Happy Saturday! I hope everyone has plenty of reading time this weekend! I have a review of The Removes by Tatjana Soli published in June.
My Thoughts:
This book. Wow. It took me a while to read The Removes because I had to tread slowly. Although it is smoothly written, it required me to take some breaks from it, which I will describe why in a bit.
Set on the American frontier, The Removes is told with three narrators, a fifteen-year-old named Anne, as well as George Armstrong Custer, and his wife, Libbie. In the opening scene, Anne’s family is attacked without warning by the Sioux, and she is held captive. As I read this scene, I knew The Removes would be a special read. The writing was crystal clear and three-dimensional, and the storytelling was emotional, raw, honest, and realistic.
Libbie Custer is thrust into an unknown, hostile life as she travels with her husband and the U.S. Army to the frontier. Once a well-to-do somewhat spoiled only child, Libbie faces daily the harsh realities of frontier life. It makes her stronger, though. She toughens, hardens, to survive her new reality.
Even though we hear from Custer himself, The Removes is really Anne and Libbie’s stories. How they come to terms with the arduous life on the plains, and more importantly, how it shapes their roles as women given society’s expectations at the time. While being mightily dangerous, the frontier is full of freedoms for Anne and Libbie that they would not know elsewhere.
Readers should know this book has graphic scenes of war. Those parts were painful to read at times, but I had to remind myself over and over that you cannot “pretty up” war, and one of this book’s many strengths is in its honesty and authenticity.
The Removes is an ambitious undertaking of a novel, and it delivers on every level. The characters are smashingly developed. I adored them all. The sense of time and place is completely transportive. The pacing builds suspense, and I am pleased I took longer to read this one. It required my time and energy, and I gave it. I learned about “frontier life,” but even more so, I learned about “life.”
Thank you to Sarah Crichton Books/Farrar, Straus, and Giroux for the complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
Synopsis:
From the New York Times bestselling author Tatjana Soli, an expansive and transfixing new novel set on the American frontier
Spanning the years of the first great settlement of the west, The Removes tells the intertwining stories of fifteen-year-old Anne Cummins, frontierswoman Libbie Custer, and Libbie’s husband, the Civil War hero George Armstrong Custer. When Anne survives a surprise attack on her family’s homestead, she is thrust into a difficult life she never anticipated—living among the Sioux as both a captive and, eventually, a member of the tribe. Libbie, too, is thrown into a brutal, unexpected life when she marries Custer. They move out to the territories with the U.S. Army, where Libbie is challenged daily and her worldview expanded: the pampered daughter of a small-town judge, she transforms into a daring camp follower. But when what Anne and Libbie have come to know—self-reliance, freedom, danger—is suddenly altered through tragedy and loss, they realize how indelibly shaped they are by life on the treacherous, extraordinary American plains.
With taut, suspenseful writing, Tatjana Soli tells the exhilarating stories of Libbie and Anne, who have grown like weeds into women unwilling to be restrained by the strictures governing nineteenth-century society. The Removes is a powerful, transporting novel about the addictive intensity and freedom of the American frontier.
I don’t really like historical fiction, but this review almost made me want to give it a go 🙂
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Thanks, Bibi! Maybe a historical romance would be more like a genre bridge? I will let you know if I read one of those soon. ♥️
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Oh please do. That would be interesting 😘
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Fantastic review Jennifer! Sounds really intense and interesting. I’m going to look into this one. 💗
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Thanks, Lindsay! I think you’d enjoy the historical aspects of this one and perfect storytelling. Xo 😘
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Awesome review. Pretty picture. I need to read about frontier life.🐗🐴🦌🐂🌻
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Thanks, Virginia! The frontier life aspects were so intriguing to read about! 💕
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Sounds like one I would like as I do love those historical fiction novels. Wonderful review!
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Thanks, Marialyce! This is totally up your street of reads! I could see you loving this one.
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I know Custer is real so I’m guessing his wife is too, but is Anne? Or is she completely fictional? This reminded me a bit of Days Without End by Sebastian Barry, also set in the frontier during the Civil War. Have you read it?
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Anne is an imagined character, but the author wrote her based on captivity narratives, and one especially was her focus. I have not read that book, but I own it and have it on the shelf, FF! I think I may have even mistakenly acquired two copies of that one, so I must really, really want to read it! 😉 😊
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I do like historical fiction, but not usually in this setting. This sounds like a fascinating read though. Terrific review Jennifer!
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Thanks, Kim! I understand. It definitely held my attention and was a lovely read. This author also wrote The Lotus Eaters that takes place during the Vietnam War. I have that one on my shelf and need to read it!
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Great review Jen! This book sounds very interesting!😊💖 Hope you had a great Saturday!!😊💖
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Thanks, Sus! It definitely kept my attention and I loved it! I had a wonderful Saturday, and I hope you did too! 💗 💕
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Fantastic review Jennifer as always!💗
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Thank you, Berit! ♥️
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Great review Jennifer! There are often books that I see reviews with people complaining about he violence or being too graphic and I have to question what they expect with the idea of the story. This sounds like one of those that might be a bit much but you are right, war isn’t pretty and you can’t expect the book to be real without showing that in full.
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Thanks, Carrie! I’m guilty of that with Karin Slaughter. I read The Good Daughter, and I felt like it was a bit over the line, but I’ve thought about it more, and that’s the genre I was reading at the time.
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I suppose it is a fine line between shock and just too much too.
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That’s a great point, too!
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Wow this looks absolutely brilliant Jen, amazing review. Love the picture with the peppers and apples too! 😍
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Thanks so much, Beth! It was a wonderful read. Thanks for the compliment on my pic, too. Those peppers looked like they need to join the fruit! 🍎 ♥️
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You can’t “pretty up” war is right!
I know someone who just came back from South Dakota yesterday where it’s densely populated by the Sioux. She was overcome by emotion at the conditions they’re living in there. This book interests me because of the stories I listened to just last night. Thanks for sharing, Jennifer.
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Thanks, Laurie! Oh, yes, I could go on and on about that topic. You may also want to look into a nonfiction title, Killers of the Flower Moon. It reads like fiction and gives some history on some immense wrongs done to the Osage tribe. One of the best nonfiction books I’ve ever read. Very intriguing and well-written. Thanks for stopping in to see me today, Laurie. 💕
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Thanks for the recommendation Jennifer!! I’m going to look into Killers of the Flower Moon. 😊
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Oh yeah….and yes, I enjoy historical fiction but I haven’t read enough authors of the genre to comment on a favorite.
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I understand, Laurie!
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I’m not much of a fan of Historical Fiction (unless it’s The Mermaid & Mrs Hancock) but this sounds really interesting. Thanks for the review. ❤️
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I just found your comment in spam- I’m sorry I didn’t catch it sooner! I have wanted to read The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock- I need to check it out! Thanks so much for the comment. 💗
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