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Hooked_on_books
Thirteen Moons | Charles Frazier
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Pickpick

The story of Will, an orphan sold into indentured servitude to run a trading post in Cherokee country where he doesn‘t speak the language. This book is best in telling of Will‘s formative years, as he survives and thrives tenaciously. But it is about 80 pages too long and spends too much time with Will chasing a woman he can never have. The writing is lovely. #13moonsbuddyread

Hooked_on_books @sblbooks @megnews I finally finished! 😂 5y
megnews @Hooked_on_books I hope you enjoyed it and I‘m glad you joined us! 5y
36 likes2 comments
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megnews
Thirteen Moons | Charles Frazier
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Thanks to all! I‘ve enjoyed the #13MoonsBuddyRead and discussion. Look forward to reading further responses and to another great #buddyread next month as @sblbooks hosts the #OliviaBuddyRead in October.

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megnews
Thirteen Moons | Charles Frazier
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Lcsmcat Well, as a practical matter, Will was the narrator so we couldn‘t follow him to the Nightland without it‘s becoming a different kind of book. 5y
megnews @Lcsmcat agree completely. Not sure how the author could have done that successfully and keep the feeling of the book the same. 5y
6 likes2 comments
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megnews
Thirteen Moons | Charles Frazier
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sblbooks No, she was married. that should have been the end of it, they would have both been better off. 5y
Lcsmcat No. It wasn‘t up to him. His regrets over not calling her back don‘t mean that she would have done anything differently. 5y
megnews Who knows? 5y
SaturnDoo I don't think so either based on the simple fact that she was a married woman. 5y
Hooked_on_books I agree with @sblbooks and @Lcsmcat —she was never his to be had. Even if he had gone with her to the west, she still would have been married and would not have left Featherstone for him. 5y
7 likes5 comments
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megnews
Thirteen Moons | Charles Frazier
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Lcsmcat Beneficial. Because he showed that he cared and was willing to fight for their future. That goes a long way. 5y
megnews I agree with @Lcsmcat Even if the end result was a bit futile, it had to mean something to the Cherokee that he cared for them as a people, their land and old ways. And in many ways it was not futile as it enabled many to stay after the Removal and their descendants live there to this day. I never understood how there were still Cherokee there after the Trail of Tears but now it makes sense. 5y
sblbooks Beneficial, at least he did everything you could for Bear's people. Even though the Trail of Tears still happened, a few we're able to stay in Western North Carolina. 5y
SaturnDoo Although it may have seemed futile, I agree that it was beneficial in more ways than was realized. It's good for a person's soul and well being to know that you helped even if in a very small way. 5y
Hooked_on_books I think it was beneficial to the small group of people who were able to remain in that place but futile to the Nation as a whole. But given the US government‘s aim to take all the land and wipe Native Americans off it, I really don‘t think he could have done anything differently. (Except not go into and/or pay his debts!) 5y
6 likes5 comments
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megnews
Thirteen Moons | Charles Frazier
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megnews I‘m not sure if it‘s the biggest but the biggest one I can think of was pining after Claire his whole life instead of allowing himself the comfort of trying to find another true love. 5y
Lcsmcat That‘s big @megnews . Certainly some unresolved stuff there! And also, he never mastered his temper. Shooting at the train? 🤦🏻‍♀️ 5y
megnews @Lcsmcat I agree about his temper but I found that almost comical. He‘s the town‘s cranky, crazy old man. Probably the stuff of legend for more reasons than his life‘s accomplishments. Can you see the kids daring each other to run up on his porch? 5y
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Lcsmcat @megnews Absolutely! 5y
Hooked_on_books I think his greatest failure was turning his back on his business and his debt while he traveled around or lived in a hotel and losing almost everything as a consequence. 5y
megnews @Hooked_on_books yes and all to pine over a married woman! 5y
22 likes6 comments
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megnews
Thirteen Moons | Charles Frazier
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megnews At first blush, I wanted to say his ability to act shrewdly to purchase all the land he managed to for the Cherokee people to remain in NC. But when I look deeper, I think his success as a literate, bilingual, self-taught man and attorney from his background as an indentured, abandoned orphan on his own in the wilderness is remarkable and without that he couldn‘t have accomplished what he did for the Cherokee. 5y
sblbooks Yes @megmews I couldn't have said it better. 5y
Lcsmcat I think what you said @megnews is important. But for me his greatest accomplishment was the self knowledge he gained by the end of his life. 5y
Hooked_on_books @megnews Totally agree and well put. 5y
16 likes4 comments
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megnews
Thirteen Moons | Charles Frazier
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megnews Sacrificing the few to save the many? 5y
Lcsmcat I think he was trying to show how there were no purely good choices. They were in a position where some choices might be less bad than others, but none of them were good. 5y
megnews @Lcsmcat Very true! 5y
Hooked_on_books @Lcsmcat I agree. I also think he uses this plot point to illustrate how pragmatic Will is when it comes to things other than Claire. He doesn‘t feel great about hunting Charley and company, but then again it really doesn‘t seem to bother him much. It‘s an interesting insight into his character. 5y
5 likes4 comments
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megnews
Thirteen Moons | Charles Frazier
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megnews I think Bear for sure. Featherstone impacted his life through books and friendship (for awhile) but he had one foot -or more- in the white world. Bear was his adopted Father and I think the person he wanted to emulate, help, and missed the most when he was gone. 5y
CoffeeNBooks I agree- I think he learned a lot both from and because of his interactions with Featherstone, but I think Bear was a greater influence on many aspects of his life. 5y
Lcsmcat I think both were influential, but I think he wished Bear was more so, due to something he said early on. Don‘t have the book with me, so can‘t quote it. But I think he wished he didn‘t have Featherstone‘s temper. 5y
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sblbooks Agree with Lcsmcat, both 5y
SaturnDoo I think both, in different ways and reasons. 5y
Hooked_on_books He was much closer to Bear and loved him, but I actually think he was more influenced by Featherstone. They both built their empires by taking advantage of others with little regret. 5y
20 likes6 comments
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megnews
Thirteen Moons | Charles Frazier
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Hooked_on_books I‘m not sure I ever envisioned the Cherokee Nation, so I‘m not sure. I think I always thought about Native American land as being far too small for the number of people and he describes things as fairly spread out. 5y
megnews Such a tough question. I think it‘s as authentic as a white person living in our modern world could write it. You see white ways & diseases slowly infiltrating the culture. It‘s hard to envision the culture from today‘s world. I‘ve visited The NC Cherokee Reservation and I still wouldn‘t be able to imagine it‘s history nor can I tell how authentic the historical interpretations there are. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 5y
Lcsmcat He got the syllabery right, and some of the things I know. Others I‘m not sure if they are historically accurate, but they are convincing. 5y
sblbooks I agree with you @megnews. I feel that only a Cherokee can truly answer this question. 5y
SaturnDoo I'm not sure that I've really tried to envision the Cherokee Nation at that time. As far as being authentic, probably not because this is a fictionalized tale about William Holland Thomas. 5y
17 likes5 comments