The Way South

The Real People #4

by Robert J. Conley

Book by Conley, Robert J.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

246 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1993

About the author

Robert J. Conley was a Cherokee author and enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, a federally recognized tribe of American Indians. In 2007, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers' Circle of the Americas.

Reviews

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I decided to read The Way South after having recently enjoyed Conley’s The Peace Chief. TWS was primarily the story of Carrier and others fighting the Spanish. There were some dramatic moments but, fortunately for me, not too much graphic detail.

However, the book also included some depictions of the cultural practices and the ceremonies which structured the life of the Native Americans. These involved such things as a betting game, how one was expected to harvest gingseng, the use of tobacco to foster good relations between the men and to appeal to the gods, and the preparations for war. Animals and running water can provide important information about the future. So can consulting with conjurers about the meanings of one’s dreams.

Conley’s conversational prose which largely consisted of direct, declarative sentences made the novel readily readable. The names of some animals and foods as well as greetings in the Cherokee language heightened the book’s authenticity. And there is also a 3 page Glossary of Cherokee and other Native American language vocabulary at the end of the book. 

One flaw with the book was that some of the author’s descriptions of a character’s inner workings and the events which took place were redundant.  Another was that background information about Carrier and some of the other characters was lacking. For example, there was no explanation for why his father was not in his life. A few sentences about why this was the case, how it affected him, how his mother and uncle tried to compensate for this would have added depth to the story.

At less than 200 pages it was a relatively quick, albeit still informative and engaging read.