Return of the Bones

Inspired by a True Story

De: Belinda Austin

Narrado por: Sarianna Gregg

Duración: 8 h y 8 m

Resumen del Editor

An ancient shaman and his granddaughter travel to Harvard to pick up 2,047 skeletons stolen from the ruins of their family pueblo. She wants their time together to heal their broken hearts. He hopes the road trip will make her appreciate family. He fashions a dreamcatcher which sometimes hurls Hollow-Woman into the past to experience her ancestors.

Did you know that there are still about a million Native American bones at museums, still waiting to be identified and repatriated for sacred reburials?

Did you know that President George W. Bush's grandfather, Prescott Bush, dug up Geronimo's grave and stole his skull to be used as initiation into the Skull and Bones Society at Yale?

The desecration of the Pecos graves was the beginning of American archaeology. You may know these bones. The Pecos skeletons were the research subjects for, among others, the landmark study which proves exercise prevents osteoporosis. This historical book tells the story of an extinct, indigenous people who contributed so much to mankind. Return of the Bones is based on a part of Native American history few are familiar with.

©2012 Belinda V. Garcia (P)2020 Belinda V. Garcia

"Life and death should come full circle."

I have long held an interest in the history of the Native American people and remember seeing newspaper coverage about the repatriation (if that is a correct description) of bones previously excavated and taken to Harvard for research purposes. So I was excited to be freely gifted a complimentary copy of Return of the Bones, at my request, by the rights holder via Audiobook Boom. I'm not sure quite what I expected; it wasn't this.

Sadness and cruelty accompany any modern history of the Native Americans, from military massacres and broken promises to the Trail of Tears, so I was not expecting this story to be sugar-coated. What I did not anticipate were full blown horror scenarios, paranormal or hallucinatory experiences suffered by one of the two main protagonists on the journey to collect her ancestral bones. This gratuitous unpleasantness might appeal to some readers, but not this one. The history was good, the visions - or whatever - almost decided me not to continue reading, and giving up on a book once started is for me a very rare occurrence. Combined with the two main protagonists being people it was hard to bond with (a 90 something, foul smelling, abusive old man with his urine soaked mattress, and his reluctant, abrasive granddaughter). It was only the historical snippets which held me.The

Perhaps if the narration had been more inspired, it might have been easier: not that Sarianna Gregg's performance was poor, it wasn't, just not good enough to transform the text into a more viable listen. She has a good voice but her interpretation of the spoken sound of the shaman grandfather or othe characters was insufficiently appropriate or distinctive. A difficult book requiring a superb narration a s more than Ms.Gregg was able to offer.

Was I glad that I finished it? Well, yes, there was a sort of charm to it. Would I read it again? Absolutely not. Recommended it? Only to someone who really enjoys horror stories. And many do. It is very visual and could make an excellent film.