Season of Sacrifice by Tristi Pinkston

Saturday, May 03, 2008

Challenges
Spring Reading Thing
Tristi Pinkston took the material she found in her ancestors' journals and turned it into this historical fiction. At the end of the book, she details how the events in each chapter are taken from the journals and how much is literary invention. The story follows Ben Perkins as he travels from Wales to join the Mormons in Utah. He is soon followed by his fiance, Mary Ann Williams, and later her sister, Sarah. The main event involves these three as they join others in crossing southern Utah, from Cedar City to the San Juan River valley, to begin a new colony of Saints. It is absolutely astounding how this group of pioneers were able to traverse such treacherous landscape mostly in the dead of winter without any loss of life. The details of how Ben creates a dugway by drilling holes and inserting poles into the side of a cliff which then formed a road that the wagon train used to descend to the valley floor was nothing short of miraculous. Of course, I wished there had been a map showing the course of the trek, but I guess you can't have everything. Reading about this intrepid group and how they created roads up and down the sides of mesas, finally reaching their destination was very inspiring especially when you realize these events actually happened. I would have made a terrible pioneer. I also appreciated Tristi's handling of the question of polygamy. She portrayed the hard facts of the issue and didn't glamorize or create victims through its use; and presented some interesting reasons for it. At least in the lives of these three people and their families, polygamy was a principle that took tremendous faith to follow and, even then, it created sadness and ill-feelings even though the participants strived to accept. I believe most Latter-Day-Saints today breathe a huge sigh of relief knowing it's not something we will be asked to do, especially since many of us have a hard time accepting its use in the past. The final item I really enjoyed was the pictures Tristi included of her ancestors. When I read about people who actually existed I always want to know what they looked like. Sarah and Ben's picture was taken later in life; and, in keeping with the times, they look a little grim, but still you can see the glimmer of humor in Ben's eyes.
Rating: 4
If you want to see pictures of Hole-in-the-Rock to show how treacherous the trail was, I suggest you use Google and look for the Utah or Moab pictures. As you look at the terrain, you'll find it hard to imagine anyone going through it with horse and wagons. Many pictures show 4x4's and even that looks dangerous.
Posted by Framed at 5:30 AM

9 comments:
Tristi Pinkston said...
Thanks for this great review, Framed! If any of your readers have any questions, I'll be back around to answer them.
5/03/2008 5:40 PM
Danyelle Ferguson said...
I agree with you, Framed - I would have made a terrible pioneer! :) Thank goodness I was born during the time of washing machines, dish washers, and automobiles!
5/04/2008 9:34 AM
Jen said...
Yes, the pictures were a great addition to the story, weren't they? Add me to the list of people who wouldn't be able to hack it as a pioneer! Thanks for your review!
5/04/2008 10:34 AM
Booklogged said...
I can't even 'make it' as a modern woman - I'd be a complete disaster as a pioneer.
5/05/2008 12:29 PM
Jill said...
This title looks interesting. My only experience with pioneer existence is playing Oregon Trail with my sons on the home computer and with friends on Facebook.
5/06/2008 6:36 PM
Trish said...
As I said before :) this one sounds fascinating, especially because my grandmother grew up in Monticello in the San Juan Valley and my great great grandmother and grandfather helped settle when the first Mormons went down to Southern Utah. It is a place that I would love to visit one day. Thanks for bringing this book to my attention!
5/06/2008 8:48 PM
Susan said...
I agree, Framed - I would have made a horrible pioneer and polygamist's wife :) Still, I am always amazed by what the Mormon pioneers did - their stories constantly inspire me.I should be getting this one in the mail soon. I'm excited to read it, especially after your review. Thanks!
5/08/2008 6:41 AM
Janet Kay Jensen said...
Dear Framed,would you be interested in reviewing my book, Don't You Marry the Mormon Boys? It is published by Cedar Fort and has been nominated for four national awards. Please contact me at janet.jensen@comcast net and I'll see that you get a review copy. And visit my blog, www.janetkayjensen2.blogspot.com, for more information about the book. Tristi liked it!Thanks,Janet Jensen
5/17/2008 11:25 AM
Heather B. Moore said...
This book was VERY interesting. I was impressed that the author turned her family history into fiction this way.