Power: A Novel

Hogan's voice is unique, poetic, fluid, and very rooted in nature. In both POWER and SOLAR STORMS, she explores the complexity of relationships with our own culture, the natural world, and the spirit world, creating rich and multi-dimensional stories. Both of these books have been beautiful experiences for me that leave me wanting to share them with everyone. All my friends will be receiving POWER for their birthday this year. Kaya McLaren, author of CHURCH OF THE DOG, ON THE DIVINITY OF SECOND CHANCES, and HOW I CAME TO SPARKLE AGAIN

Ms. Hogan has woven a tale that is a tapestry both complex and deceptively simple in focus. For many, this story could be told with other than Native symbology, from the point of view of living honestly and the struggles within the lives we inhabit, be it home, work, family, neighborhood, or, most importantly, self. She illustrates with reverance how deeply connected we are to all of creation and how, when we seek meaning in our lives in indifference to all of creation, how separate and fearful our beliefs can become. This is carefully illustrated by Ms. Hogan through the duplicitous nature of many of the characters (not unlike any of us) interacting with the young woman of this story. The fear Ms. Hogan exposes throughout the telling of this story is that which is held in many hearts when confronted with how we have moved from living with respect for life to the group-held belief and reality that being human is separate and above the rest of creation. This book tells of old ways which compel a young woman to herself, which is, in my view, both particular to this story and potentially to any reader that "sees" similar to that of the young Native woman whose story this book reveals. Ms. Hogan speaks of that which is authentic, sacred, and true. The book has much to say, but it also draws the landscape of the Florida swamps with its heat and searing presence indelibly in the readers mind. The book confirms the truth of life as an immutable force larger than any of our efforts to ignore it. I am grateful to have read her work.

In this story, there is a storm, a panther is killed, and there are two trials--one in a courthouse about the death of an animal protected by the Endangered Species Act and one among the Taiga elders, who abide by the old ways, on whether the killing was conducted in accordance with tribal law. We experience these events through the eyes, ears, body, and mind of 16 yr old Omishto as she accompanies her adult friend and "teacher," Ama, on a journey she knows is wrong but inevitable, experiences the chasm between the old and new ways of living for the Taiga people, and seeks to understand her own place in a chaotic and dying world. Linda Hogan's masterful writing led me to read this book with my heart, not my mind. This story is an exquisite masterpiece.

Of all Linda Hogan's three novels, this is her finest, with a mesmerizing lyrical voice, a young Native American narrator who is coming of age in a time when tribal and environmental law are in conflict. This story of Omishto, the One Who Watches, the endangered Florida panther, a hurricane which reveals family and tribal truths -- is elegantly told and a real page-turner. The courtroom drama at the center of the book, is more fascinating than that of Snow Falling on Cedars (David Guterson's recent bestseller). And I found the descriptions of place, people, and Native American vision and a rebirth of a culture of both panther and tribe to be deeply inspiring. This is one of my all-time favorite novels, and I bet it will be a classic.