One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Challenges:
Back to History
To Be Read
Numbers
Back to History: In 1854, a Cheyenne chief asks the US Government to send 1000 white women to the Cheyenne nation to marry into the tribes and help the assimilation process through the children they would bear. The notion is soundly ridiculed and rejected. In this novel, Fergus takes a "what if" stance and explores the story that may have occurred if the government secretly goes along with the proposal. As historical fiction, this book provided some great details into the social mores of the 1870's with regards to women and Native Americans. I believe Fergus did extensive research into both the lives of US Army on the frontier and the Cheyenne people, which was really interesting. The main character, May Dodd, seemed far-fetched and way too progressive for a woman in that era.
Numbers: I bought this novel quite some time ago because of its intriguing title. I didn't realize at the time that the 1000 women were being sent to the Cheyenne; I thought they were going to be wives for settlers. But the contrast between the two cultures was much more exciting. Although, the government promises to send 1000 women, only forty actually make the journey before promises are broken along with land treaties. This book really is quite damning for the blight on American history that involves the treatment of the Native Americans.
To Be Read: This book really has been on the shelf for a while. My interest just would wax and wane. Unfortunately, the promise of the title and blurbs I had read did not prepare me for the explicit nature of the early portions of the book. May Dodd has been declared insane because of her promiscuous nature (she bore two children out of wedlock). She jumps at the chance of freedom from a mental institution by spending two years as a Cheyenne wife when she could then return to Chicago to be with her children again. This book seemed determined to present just how passionate May's nature was and I found those sections could have been hugely toned down and not detracted from the story. I would have liked it better. In fact, I almost set it aside. However, the book picks up when it concentrates more on the life in the Cheyenne community and how it is affected by the white people. There are some stereotypes of the wicked minister; degenerate savages; noble savages; judgmental, snooty white women; bad woman with a heart of gold, etc. Eventually you come to see that most of the characters are neither bad nor good; there are elements of both. However, I just couldn't really care about most of them, which is always a serious defect for me as a reader. This book was not a waste of time as it opened my eyes to some great history and gave me something to think about; but I can't recommend it very highly and don't plan on reading it again.
Rating: 2.5
Posted by Framed at 9:48 PM

10 comments:
Joy said...
What a bummer. This was one of my Best Reads of 2004; I really enjoyed it. I hope your next one is a success. :)
3/14/2008 5:20 AM
Stephanie said...
Ha, I could have written that review myself! I too read it, found the first part of the book boring and the sex scenes just to over-the-top. In the end it made for a great discussion for my book club, but I wouldn't recommend it.
3/14/2008 7:10 AM
Jeane said...
Too bad. It sounds like such a curious book, and good premise. But I think I would get very tired of all the s-x, so I'm glad you warned me; I'm gonna skip it.
3/14/2008 10:31 AM
Tristi Pinkston said...
Hey, Framed,My book is ready and will be in the mail to you soon!
3/14/2008 3:02 PM
writer2b said...
I'm reading 'The Martian Chronicles' right now, which also has women being sent to a "frontier" (Mars). But it's handled differently. Based on your review I won't run out and look for this, but you're right that the title and the premise sound really intriguing. Too bad if it didn't pull it off.
3/15/2008 10:54 AM
SmallWorld said...
I totally agree with your review. I was really disappointed with this book!SmallWorld
3/15/2008 3:45 PM
Booklogged said...
I started reading this for my f2f book club, but life interrupted. I've always thought I'd get back to it, but now I don't think I'll bother.
3/15/2008 9:35 PM
Susan Helene Gottfried said...
I just loved this book; I'm sorry you didn't agree because it's one of my recent favorites.I might have liked The Wild Girl, his second book, even more, though. Ned was a heck of a great character.
3/16/2008 8:29 AM
Les said...
This is one that's been languishing on my shelf for a few years. Now I wonder if I should bother. Seems to have mixed reviews, so who knows. Might be a good book group discussion read, though.
3/17/2008 4:42 PM
Trish said...
I heard about this one a while ago but had forgotten about it until your review. I have a tough time getting into a book when I don't relate to or care about the characters. I'm sorry this one didn't work for you.