Why read Cherokee America?

Book cover of Cherokee America

Book description

From the author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist Maud’s Line, an epic novel that follows a web of complex family alliances and culture clashes in the Cherokee Nation during the aftermath of the Civil War, and the unforgettable woman at its center.

Winner of the Western Writers of America Spur…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Cherokee America as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Glenda Goodman

Author

I love an epic family novel, and this fits the bill. It’s set in 1875 in the Cherokee Nation and centers largely on a Cherokee matriarch as she cares for her dying husband, who is white while raising her sons and managing a substantial farm.

It’s also about her neighbors and employees, and there’s a bit of a mystery, too. I’m recommending this book because it shows just how complex family can be and how kinship can be a powerful force for protection, but also, in U.S. legal contexts, it can be used against Native American people.

From Glenda's list on The best books to discover the hidden lives of women in early America.