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3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The use of Cherokee myths and stories to parallel this family’s life after they continue to recover from their son being murdered by police brutality is fascinating. Here too, the pain and grief, even 15 years later is palpable— fracturing the lives of the family that was left behind. It’s sad, how much America took away from the indigenous, how the system continues to work against them throughout their lives (in the foster care system, in business, in law, in relationships).
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I read this book for Roxane Gay's Audacious Book Club. I really liked the writing, but I have to admit, I read a couple reviews after I finished it to make sure I had understood what I read and was feeling about it.
It's a story of a family, the Echotas, from Oklahoma. They are Cherokee. We get first-person narrative from Maria, the mother; Edgar, one of the sons; Sonja, the daughter; and Tsala, an ancestral spirit. The first chapter, the prologue, gives a small glimpse of Ray-Ray, the middle child, on the eve of his death. The day he died, September 6, is also the anniversary of the 1839 signing of the Constitution of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma, which the family planned to celebrate by "watching stickball games, attending powwows, pageants, and art shows." [The Constitution has since been rewritten (in 1999) and ratified (in 2003).] The father, Ernest, says, "This is a very important day for all of us, since it marks the Trail, so we should honor it." The "Trail" being, of course, the Trail of Tears, a vile by-product of the equally vile Indian Removal Act of 1830. We don't see the scene when Ray-Ray is killed, but we know he was shot by a white policeman, and we later learn it was the officer's mistake, that Ray-Ray was not the shooter. The policeman's actions were declared "justified" and the incident didn't go to trial.
The story picks up 15 years later on September 1. Maria is depressed but manages. Ernest is suffering from early signs of Alzheimer's. Sonja is promiscuous and solitary. Edgar is an addict. Sonja lives down the street from her parents, but Edgar has moved to New Mexico. The family went there to do an intervention but it didn't seem to work.
As we get to know the characters now, we learn that for the past five years, the family has had a bonfire as a memorial for Ray-Ray and it had become "a way for us to get together and be honest with one another and focus on the importance of our family, our land."
Each chapter takes us into each character's lives as they approach the anniversary. Maria & Ernest are getting ready to welcome a temporary foster child placement, a Cherokee boy named Wyatt. Sonja is scheming to meet a man she has been watching for a while. And Edgar is deliberating whether to go home for the bonfire and is having issues with his girlfriend. Meanwhile, we also get a narrative from Tsala, a Cherokee man who was killed during the Trail of Tears who is speaking to his son who was also killed.
From here their stories take on even more beautiful depth, melancholy, anger, confusion, delight, and "magic." I put that in quotation marks because it's not magic but a deeply spiritual connection to ancestors and myths that comes through so genuinely that it seems reductive to name it just magic. I loved the way the stories of the Echotas and Tsala were different, but also the same, how the author weaved in the old Cherokee stories so that they felt current, as present as Sonja eats soup and drinks coffee, as Maria & Ernest watch TV. Edgar's storyline is unsettling but it also works very well. As anyone who knows grief, it speaks to that so well. Grief never goes away, yet it changes. I can't wait to be in the discussions about this book with the book club.
It's a story of a family, the Echotas, from Oklahoma. They are Cherokee. We get first-person narrative from Maria, the mother; Edgar, one of the sons; Sonja, the daughter; and Tsala, an ancestral spirit. The first chapter, the prologue, gives a small glimpse of Ray-Ray, the middle child, on the eve of his death. The day he died, September 6, is also the anniversary of the 1839 signing of the Constitution of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma, which the family planned to celebrate by "watching stickball games, attending powwows, pageants, and art shows." [The Constitution has since been rewritten (in 1999) and ratified (in 2003).] The father, Ernest, says, "This is a very important day for all of us, since it marks the Trail, so we should honor it." The "Trail" being, of course, the Trail of Tears, a vile by-product of the equally vile Indian Removal Act of 1830. We don't see the scene when Ray-Ray is killed, but we know he was shot by a white policeman, and we later learn it was the officer's mistake, that Ray-Ray was not the shooter. The policeman's actions were declared "justified" and the incident didn't go to trial.
The story picks up 15 years later on September 1. Maria is depressed but manages. Ernest is suffering from early signs of Alzheimer's. Sonja is promiscuous and solitary. Edgar is an addict. Sonja lives down the street from her parents, but Edgar has moved to New Mexico. The family went there to do an intervention but it didn't seem to work.
As we get to know the characters now, we learn that for the past five years, the family has had a bonfire as a memorial for Ray-Ray and it had become "a way for us to get together and be honest with one another and focus on the importance of our family, our land."
Each chapter takes us into each character's lives as they approach the anniversary. Maria & Ernest are getting ready to welcome a temporary foster child placement, a Cherokee boy named Wyatt. Sonja is scheming to meet a man she has been watching for a while. And Edgar is deliberating whether to go home for the bonfire and is having issues with his girlfriend. Meanwhile, we also get a narrative from Tsala, a Cherokee man who was killed during the Trail of Tears who is speaking to his son who was also killed.
From here their stories take on even more beautiful depth, melancholy, anger, confusion, delight, and "magic." I put that in quotation marks because it's not magic but a deeply spiritual connection to ancestors and myths that comes through so genuinely that it seems reductive to name it just magic. I loved the way the stories of the Echotas and Tsala were different, but also the same, how the author weaved in the old Cherokee stories so that they felt current, as present as Sonja eats soup and drinks coffee, as Maria & Ernest watch TV. Edgar's storyline is unsettling but it also works very well. As anyone who knows grief, it speaks to that so well. Grief never goes away, yet it changes. I can't wait to be in the discussions about this book with the book club.
I wanted to like this book so bad, as the beginning was really good. Writing was really choppy and continuity was lacking.
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A sad, but beautifully written book. I particularly loved the way grief was an unnamed character throughout and the way each character danced with it or ran from it. The history & legacy woven into it was really well done too. A heart-wrenching and at times surreal read that was deeply challenging but profoundly moving.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Genocide, Gun violence, Police brutality
This book probably isn't for everyone. It exists in an unusual place between fantasy and reality, and lacks a traditional narrative arc. It's sparse bordering on confusing, requiring me to ponder and put things together for a quite while after finishing it.
I appreciated all of it. The Removed captured generational trauma and the lingering influences of our country's racist history better than any novel I've read. What most authors might attempt in a multigenerational epic was shown in a one week snapshot of a single family. Their ancestors were removed from their homeland by a government that didn't see their humanity; their son's death was excused by a government that does not provide equal justice under the law. Each family member has to learn to survive with that grief.
I appreciated all of it. The Removed captured generational trauma and the lingering influences of our country's racist history better than any novel I've read. What most authors might attempt in a multigenerational epic was shown in a one week snapshot of a single family. Their ancestors were removed from their homeland by a government that didn't see their humanity; their son's death was excused by a government that does not provide equal justice under the law. Each family member has to learn to survive with that grief.