cshell76's Full Review: Deborah Larsen - The White
While in the library, looking for an entirely different book, I saw The White. The title intrigued me, so I pulled the book off the shelf. When I turned the book over to look at the cover, there was this sad little girl looking at me. Her portrait was just mesmerizing. I actually checked out the book without reading the inside cover.
The White, a fictional novel, is based on actual people and events, but primarily it is based on the life of Mary Jemison, an Irish girl who was born en route to America. In 1758, sixteen year old Mary was kidnapped in a Shawnee raid on several homes in what is our present Pennsylvania. As the party traveled on foot, the Shawnee realized that their captives were so many and they were moving too slowly. Mary and her brother Daniel were separated from the group and given moccasins. Mary endured seeing the others, including her parents and siblings, scalped. Soon after, Daniel and Mary were separated to be taken to their "new homes." Mary never saw or heard of her brother again. Mary was given to Seneca sisters as a replacement for their brother who was killed by Whites. Her name was changed to Two-Falling-Voices. And this is where the meat of Mary's story really begins.
As the story alternates between a 3rd person narrative and Mary's own account, the reader follows Mary's life among the Seneca people. It is fascinating to watch how this young white girl grows and changes in her new family. When she first arrives she is so terror-stricken that she can't even speak. She struggles to find her identity as a white woman living with the Seneca. She muddles through the loss of her white family. She wrestles with the anger she feels toward her father, who moved them from Ireland and then was silent and weak when they were beset by the Shawnee raiders.
In this time, however, we also see Mary thrive. She finds love with a Seneca man and has a child. She preserves her own English language, while learning to communicate in the Seneca's language as well. She becomes strong and wise. And finally she realizes her dream of owning part of this land she loves.
Mary died in 1833 at the Buffalo Creek Reservation among the people she had come to love and call her own.
Though it is difficult to describe The White in one word, I would call this novel entrancing. The character of Mary is so completely engrossing and emotional that you have to see her story through to the very end.
Larsen's writing style is absolutely beautiful. Her use of language and her tendency toward long phrases makes the reading very melodic and rhythmic. Her descriptions of the land and the people are lovely and rich. On page 79, Larsen writes of a field, "A field of spaces, she thought, beset by form, color, and texture; spaces beset by odd or ecstatic or violent movements: scuttlings, fallings, startled flights, crawlings, hesitations. A field where the foreignness of revisitings was most appreciated in a familiar setting." Throughout the novel Larsen used the beautiful to describe even the most horrific.
I also appreciated the sections of the novel which were written as Mary's narratives. They give wonderful insight into Mary's inner thoughts and battles, whether she was remembering Scripture or trying to understand the world around her. Mary's narratives allow the reader to know Mary on a more intimate level.
Though The White is a relatively short read, only 215 pages, it is chock full of beautiful, poetic language and intense storytelling. I intend to read it again myself and pass it along to my friends!
A fast-paced, riveting novel based on the true story of Mary Jemison, who in 1758, at 16, was taken by a Shawnee raiding party from her home in Pennsy...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.