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lisa_setepenre 's review for:
Tidewater: A Novel of Pocahontas and the Jamestown Colony
by Libbie Hawker
When I was child, my favourite Disney film of all time was Pocahontas. Naturally, I poked about with the few resources I had access to and knew that Disney had Got It Wrong on many levels. But I still loved that film like crazy and, though I was never tempted to do more thorough research as I got older and the Internet became a thing, I still found myself quietly fascinated in the story of Pocahontas.
Nearly ten years after Disney released Pocahontas, Libbie Hawker has written and published Tidewater, a novel that explores the Jamestown colony and British settlement in the land that is now better known as Virginia through the eyes of not only John Smith and Pocahontas, but Opechancanough, the embittered and war-hungry brother of Powhatan.
Tidewater offers an altogether more accurate take on events. Not that it isn't easy, really, when one considers the liberties Disney took with the storyline. Additionally, Hawker's attempts to capture the culture of the Real People (the native Americans ruled by Powhatan) and her integration of the "Powhatan language" into her story add to a greater feeling of authenticity.
Readers of Hawker's earlier historical fiction novels, written under the pseudonym L. M. Ironside, will recognise this feeling of authenticity and "realness" as one of her strengths as an author. Whether it is the tidewater of Virginia, the alien England or Smith's memories of Constantinople, each location is captured beautifully, adding weighty atmosphere to the story Hawker weaves.
One might also recognise Ironside's strengths with the depth of characterisation found in her characters. No one is too idealised, whether it is the selfish and ambitious Pocahontas, the outcast and pragmatic Smith or the war-mongering and harsh Opechancanough. I will admit to disliking Pocahontas at times because she could be so selfish, treating others horribly and believing that they'd continue to treat her kindly. That said, the arc Hawker gave to Pochontas did much to redeem her in the end.
Though a historical fiction novel, Tidewater sometimes reads as a horror story or a tragedy. It is a very bleak, very dark story, as the history demands it to be. It is a story about the struggle for survival, the brutality and inevitability of colonisation, of the sacrifices people make in the vain hope of peaceful co-existence and the futility of resistance to the British Empire.
I am not American and know little of that country's history, but I believe America and Australia are not too dissimilar when it comes to our appalling treatment of our indigenous peoples, both in the past and now in the present. I was grateful that Hawker did not shy away from presenting the brutality of colonisation and white settlement, but did not fall into the trap of making the Real People into a bunch of noble savages – Powhatan, Opechancanough, Pocahontas and all of the Real People came across as very real, flawed people who were ultimately very human.
It's hard to know how to sum up this book. It's an incredible, difficult read and one that will stay with me for a long time. I would highly recommend it.
Nearly ten years after Disney released Pocahontas, Libbie Hawker has written and published Tidewater, a novel that explores the Jamestown colony and British settlement in the land that is now better known as Virginia through the eyes of not only John Smith and Pocahontas, but Opechancanough, the embittered and war-hungry brother of Powhatan.
Tidewater offers an altogether more accurate take on events. Not that it isn't easy, really, when one considers the liberties Disney took with the storyline. Additionally, Hawker's attempts to capture the culture of the Real People (the native Americans ruled by Powhatan) and her integration of the "Powhatan language" into her story add to a greater feeling of authenticity.
Readers of Hawker's earlier historical fiction novels, written under the pseudonym L. M. Ironside, will recognise this feeling of authenticity and "realness" as one of her strengths as an author. Whether it is the tidewater of Virginia, the alien England or Smith's memories of Constantinople, each location is captured beautifully, adding weighty atmosphere to the story Hawker weaves.
One might also recognise Ironside's strengths with the depth of characterisation found in her characters. No one is too idealised, whether it is the selfish and ambitious Pocahontas, the outcast and pragmatic Smith or the war-mongering and harsh Opechancanough. I will admit to disliking Pocahontas at times because she could be so selfish, treating others horribly and believing that they'd continue to treat her kindly. That said, the arc Hawker gave to Pochontas did much to redeem her in the end.
Though a historical fiction novel, Tidewater sometimes reads as a horror story or a tragedy. It is a very bleak, very dark story, as the history demands it to be. It is a story about the struggle for survival, the brutality and inevitability of colonisation, of the sacrifices people make in the vain hope of peaceful co-existence and the futility of resistance to the British Empire.
I am not American and know little of that country's history, but I believe America and Australia are not too dissimilar when it comes to our appalling treatment of our indigenous peoples, both in the past and now in the present. I was grateful that Hawker did not shy away from presenting the brutality of colonisation and white settlement, but did not fall into the trap of making the Real People into a bunch of noble savages – Powhatan, Opechancanough, Pocahontas and all of the Real People came across as very real, flawed people who were ultimately very human.
It's hard to know how to sum up this book. It's an incredible, difficult read and one that will stay with me for a long time. I would highly recommend it.