Sacajawea by Anna Lee Waldo
Review by Mirah W. (mwelday)
During a recent trip to South Dakota I discovered the novel Sacajawea in the Mt Rushmore gift shop. I was intrigued and decided to give this massive paperback tome a try. I love South Dakota and I am very interested in our country’s westward expansion and native cultures.
By all accounts, Sacajawea’s life started out pretty idyllic but it didn’t take things long to quickly unravel. She experienced separation from her family, was traded as a commodity, treated badly and without respect by several key people in her life, and experienced many personal losses and disappointments. When Sacajawea had the opportunity to join the harrowing Lewis & Clark expedition she was able to reconnect and honor many parts of her cultural heritage, while at the same time she came to appreciate some of the customs of the white explorers. Much of Sacajawea’s life was tumultuous and uncertain but, based on all that is known of her, she was strong and resilient.
One thing cannot be denied about Waldo’s novel: extensive research was conducted to craft this novel. The notes were lengthy but added a lot of depth to the novel. I appreciate this level of research and attention to detail. Even with this extensive research, there is much that is not known about Sacajawea’s life after the expedition. There are various accounts of the direction her life took after the expedition and where and how she died. Waldo presents one widely accepted version of Sacajawea’s later life and this, I think, is where the novel loses some of its traction; I think the first three quarters of the novel are stronger and more clearly presented.
From a historical perspective, Sacajawea is a wonderful novel that gives a voice to one of the most iconic women of American culture. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the history of the American west.
Tags: Book Recommendations, book review, Book Suggestions, historical fiction
You just never know where you’ll find a book that grabs you! This sounds like one of those stories that has better history lessons than my school books did — or, at least these are the types I remember better! I’ll keep my eyes open for a copy of this book on my Spring/Summer used book shopping. Thanks Mirah!
Sounds like a great book!