Cherokee America a novel by Margaret Verble

I have to start by saying I had high expectations about this book when I started reading it. The subject is something I have always been interested in reading about, but never actually did, the lives of Native Americans in the United States of America. I have always loved books that show you a different culture, apart from the main action, so Cherokee America seemed to be a perfect match.

Cherokee America small presentation

The book starts a bit slow, introducing the main character of the novel, Check Singer, the matriarch of an important family of farmers in the area, of Cherokee descent. Her husband is dying, and she has to deal with the fear and sadness of losing him but at the same time, stay strong for her five children. After that, I would have expected for the action to pick up a bit, but that did not happen.

Although the novel has some interesting insights into the Cherokee ways and customs, I feel it’s lacking in some places. For me, a complete outsider of their culture, it was sometimes difficult to completely understand the book. The action sometimes dragged, and that made it difficult to read. You can’t really identify the main story-line, and although usually, I wouldn’t have a problem with that, I feel that this is what was missing to take this novel from good to great.

Badgery Thoughts

That being said, I did enjoy reading it, it took me to a different universe, one that like I said before, didn’t know much about. Although the story didn’t run fluidly, that gave the author the opportunity to build strong well-structured characters.

Final thoughts, I warmly recommend this book, especially now that the holiday season is almost here and there is nothing better to do on a cold winter day then stay in bed with a good book.