of her family, she's accustomed to wielding authority. And she's determined to find out what's going on.

In the aftermath of the Civil War, complex alliances and simmering race and culture clashes unite and divide the people living on Cherokee lands. Tensions mount and violence escalates, and the long arm of white law encroaches further into Indian Territory. Determined to survive and thrive on their own terms after decades of betrayal and hardship, Check's family, friends, and neighbors must come together to avenge a crime, outwit federal authorities, and protect their sovereignty.

Inspired by Margaret Verble's family history and written with dry humor and a lot of heart, Cherokee America is a different kind of Western, one told from a Native American point of view and with a mixed-race woman at its center. Check - member of a distinguished Cherokee family, daughter of a famous soldier and a slaveholder, wife of an abolitionist - is a necessary, revelatory addition to the literature of the American frontier.

©2019 Margaret Verble (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Thought Provoking And Disquieting

If you just want to know more about Cherokee Nation life after the Trail of Tears, this story made of individual stories sewn together like a quilt totally fills that bill. If you want to see evidence of a group of people functioning as a tribe, that's here too. Lost a star because of several unnecessary stories about young men's unfulfilled sexual desires to the point of ickiness. Narration was very well done, but as much as I got out of it, this author definitely won't join my list of favorites. Not saying I'd never listen to anything by her again, but her style is absolutely not for an audience of mixed ages. Saw some reviews that spoke of humor, but frankly I must have missed that. Thought provoking, interesting, well researched but disquieting too.

Boring, yet compelling.

Next to no plot, but I wanted to see it to its conclusion. It was very well written and narrated, and informed me of life about life and race relations in the frontier Midwest in 1875, which unfortunately, we have not transcended in the intervening 150 years.

Just okay

My personal opinion is that this book would have been good had it not been for focusing and describing Connell and Hugh’s sexual practices. I skipped a lot of those parts and thankfully finished to rather mediocre ending!.

Disappointed

I had high hopes for this book. It started off good characters. All the characters had a good backstory. Consistent with drama and intrigue. All the characters enter twine with each other and you were able to get to know everyone pretty well. My biggest complaint is that it feels like the story just dropped off. So many situations left unfinished. A few more chapters would have been appreciated. I am less frustrated at the end of this story. For this reason alone I do not recommend this book.

An excellent book

So often the stories of native nations are told from the white outsider looking in. This often leaves out much of the life, culture, and the perspective of the native peoples. As an Okie and Cherokee nation citizen, I feel this fictional book does a reasonable job of showing the perspective of the Cherokee people in pre-statehood OKLA. The anxieties and hopes of their past, present, and future resonates through a compelling story of people on the frontier.

The narrator does an excellent job with the material. She gives life to the various characters. I felt connected to each and was sad when the book ended.

An enjoyable listen

I really enjoyed this book. It takes place in a time in history, that I think most of us do not know very much about. It describes a complicated web of racial relationships, cultural ties and the fear of those who make decisions based on hate, ignorance and often both. It is not so tragic that one can’t feel good about the triumphs in the story, and not so cheerful that it seems unrealistic.

great listen

great listen but struggled to finish because story line got lost in the end.

Can’t tell whether this is a celebration of Cherokee heritage or men’s genitalia and sexual proclivities...

Odd review title I know, but the author seems to put just as much emphasis on both topics. Very off putting. The plot gets lost in the author’s need to include an excessive number of detailed scenes of masturbation that add nothing to the story. The frequency and detail of the scenes made me uncomfortable. I slogged through it hoping the plot would once again pick up and have a dynamic ending. It didn’t. Towards the end, the obsession with the male member ebbed, but the story line did also.

There were so many characters in the book that it became hard to keep them straight. The main heroine seemed to be a secondary figure throughout the book. She’s kept in the dark about everything and doesn’t seem to live up to her description in the beginning.

I did give three stars because the reader was great. Between the scenes of the men and their proclivities, there is some great history shared. I wish there were more stories about the Cherokee Nation and other First Nations that delve into the indigenous history. However, please give me something that doesn’t get overshadowed by crazy scenes of men using saddles or horses to take care of their sexual needs. Truly bizarre.