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crankylibrarian's review against another edition
3.0
A disturbingly beautiful series of conversations between a half mad Mary Todd Lincoln and the ghost, (or is he a ghost?) of an Indian hanged (on the orders of Abe Lincoln) for participating in a revenge attack against white settlers. While institutionalized, Mrs Lincoln did in fact claim to see the figure of an Indian who forced her to perform unspeakable acts and pinned open her eyes. Was this a veritable ghost, or the manifestation of a guilty conscience, forcing Mrs Lincoln to open her eyes to the atrocities performed against Native Americans?
lizareadsnthings's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
johnaaron's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book was originally nominated for our book club’s “Native American Voices” theme, and I bought the book even though we didn’t decide to read it. This book follows former First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln as she has a bit of a psychotic break and develops a laudanum dependency. Most of the scenes occur within a psychiatric hospital in Illinois. There are only three characters in the book: Mary Todd Lincoln, “Savage Indian,” and The Rope. When former President Abraham Lincoln was in office, he led the largest mass execution in U.S. history with the hanging of 38 members of the Dakota tribe of Native Americans. When Mary Todd Lincoln was having her bout of psychosis, she claimed to be haunted by a Native American who would come into her room and threaten her.
Overall, I found the story to be a quick but compelling read. I learned a lot about U.S. history that I’d never known before.
ola_wnka's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
taralorraine's review against another edition
dark
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I loved the history told within this book. I loved the idea of this story. But, I didn't love the actual story. Reading the introduction I was excited because I thought I would want to share this book enthusiastically with others, but other than an excerpt here or there, I don't think I will do more then set it on the shelf.
wynne_ronareads's review against another edition
2.0
I'm not as woke or experimental as I think I am.
I didn't know this about myself until I got my MFA and was reading all of this experimental fiction and realizing that as much as I liked the exposure in the academic setting, I didn't enjoy the reading experience it gave me. LeAnne Howe has used years of research on Native peoples, her own lived experience, as well as her artistic talents, to craft a story unlike anything you've ever read before.
Seriously. You've never read a play (long form poem? novel?) staring Mary Todd Lincoln, a Native man, an insane asylum and a noose. Howe draws attention to a little known killing sanctioned by President Abraham Lincoln, who ordered the hanging death of 38 Dakota men in response to their murder of white settlers. Angered by broken treaties with the government, the Native tribes decided to kill the white settlers that came onto their land. Pushed to act, Lincoln signed the death warrant of these men and the event was lost to history, as much wrongs done to Native peoples in the US have. At the end of her life, suffering from prolonged mental health issues and an addiction to laudanum, Mary Todd Lincoln's only surviving son had her committed to an institution. There she is reported has having seen a Native man in her room every night who mutilated her.
This is where Howe finds us: imagining these gruesome encounters and writing them through the eyes of the tortured Mary Todd, who Howe also believes may have suffered from Munchausen Syndrome. This condition, Howe sites, is the reason for the infamous deaths of all but one of the Lincoln's children.
This is a brutal read. Not only is the form non-traditional, but it's incredibly violent. The noose that enters into scenes periodically "seethes," and it's the strongest, most reflective device Howe uses in the whole text. The noose, she writes, can not judge.
But I had a lot of problems with this. Howe's research sheds new light on important issues. The US continues to mistreat the Native cultures in our country, Lincoln's actions against the Dakota community deserves to be brought to light. But much of her research leads to opinions that we're led to read as facts. Maybe Mary Todd had Munchausen, but we don't know that. And I will simply never prescribe to the idea that our political heroes can be viewed in black and white, good or bad, one or the other. Is the killing of the Dakota tribesmen abhorrent? Yes. Does this mean that Lincoln's leadership is somehow no longer of any value, does that make him a villain? No. During the Civil War the nation was torn apart, violence against country men knew no race or boundary lines. I'm not willing to disparage Lincoln's character because of this one act. This is probably because I am ignorant and still have more to learn. But I think however wrong the killings, they are also nuanced and complicated. While the white settlers the Dakota tribesmen killed are symbolic of the government's genocide against the Native people, those families are not responsible for the government's actions. They were murdered too. They were colonizers too. Lincoln is part of the government, one of its highest officials. But you see how this goes around and around.
Howe's allegiance is to the Native communities, her writing works to strengthen their voice. She succeeds in this. She's creating an illustrated dialogue that we need. Her imagery is violent and shocking, but so is the truth its expelling. Just because I don't agree with her characterizations doesn't mean I don't respond to this aspect of her work.
I also felt that she was making a villain of Mary Todd Lincoln, a woman whose lasting legacy in a difficult life has been her mental illness. Since science and psychology was underdeveloped while she was alive, much conjecture is made of what she suffered from. Howe makes some compelling arguments, but she's wrong in presenting them as facts. And she re-victimizes Mary Todd by casting her as the villain in a narrative she had no authority in writing. She isn't responsible for her husband's actions, and she had little if any say in the corrupt actions of her government. To exploit her mental illness as a way of shedding light on another marginalized community felt flawed.
I say it over and over again, that a book's primary purpose is to make me think, challenge my thinking, invoke conversation and test how we see the world. By that calculation, Howe has more than succeeded. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it can open the door to other beverages, so to speak. And I'm still thirsty!
I didn't know this about myself until I got my MFA and was reading all of this experimental fiction and realizing that as much as I liked the exposure in the academic setting, I didn't enjoy the reading experience it gave me. LeAnne Howe has used years of research on Native peoples, her own lived experience, as well as her artistic talents, to craft a story unlike anything you've ever read before.
Seriously. You've never read a play (long form poem? novel?) staring Mary Todd Lincoln, a Native man, an insane asylum and a noose. Howe draws attention to a little known killing sanctioned by President Abraham Lincoln, who ordered the hanging death of 38 Dakota men in response to their murder of white settlers. Angered by broken treaties with the government, the Native tribes decided to kill the white settlers that came onto their land. Pushed to act, Lincoln signed the death warrant of these men and the event was lost to history, as much wrongs done to Native peoples in the US have. At the end of her life, suffering from prolonged mental health issues and an addiction to laudanum, Mary Todd Lincoln's only surviving son had her committed to an institution. There she is reported has having seen a Native man in her room every night who mutilated her.
This is where Howe finds us: imagining these gruesome encounters and writing them through the eyes of the tortured Mary Todd, who Howe also believes may have suffered from Munchausen Syndrome. This condition, Howe sites, is the reason for the infamous deaths of all but one of the Lincoln's children.
This is a brutal read. Not only is the form non-traditional, but it's incredibly violent. The noose that enters into scenes periodically "seethes," and it's the strongest, most reflective device Howe uses in the whole text. The noose, she writes, can not judge.
But I had a lot of problems with this. Howe's research sheds new light on important issues. The US continues to mistreat the Native cultures in our country, Lincoln's actions against the Dakota community deserves to be brought to light. But much of her research leads to opinions that we're led to read as facts. Maybe Mary Todd had Munchausen, but we don't know that. And I will simply never prescribe to the idea that our political heroes can be viewed in black and white, good or bad, one or the other. Is the killing of the Dakota tribesmen abhorrent? Yes. Does this mean that Lincoln's leadership is somehow no longer of any value, does that make him a villain? No. During the Civil War the nation was torn apart, violence against country men knew no race or boundary lines. I'm not willing to disparage Lincoln's character because of this one act. This is probably because I am ignorant and still have more to learn. But I think however wrong the killings, they are also nuanced and complicated. While the white settlers the Dakota tribesmen killed are symbolic of the government's genocide against the Native people, those families are not responsible for the government's actions. They were murdered too. They were colonizers too. Lincoln is part of the government, one of its highest officials. But you see how this goes around and around.
Howe's allegiance is to the Native communities, her writing works to strengthen their voice. She succeeds in this. She's creating an illustrated dialogue that we need. Her imagery is violent and shocking, but so is the truth its expelling. Just because I don't agree with her characterizations doesn't mean I don't respond to this aspect of her work.
I also felt that she was making a villain of Mary Todd Lincoln, a woman whose lasting legacy in a difficult life has been her mental illness. Since science and psychology was underdeveloped while she was alive, much conjecture is made of what she suffered from. Howe makes some compelling arguments, but she's wrong in presenting them as facts. And she re-victimizes Mary Todd by casting her as the villain in a narrative she had no authority in writing. She isn't responsible for her husband's actions, and she had little if any say in the corrupt actions of her government. To exploit her mental illness as a way of shedding light on another marginalized community felt flawed.
I say it over and over again, that a book's primary purpose is to make me think, challenge my thinking, invoke conversation and test how we see the world. By that calculation, Howe has more than succeeded. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it can open the door to other beverages, so to speak. And I'm still thirsty!
roostercalls's review against another edition
4.0
WHAT a wild ride. Put this on your radar if you are into exploring form, non-traditional poetry, and/or American history through an indigenous lens.