Monthly Archives: October 2018

Shell Shaker

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LeAnne Howe              Pages: 227              Published: 2001

The book: A Shell Shaker is a Choctaw woman who dances wearing empty turtle shells on her feet. Two murders occur (one in 1738 and another in 1991), which impact Shakbatina (a shell shaker and peace maker) and her female descendants, the women of the Billy family.
The story moves between Mississippi, where the Chocotaw originally lived, and Oklahoma, where the tribe was forcibly moved to in the 1900s.
How will Shakbatina and her descendants resolve the murders? Read more

Dancing In The Baron’s Shadow

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Fabienne Josaphat               Pages: 231           Published: 2016

The book: It’s 1965 and Haiti is ruled by a brutal leader, Francois Duvalier, better known outside the country as Papa Doc.
Two brothers, Raymond, a taxi driver, and Nicolas, a university professor, struggle to survive, albeit in very different economic situations.  Nicolas is secretly compiling a dossier of crimes committed by the regime. He gets caught and sent to the infamous Fort Dimanche, a prison from which few people ever escape. Can Raymond save his brother? Read more

the grass dancer

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Susan Power       Pages: 300        Published: 1994

The book: The year is 1864, in the Sioux tribal lands of North Dakota. Ghost Horse, a handsome young heyo’ka, (sacred clown), falls in love with Red Dress. But Red Dress has been given a mission by the tribal spirits and must leave. What is it that Red Dress must do? Will she and Ghost Horse ever be together? This is their story and the story of how their lives rippled down through time and impacted generations of their families. Read more

PACHINKO

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Min Jin Lee              Pages: 489                Published: 2017

The book: This is an epic saga spanning four generations of a Korean family. The story begins in early 1900s Korea and ends in Japan in the late 1980s. We move from rural Korea, before and during the country’s occupation by the Japanese, to Japan, where the family tries to build a new life while facing discrimination from the locals. Lee weaves history and the personal stories of characters together beautifully. Read more