Charles Fraizer helps keep Cherokee language alive!

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	• Thirteen Moons Charles Frazier Sceptre, 2006 - 432 pages average customer review:based on 176 reviews view larger image
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Enjoyable Read

It's a fascinating read, but reminds us of Mark Twain, now and then.

Pramod Kumar

Take It For What It Is

Thirteen Moons is a fictional account, not so much a novel. Frazier harkens back to Twain's yarns and autobiographical remembrances. This book is not an epic novel. This book is a group of Will Cooper's thoughts and life recollections. They are humorous, melancholic and endearing. They are descriptive, at times overly. They are at certain junctures bragadocious, pallid and self-serving (though self-serving in an unspoken sympathetic plea). If you are geared up for "The Return To Cold Mountain", you will be severely dissapointed. This is not a page turner. These are not charcters that will be forever etched in your mind. However, if you have an open mind to read a well-written, well-researched, fictional autobiography, you will enjoy "Thirteen Moons."

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Charles Fraizer helps keep Cherokee language alive!

I'd never read Cold Mountain, but picked up Thirteen Moons because of the story related to the Cherokee nation. The book itself is a fictionalized rendition of the life and times of Will Thomas, known as Will Usdi (little Will) by the Cherokee. I was impressed by how much Fraizer got right about Cherokee life during those times, and how well the book was written. While the story end for the main character is dissatisfying, I think that was the point, because that chapter in Cherokee history and in the life of the actual Will Thomas was, to put it mildly, dissatisfying and tragic. But here's something to know about this exemplary author of Thirteen Moons: He worked with the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation on parts of his novel, and then turned around and set up a grant to assist the Nation in translating it into the Cherokee syllabary, so that it could be used to teach Cherokee to become fluent in the language. Cherokee itself (particularly the Kituwah dialect) is a language that is in danger of becoming extinct, and is an integral part of Cherokee identity. To know one's language is to more firmly be grounded in one's identity. Anyway, the Museum of the Cherokee Indian in Cherokee, NC, central to the Qualla Boundary of which Fraizer writes has translated copies of his chapter on the Removal from the book Thirteen Moons. On one side of the page is the Cherokee in Syllabary form, and on the opposite page it's there in phonetic spelling. Each page is labeled to correspond to the English version from the original book. This is the first major publication in Cherokee since the Bible. As a person of Cherokee heritage working these past few years to learn my own language from the Midwest, this was a blessing, to see our language in print. Charles Fraizer ought to win national acclaim for both this fantastic book and for his efforts to revitalize the Cherokee language. He really thought of giving back to the community in a positive and enduring way. I've heard that there may be a movie, and would hope that whoever bought the rights to it will be as considerate and thoughtful in actively including the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation in their production and direction.

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Faulkner, McCarthy, Frazier

Thirteen Moons is a pure Masterpiece. I think it should be getting more credit for being one of the greatest American novels ever written. I cannot believe how rounded Will Cooper is as a character. I have never read a book that has a character as real as this. Everything about his life and times, reactions, words, feelings, inner thoughts are absolutely real and consistent. Bear, Featherstone, Claire all come to life so perfectly. I was amazed that anyone found reason to criticize this novel. The metaphors, details and knowledge of the region makes Frazier seem supernatural to me. He was there. It's just weird how well he knows this tale and how real it all is. Perfect writing.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, page 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16

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