The Good Journey

Rating:
Summary: This is one of my top two books now-
Review: I have never tried to read a book so slowly before. When I finished, I closed the book and was completely speechless. If you like historical fiction, this will soon be one of your favorites. The author paints a picture without overdoing it with flowery language. I had to turn around and buy a copy as soon as I finished.

Rating:
Summary: WOW
Review: I just finished reading "The Good Journey". What a wonderful read! In style, it reminded me of "Memoirs of a Geisha" because of its poetic prose. And, in fact, the relationship between the man and the woman was somewhat similar in that the two people come from different backrounds and are significantly different in age. Although it got a little bogged down in the middle (perhaps because I had too many interruptions at that point!), you will absolutely love the ending! You will also learn a bit about the plight of the Native Americans during the early 1800's and how "The General" was different from many others in power at that time. Treat yourself to this book!

Rating:
Summary: What a Good Book!
Review: I loved it, I enjoyed every minute of it and I didn't want it to end. From the Prologue to the Epilogue, this book moved you into the past with a realism that touches all your senses. Using words long forgotten in the English language, her descriptive narrative not only puts you in a time and place long ago, but you can feel it! You know exactly what the General's coat feels like. You can smell the spices, herbs, foods, the trees and flowers. You can hear the sound of a knife cutting into flesh. And you struggle with your own moral since of what was between the white man and the Indian at that time and place in history, while you live this life with Mary and Henry who are so very human. My favorite part is the prologue, I went back and read it again when I finished the book because it just blew me away how she describes Mary preparing her husbands body for burial. What a book!! Good job Micaela!

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Journey!
Review: This is one of those books that rarely comes along. Micaela takes your hand from the first page and with every word there after, you both want to devour this book and savor each word all at the same time. The story of Mary, a rather spoiled southern belle who is rapidly in danger of becoming a spinster, and Henry, a general who at 40 has decided he wants her for his bride becomes a truly breathtaking tale. Mary weds Henry and he takes her to the western frontier. The book tells the story of Mary becoming a woman and learning to love this stranger who is her husband. It is also the story of the beginning of the end of the indians who are also a mystery to Mary, especially her husbands relationship with Black Hawk and a female indian translator. For Mary to truly understand herself, her husband and his relationship with these two indians is the making of a truly great novel. One that after even 400 pages seems to end too quickly. I really loved this book!

Rating:
Summary: An excellent journey through time!
Review: This is perhaps one of the most intense historical fiction novels I have read in a long time. It is so well-written, that I keep glancing through my Native American Indian history books to gather more information about Black Hawke and General Henry Atkinson. This novel really has renewed my interest in Native American history.

Mary Bullitt agrees to marry General Henry Atkinson after knowing him one day. She moves from Louisville, Kentucky, to St. Lois ~~ at that time, a frontier-town in what was known as the West. This novel is based on Mary's journals. It is also a novel rich in details of life in the early 1800s to the mid-1800s. It also explores the question of Indian rights that were being violated at the time and other people's misconception of the Indian Wars.

Mary and her General kept me riveted through the pages and transported me back to the early beginnings of this country. It reminds me of man's greed ~~ to conquer all he sees and how others fight it. It brought me to the realization that life was tenous during those times ~~ as well as being more intense as well. The scenery descriptions and actual lifestyle habits of the times are so well-researched, that I actually felt like I was there as an observer.

This is a beautifully-written novel ~~ one to keep in your personal library. If you know of someone who is tenative about reading historical novels, start with this one. It is a guarantee to bring history alive in the reader's mind.

1-27-04

Rating:
Summary: An Awesome Read
Review: This was by far the best book I've read in a long time! I absolutely savored this book. Didn't want it to end. My librarian recommended this book to me and I was lukewarm about even starting it. I was so moved by the ending that I cried....and believe me that doesn't happen often.

Rating:
Summary: A very good book
Review: Well-written, interesting, it managed to keep me reading, though I'm really not much for Westerns and books about Indians. Mary is really an inspiring heroine and the General is absolutely captivating--I could see how she fell in love with him. I particularly liked that the characters in the book (Mary, the General, Eloise) were just as real in their roles as mothers, sisters, husbands as a person you know might be. We are often led to think that women a hundred years ago were bad mothers--cold and distant--Mary, however, is very real in that she loves her children very much. Also, tons of interesting details about the period, etc.

Rating:
Summary: Blackhawk flies to the Bright Sun
Review: What a terrific story! A young (?) southern belle, and a General 22 years her senior, get married after knowing eachother for three days, and he whisks her off to the western frontier, so he can try to keep order in the Indian lands.

The injustices that were done to the indians are just one aspect of the things you learn, along with some history of the west; but it's the characters and their story that keep you turning the pages.

Mary, the "heroine" is a woman you can relate to. How she comes to really love her husband, how she adjusts to her new surroundings; her jealousies, her heartbreak, her overall character. The indian characters are wonderful, and really draw you in, you will want to know their story, and even though you already know the outcome, you are still routing for them to win their war. Especially Bright Sun, what she goes through being a translator for the white man and the Sauk, being a woman indian in the time of war, trying to hold what she loves together, and what she believes...well some of it is truly heartbreaking. You will admire her strength and courage. The General, himself, is an unforgettable character, I only wish there was more info on his life.

The story keeps you turning the pages to find out what is happening, it keeps the characters firmly planted in your head, and even your heart because you really "feel" for them, and the ending is wonderful, as well as satisfying, it ties up all the loose ends that you are waiting for throughout the book.

Go west, young man,(woman), and take the journey.

Enjoy, Debbi

Rating:
Summary: Read slowly so it won't be over too soon!
Review: When I started this book I devoured the pages. When I was in about 100 pages I pulled back. Not because the book wasn't tremendous, but because I didn't want the story to be over too soon. The stories of the Indian Wars show the ambivalence of a few good men and the greedy hatred propelling others. General and Mrs. Atkinson are memorable characters, and along with vivid description help your mind's eye to truly 'see' the inhabitants of 1830's frontier. You also see a fresh prospective on what really motivated our first post-revolutionary war heros and how their actions were truly interpreted without the spin we can now so closely associate with our history. Get out your dictionary because there are lots of words that even I needed a definition for. Please, invest your reading life with this gem. I can't believe that this is Gilchrist's first book. Wow!