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Black Hills
A Novel
By Simmons, Dan
Publishers Summary:
- ISBN
- 978-0-31600-698-9
- Publisher
- Reagan Arthur Books
REVIEWS
Library Journal
Reviewed on February 12, 2010
An 11-year-old Lakota counts coup on Custer at the moment of his death at the Little Big Horn. The boy, Paha Sapa (Lakota for "Black Hills"), absorbs Custer's spirit. Thus begins a story spanning more than 80 years, bracketed by the battle and the carving of one of the Lakota's most sacred places into the Mount Rushmore monument. Meticulously researched, like all of Simmons's work (Drood), it tells Paha Sapa's story of pain, loss, recovery, and redemption against a huge historical canvas. Occasional visits with the spirit of Custer reveal a man completely obsessed with his wife, Libbie, often describing their sexual exploits in shocking detail. Verdict Despite the ghost angle and other supernatural elements, this is not a horror novel. Simmons avoids bogging down this compelling read with detail but does succumb to the temptation of romanticizing what scholars of Native America call the "plight narrative," viewing Indian nations as vanished and victimized peoples without a present or future. For Simmons's fans. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 10/15/09.]-Karl G. Siewert, Tulsa City-Cnty. Lib., OK Copyright 2010 Media Source Inc. Copyright 2010 Media Source Inc. ...Log In or Sign Up to Read More
