Book
Citizens Creek : a novel / Lalita Tademy.
Record details
- ISBN: 9781476753034 (hbk.) :
- Physical Description: 420 pages : maps ; 24 cm.
- Edition: First Atria Books hardcover edition.
- Publisher: New York : Atria Books, 2014.
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Slaves > Alabama > Fiction. African American men > Alabama > Fiction. Creek Indians > Alabama > History > Fiction. Intercultural communication > Alabama > History > Fiction. |
| Genre: | Historical fiction. |
Available copies
- 2 of 2 copies available at BC Interlibrary Connect. (Show)
- 0 of 0 copies available at Sechelt/Gibsons.
- 0 of 0 copies available at Gibsons Public Library.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 2 total copies.
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Holdable? | Status | Due Date |
|---|
- Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2014 October #1
*Starred Review* Tademy's (Red River, 2007) third riveting historical novel follows four generations of an African American family, starting in 1810 when the patriarch, Cow Tom, is born a slave in Alabama. Gifted not only in his handling of cattle but also in his way with language, Cow Tom is sold at a young age to a Creek Indian chief who uses Cow Tom's skills to communicate with the U.S. military during the U.S.-Indian wars. Cow Tom, his wife, Amy, and their two young daughters, Rose and Elizabeth, are removed along with the rest of the Creeks to Indian Territory in what later becomes Oklahoma. After the Civil War, Cow Tom is named chief of the Creek freedmen, though the family still lives in dire conditionsâ11 people crammed into a 10-by-12-foot space, always facing disease. Their circumstances gradually improve until they own their own cattle ranch, though they are constantly threatened by white expansion westward. Each of the novel's characters speaks in a compelling voice, especially Amy, the steadfast matriarch, and her granddaughter, Rose, to whom Tademy devotes the final third of her completely engrossing and historically accurate family saga, which in many ways mirrors her own family history. Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews. - BookPage Reviews : BookPage Reviews 2014 November
On the fringe of American historySet in the 1800s, Citizens Creek chronicles two different lives in its two parallel sections: those of Cow Tom, a slave born in Alabama and sold to a Creek Indian chief prior to his 10th birthday, and his granddaughter, Rose.
Cow Tom possessed many unique gifts. As a healer and expert in keeping cattle healthy, he became a kind of cow-whisperer as he grew, a trait that later manifested itself in the ability to master all kinds of languages. Armed with dreams of freeing himself, his wife and their two young daughters and establishing themselves in the Creek Tribe, Cow Tom must navigate working as a translator for the U.S. military and traveling the Trail of Tears, among other trials.
Following in Cow Tom's footsteps is his granddaughter Rose, who, in her efforts to lead the family, becomes the matriarch and guardian of his legacy. As she tries to ensure her family is provided for and grapples with love, motherhood, political and social hostility, Rose proves her story is timeless.
Set against a vibrant backdrop of American expansion, black emancipation and the displacement of Native-American nations, Citizens Creek is a story of identity, community, family and an individual's will to make a difference.
California-born Lalita Tademy is the author of Cane River, a best-selling novel and a 2001 Oprah Book Club Selection, and its critically acclaimed sequel, Red River. Here, she uses frank, descriptive prose that teems with life as it depicts Cow Tom's travels and Rose's trials and triumphs. Some books hold whole worlds between their pagesâCitizens Creek is one of them.
Â
This article was originally published in the November 2014 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.
Copyright 2012 BookPage Reviews. - Kirkus Reviews : Kirkus Reviews 2014 October #2
In her third novel, Tademy (Red River, 2007, etc.) draws a tale of courage and family loyalty from a dark corner of American history.The young slave Tom is yatikaâinterpreterâfor Alabama Creek chief Yargee, but he's called Cow Tom for his gift of understanding, hilis haya, of cattle. As the Remove beginsâSouthern tribes being exiled to Indian TerritoryâYargee rents Cow Tom to Gen. Thomas Jesup as a "linguister" to fight the Second Seminole War. War over, Cow Tom, his wife, Amy, and daughters Malinda and Maggie are caught up in a desperate river journey to Fort Gibson in eastern Oklahoma. Cow Tom's hard bargaining earns the family's freedom, but it's a long, hard struggle with prejudice before those with African-American blood are allowed into tribal roles. Tademy's research lends veracity to the tale, which later shifts to the perspective of Rose, Cow Tom's granddaughter. Prospering until the Civil War, the family is driven from their land by Confedera te Lower Creeks. There's only spare protection at Fort Gibsonâ"Surrounded by sickness and starvation and suffering." Recognizing "[t]he world was a harsh place, guaranteed of quicksilver change and backhand slaps," Cow Tom builds a new homestead and prospers, taking a role as chief among African Creeks. Rose marries a half-Indian cowboy and begins to ranch, struggling against her husband's fickle regard for his vows and raising two of his children with other women as her own. Rose and Cow Tom drive the intense narrative, with Tademy's knowledge of Creek life, from turban headgear to corn sofki to fermented cha-cha, offering authenticity. Tademy's tale remains intense throughout, from the genocidal war in FloridaâTom, "not yet thirty, his life an endless trail of death patrols"âto the desperate struggle to hold onto property against prejudiceâ"We are Negro, and we are Creek, not one or the other but both." Tamedy explores a forgotten trail of American history to find an intriguing tale of love, family and perseverance in the struggles of proud African Creeks. Copyright Kirkus 2014 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved. - Library Journal Reviews : LJ Reviews 2014 June #2
Tademy returns with a book in the spirit of her New York Times best-selling Cane River, featuring a man born into slavery in 1810 Alabama who uses a gift for languages to buy his way to freedom. Sold to a Creek Indian chief before he turns ten, Cow Tom becomes a translator for his Creek master and is even hired out to U.S. military generals, earning the money he needs to break his chains. His granddaughter Rose takes up the battle against social oppression.
[Page 64]. (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. - Library Journal Reviews : LJ Reviews 2014 October #1
Tademy's (Cane River; Red River) latest novel spans the 19th century and reimagines the true story of an African American Creek Indian family. Cow Tom, an Alabama-born black slave owned by a Creek chief, serves as a translator during the Indian wars. Once he is dismissed from service, the slave undertakes the long journey to find his wife, children, and tribe. Cow Tom's travels westward take him through the camps where Indian tribes have been forcefully relocated, a journey that is emotionally devastating but ultimately not defeating. Eventually, Cow Tom is able to purchase his own freedom, as well as that of his family, and they go on to prosper despite major setbacks over many years. Cow Tom's granddaughter, Rose, holds tight to her grandfather's values, and she, too, succeeds against the odds and is the glue that holds her family and their land together. VERDICT Tademy's work movingly sheds light on a complex and undertold chapter of American history. Fans of historical and multicultural fiction will embrace this. [See Prepub Alert, 6/2/14.]âEmily Hamstra, Univ. of Michigan Libs., Ann Arbor
[Page 77]. (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
