Just in time for Columbus Day (which I say with irony), I have finished reading Eye of the Raven, the second in Eliot Pattison's Colonial America mystery series. I utterly adore Eliot Pattison - his prose is beautiful, his plots are intricate, and his insight is incredible. Eye of the Raven does not disappoint. Like his Inspector Shan series of mysteries set in Tibet, his Colonial America mysteries illuminate the impact of a conquering empire on a traditional culture. While reading the Tibetan series, it is easy to cast aspersions on the modern-day Chinese for their continued attempts at the destruction of the Tibetan way of life... Yet this glimpse into pre-Revolutionary War relations between European settlers and indiginous Americans shows our ancestors to be little better than the modern-day Chinese. Makes me proud to be a quarter Scottish (the European protagonist is a Scot), and relieved that my ancestors didn't make it to the "new world" until the 20th century. I recommend reading all books by Pattison - if you're interested in the Tibetan series, you should start with The Skull Mantra, and it you're interested in his colonial American series, you should start with The Bone Rattler. [Also, Happy Birthday, Melissa!!]
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Just in time for Columbus Day
Just in time for Columbus Day (which I say with irony), I have finished reading Eye of the Raven, the second in Eliot Pattison's Colonial America mystery series. I utterly adore Eliot Pattison - his prose is beautiful, his plots are intricate, and his insight is incredible. Eye of the Raven does not disappoint. Like his Inspector Shan series of mysteries set in Tibet, his Colonial America mysteries illuminate the impact of a conquering empire on a traditional culture. While reading the Tibetan series, it is easy to cast aspersions on the modern-day Chinese for their continued attempts at the destruction of the Tibetan way of life... Yet this glimpse into pre-Revolutionary War relations between European settlers and indiginous Americans shows our ancestors to be little better than the modern-day Chinese. Makes me proud to be a quarter Scottish (the European protagonist is a Scot), and relieved that my ancestors didn't make it to the "new world" until the 20th century. I recommend reading all books by Pattison - if you're interested in the Tibetan series, you should start with The Skull Mantra, and it you're interested in his colonial American series, you should start with The Bone Rattler. [Also, Happy Birthday, Melissa!!]
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