A Parchment of Leaves in Reading with Style

Sep 28, 2011 Connie G rated it it was amazing

Shelves: indigenous, historical-fiction, southern-lit, kentucky, family

4.5 stars (rounded up to 5)
Vine, a beautiful Cherokee woman, spent her childhood in the Kentucky mountains in the early 1900s. There is a superstition that she puts curses on the lumbermen that come near her. Saul, a man with an Irish heritage, falls hard for her. Vine leaves her Cherokee community to become his wife and join his family. When World War I begins, Saul leaves their area for a job cutting pine trees which will be used in the production of turpentine. Vine is left behind to care for 4.5 stars (rounded up to 5)
Vine, a beautiful Cherokee woman, spent her childhood in the Kentucky mountains in the early 1900s. There is a superstition that she puts curses on the lumbermen that come near her. Saul, a man with an Irish heritage, falls hard for her. Vine leaves her Cherokee community to become his wife and join his family. When World War I begins, Saul leaves their area for a job cutting pine trees which will be used in the production of turpentine. Vine is left behind to care for their young daughter. Vine is upset because Saul's brother Aaron is stalking her and she feels unsafe. But when she tells Saul about her fears, he will not speak to his brother about it. Vine realizes that Saul's "great fault" is that he would always choose his family over her. Eventually a confrontation occurs, and Vine keeps a secret from the rest of the family. Forgiveness of others and herself is an important theme in this story.

Vine loved the natural world and she senses the presence of God when the wind rustles through the trees. She misses her Cherokee family from Rosebud Camp so she planted a tiny rosebud tree at her new home. Vine "talked to the tree every day, willing it to live." She describes the leaves, "They were like parchment that holds words of wisdom. Simply holding them in my hand gave me some of the peace a tree possesses. To be like that--to just be--that's the most noble thing of all."

The story is also about the prejudice that some of the townspeople have against the Native Americans. Silas House's great-grandmother was Cherokee, and she was an inspiration for this book. The author transports us to the Kentucky mountains a century ago with characters talking in the local dialect, fiddle music, poetry, and everyday events on a farm. There are great descriptions of wash day, a snake bite, a pig roast, a country dance, and a Pentecostal service. This book has a winning combination--beautiful writing and an engaging story--and would be a good selection for book clubs.

...more

29 likes · Like · see review