Wednesday, July 28, 2010

RavenShadow (American Dreamers), by Win Blevins

RavenShadow (American Dreamers), by Win Blevins

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RavenShadow (American Dreamers), by Win Blevins

RavenShadow (American Dreamers), by Win Blevins



RavenShadow (American Dreamers), by Win Blevins

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In RavenShadow, the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers winner, the Sioux’s rhythmic nature of time is rendered in stunning detail. A tale of lost faith and crowning redemption that is destined to become an American classic.

Before he was born, Joseph was chosen to carry the sacred ways of his Sioux people. But instead of walking the good Red Road of his people, he put his feet on the White Road of basketball and booze, women and the blues.

In following the white man’s road, a road that was not his, Joseph Blue Crow has lost his Lakota heritage and is haunted by the loss. After the inexplicable suicide of the woman he loves, and as he sinks into alcoholism and despair, he stands on the precipice of suicide—a train roaring to his car on the railroad tracks. His best friend tells him, “You got to go on the mountain.”

Blue’s journey takes him on a torturous path. As he is guided by a shaman and a spirit bird, under whose wings lay the shadows of the past, he revisits–and relives, going from the present world to the past–the massacre of Wounded Knee, standing beside his people and family as they fall under the gun and cannon fire.

Will Blue find redemption and healing? That is the center of this extraordinary story.

“With the skill of the fine novelist that he is, Win Blevins takes a modern Oglala Sioux radio jockey into the spirit world of his ancestors, including the stark tragedy of Wounded Knee. RavenShadow has the impact of a hurled war lance.”—Dee Brown, author of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

“Win Blevins has long since won his place among the West’s very best. RavenShadow adds a new dimension to reputation.” —Tony Hillerman

“Best known for Stone Song, his vivid, lyrical novel of the life of Crazy Horse, Blevins here introduces Joseph Blue Crow, a 1990s Lakota Sioux who calls himself a Great White Doubter. Narrator Joseph feels he is red on the outside but white on the inside (“I thought the white way was the way, and the red way should get left behind”).

“Although born a full-blooded Sioux and raised on the reservation, Blue is poised to escape his destined poverty when he gets away to college and discovers booze, basketball, and girls.

“Succumbing to the temptations of this exotic white culture, he discards his Indian heritage, his family, and friends. His experiences as a young man in Seattle are harsh. He encounters overt racism, but it is his girlfriend’s suicide, and the almost simultaneous death of his grandmother, that prompt him to return to the reservation, feeling a traitor to himself and his people. By 1990 he is 40, divorced, an alcoholic disk jockey on a blues radio station in South Dakota.

“Finally, compelled to seek peace by a friend and the spiritual vision of a raven, Blue immerses himself in Sioux tradition, turning to the sweat lodge and the sacred pipe. His quest culminates in a pilgrimage, the annual Big Foot Memorial Ride, which commemorates Wounded Knee, the bloody event the whites call a battle, but the Sioux call a massacre.

“En route, with the help of a medicine man, Blue’s spirit is transported to that bitter cold day in 1890 when the Seventh Cavalry fired on a village of starving Sioux, including some of Blue’s own ancestors. His soul is redeemed by his difficult vision, though the journey may be both painful and beautiful for the reader.”– Publisher’s Weekly

“A strong, thoughtful story of minorities within the dominant white culture.”— Kirkus Reviews

“RavenShadow is a true inspiration.” Wordcraft Circle of Native writers and Storytellers, names Win Blevins Writer of the Year for RavenShadow.

“No one can come away from this magnificent work without feeling humble and meditative about the artificial life he has created. It is a book that transcends man and reminds him of his close relationship to his creator." The EL Paso Times

RavenShadow (American Dreamers), by Win Blevins

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #4919783 in Books
  • Published on: 2015-05-29
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 1
  • Dimensions: 9.00" h x 1.19" w x 6.00" l, 1.53 pounds
  • Binding: Paperback
  • 476 pages
RavenShadow (American Dreamers), by Win Blevins

From Publishers Weekly Best known for Stone Song, his vivid, lyrical novel of the life of Crazy Horse, Blevins here introduces Joseph Blue Crow, a 1990s Lakota Sioux who calls himself a Great White Doubter. Narrator Joseph feels he is red on the outside but white on the inside ("I thought the white way was the way, and the red way should get left behind"). Although born a full-blooded Sioux and raised on the reservation, Blue is poised to escape his destined poverty when he gets away to college, where he discovers booze, basketball and girls. Succumbing to the temptations of the white culture, he discards his Indian heritage, his family and friends. His experiences as a young man in Seattle are harsh, as he encounters overt racism, but it is his black girlfriend's suicide and the almost simultaneous death of his grandmother that prompt him to return to the reservation, feeling a traitor to himself and his people. By 1990 he is 40, divorced, an alcoholic disk jockey on a blues radio station in South Dakota. Finally compelled to seek peace by a friend and a spiritual vision of a raven, Blue immerses himself in Sioux tradition, turning to the sweat lodge and the sacred pipe. His quest culminates in a pilgrimage, the annual Big Foot Memorial Ride, which commemorates Wounded Knee, the bloody event the whites call a battle, but the Sioux call a massacre. En route, with the help of a medicine man, Blue's spirit is transported to that bitter cold day in 1890 when the Seventh Cavalry fired on a village of starving SiouxAincluding some of Blue's own ancestors. His soul is redeemed by his difficult vision, though the journey may be painful for the reader. Blevins's bleak tale of a man caught between two cultures lacks the balance and grace of Stone Song, but it presents a solid indictment of how even today the white world oppresses and persecutes Native Americans. (Nov.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist Blevins tells the story of Lakota Indian Joseph Blue Crow's unique midlife crisis, which leads to a journey--both geographical and spiritual--to save his soul. The narrative slips neatly back and forth between the 1990s and the 1890s without the least bit of confusion. Blue has managed to get himself fired from his radio disc jockey job; he's too drunk to do himself any good with Sallee Walks Straight; and he's totally confused about who he is, who he was supposed to be, and who he yet might become. That's when his friend Emile Gray Feather talks to him about "goin' on the mountain" --returning to the old ways, to his cultural roots, and rediscovering the path he was meant to follow instead of the oil-slick road to perdition down which he has willingly strayed. Blue finds himself, but the reader finds even more in Blevins' tales of Lakota lore and his reexamination of one of the darkest episodes in American history. Blevins' prose is razor sharp, his characters are clearly defined, and his heart, like so many, is at Wounded Knee. An outstanding novel. Budd Arthur

From Kirkus Reviews Visions continue to drive Blevins's fiction, whether the focus is Crazy Horse (Stone Song, 1995) or, here, a Sioux disc jockey who travels the hard Indian road of depression and alcoholism before finding his roots in the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890. Joseph Blue Crow, raised by his grandparents on the Pine Ridge Reservation to follow the traditional ways, has instead followed a career path to Seattle, lured by the dark promise of Delphine, a sharp black lawyer raised there by a prominent white family. When she commits suicide, Blue comes home despondent; his despair ultimately leads to reckless, suicidal behavior and the loss of his job as a local DJ. His closest friend saves him from self-destruction, and slowly he resumes the path originally intended for him by joining the centennial Big Foot Memorial Ride and taking a series of spirit journey that will transport him directly to the wintry moment when Big Foot's people, among them Blue's ancestors, are slaughtered by the US Army. A strong, thoughtful story of minority suppression within the dominant white culture, but Blue's visions threaten to upstage his real-life struggle and lessen the storys dramatic impact. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


RavenShadow (American Dreamers), by Win Blevins

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Most helpful customer reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful. RavenShadow is a true inspiration By Marguerite P. Nico I enjoyed reading this book. It gave me an indepth insight into the world of Native American spirituality. I especially liked the way Win Blevins shifted from the present to the past. He didn't make you confused by the shift. There was a lot of information about the massacre at Wounded Knee that I didn't even know. Imagine being a Lakota and not knowing much about your ancestors. That was Joseph Blue Crow. He didn't know anything about his ancestors or why Wounded Knee was so difficult to be near. When he finally understood where his family came from, and how what happened to them at Wounded Knee, he was able to overcome the problem with alcoholism. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Native American history and ways. I rate it at 5 stars.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful. Taking the Red Road By Mamalinde The American Indian perspective, mystically set out in the eyes of a contemporary, educated Native American. The author uses impartial and even handed brush strokes to describe the war within the man and the richness of the red road vs. the poverty of the reservation, and the nearly impossible campaign for balance. The struggles and lapses are well chronicled, as are the historical references. Glimpses of humor, and thoughtful and deliberate weaving of facts, make this a bit more than just a novel. Thought provoking and intense, this reader was enriched by the experience.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful. An Amazing Find By Mary F. Wheeler This is a wonderfully rich story, a personal journey that everyone will be able to relate to. I couldn't put it down.

See all 9 customer reviews... RavenShadow (American Dreamers), by Win Blevins


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