Thirteen Moons

I have read this book multiple times, and lent it and gifted it to friends. This journey of a boy is so wonderfully told.

I'd never read Cold Mountain, but picked up Thirteen Moons because of the story related to the Cherokee nation. The book itself is a fictionalized rendition of the life and times of Will Thomas, known as Will Usdi (little Will) by the Cherokee. I was impressed by how much Fraizer got right about Cherokee life during those times, and how well the book was written. While the story end for the main character is dissatisfying, I think that was the point, because that chapter in Cherokee history and in the life of the actual Will Thomas was, to put it mildly, dissatisfying and tragic. But here's something to know about this exemplary author of Thirteen Moons: He worked with the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation on parts of his novel, and then turned around and set up a grant to assist the Nation in translating it into the Cherokee syllabary, so that it could be used to teach Cherokee to become fluent in the language. Cherokee itself (particularly the Kituwah dialect) is a language that is in danger of becoming extinct, and is an integral part of Cherokee identity. To know one's language is to more firmly be grounded in one's identity. Anyway, the Museum of the Cherokee Indian in Cherokee, NC, central to the Qualla Boundary of which Fraizer writes has translated copies of his chapter on the Removal from the book Thirteen Moons. On one side of the page is the Cherokee in Syllabary form, and on the opposite page it's there in phonetic spelling. Each page is labeled to correspond to the English version from the original book. This is the first major publication in Cherokee since the Bible. As a person of Cherokee heritage working these past few years to learn my own language from the Midwest, this was a blessing, to see our language in print. Charles Fraizer ought to win national acclaim for both this fantastic book and for his efforts to revitalize the Cherokee language. He really thought of giving back to the community in a positive and enduring way. I've heard that there may be a movie, and would hope that whoever bought the rights to it will be as considerate and thoughtful in actively including the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation in their production and direction.

Those that have labeled this book a "bore" have entirely missed the point. This is a beautiful meditation on loss, love, and change. Like Cold Mountain, it's a road novel, but of an entirely different kind. To paraphrase Henry Miller, 'there is only one journey and that is inward to the soul'. This book is an elegy of sorts, a gorgeous meditation full of angst, humor, rant, and longing. Charles Frazier so thoroughly inhabits Will Cooper that one is soon lost in the old man's reverie. Ignore those reviews whose frame of reference is a simple good story. This is a great story, but also far more. This book is more literary, more powerful and in many ways more tragic than Cold Mountain because it is more personal, more filled with the sense of loss in all the ways that one's life is, replete with juxtapositions, contradictions , stubbornness, melancholy and longing. I need more than sheer entertainment in my writing. This is a beautiful book and highly recommended.

Thirteen Moons marks only the second novel by Charles Frazier. Coming nine years after his blockbuster hit Cold Mountain, Thirteen Moons is also a story of mountain people but this time prior to the Civil War. The ninety year old main character, Will Cooper, relates his long and interesting life through a series of stories. As a small child he is orphaned and eventually "bound" to the owner of a small trading post near the Cherokee reservation. Through hard work and diligence he ends up running the store and eventually buys the operation upon the owners death. At the age of 12 he wins the love of his life in a card game. He fights in the Civil War on the side of the confederacy while leading a regiment of natives Americans. He interacts with national legends such as Davy Crockett and Andrew Jackson. Frazier doesn't admit that Will Coopers character is loosely based on the real exploits of William Holland Thomas, but he does admit that they might share some "DNA". One of the hallmarks of Frazier's writing style is his eloquent, almost poetic prose. Even when the story lags a bit, as all stories like this do from time to time, reading his sentences, paragraphs, and pages is a joy. He reminds me a bit of another North Carolina author, though less well known, Ron Rash. Both authors have a love of the language and that is evident in how they write. Both also manage to catch of meter of how mountain folk talk and how they think. These gifts only come from having the region in your vains. Without giving away anything, the characters that he provides us in Thirteen Moons are marvelous and provide a rich tapestry....a background and foreground on which the story plays. Perhaps the most notable is the Cherokee Bear. The story does seem to ramble in places but this is not a critical error. You'll love reading Thirteen Moons and you'll remember the story and characters for years to come

I read Cold Mountain shortly after it came out and loved that book. Each time that I've read it since, I've enjoyed its richness, hated its conclusion and checked to see whether Charles Frazier has written another book. So I was thrilled to see that FINALLY he had. I approached it with some fear, could it live it up to his first book or would I be disappointed? You can imagine my delight to find another multi-layered dessert. Like a previous reviewer, I've read it slowly. I wanted to savor each spoonful. It's richly textured with wonderful descriptions of the life of the protagonist. And that was also a rich life, encountering events and people that would seem improbable and impossible today. You can read elsewhere about the story line. All I'm going to say is that this book is at once like your favorite meal - something you've longed to encounter again. At the same time it's an impossible improvement and to be enjoyed slowly, I'm already sorry that it's over. Like Cold Mountain, I expect to revisit it several times and be taken through a wide range of emotions each time. I highly recommend this book to all readers.

I have found a really great way to know which books I will enjoy. I check out the book reviews by Michiko Kakutani in the New York Times. If Ms. Kakutani rips a book apart I can be fairly certain that the book will be great. Her snobbery makes for some wonderful guidance. That being said, Thirteen Moons was a long time in coming. Cold Mountain was published in 1997. Millions of copies later the expectations for Thirteen Moons were stupendous. Frazier took his time and he has written a followup that I found utterly satisfying. I have trouble with some of the reviews I have read. They give away all of the good stuff. It's like sitting in a movie theatre and hearing some jerk say what is about to happen. Why spoil it for everybody else? I won't do that. Suffice it to say that this is the story of a man who lived through most of the 19th Century. As the story begins, Will Cooper is remembering his life. He kept journals. He reflects on his passage from being an orphan to becoming a rich landowner. Along the way he fell in love, was adopted by the Cherokees, spent time in politics and found a way to stop President Andrew Jackson's plan to force the Cherokees off of their lands. There is so much to this book. Frazier is a master storyteller. He spins one wonderful tale after another. Many are told by Bear, the Cherokee warrior who adopted Will and made him part of his clan. The yarns are superb and the emotions of the characters really ring true. The story of Bear's hunting dog is by itself worth the price of admission.It will bring a wee tear to your eye. Frazier's gift is to make his characters come alive on the page. Ignore the critics. Savor this marvelous book.