The Spirit Keeper. K. B. Laugheed. Plume. September 2013. 353 pp.
pbk. ISBN #: 9780142180334.
Syawa,
a holy man or seer, has a vision that mandates he seek and save “the Creature
of Fire and Ice,” a gift he will bring to his native Indian people that will
bring immortality. Katie O’Toole is that
gift! Syawa and his good friend and
bodyguard, Hector, travel across the United States to accomplish this sacred
mission. Katie at the time is living in
poverty and abusive misery in Pennsylvania and doesn’t realize at all that her
salvation is at hand when a murderous band of Indians on March 2, 1747 attack
her home. They murder her father and almost
everyone in her family except her mother, sister, and Katie. She stands up to one of them with a gun but
is captured by Syawa. No, she’s not kept for sexual purposes; she really doesn’t
understand the immense value she holds for him but it does remain so for the
entire duration he knows. Hector, on the
other hand, believes she is trouble for them and yet refrains from saying
anything further out of his obvious adoration of the seer in Syawa.
As
they travel, they perform the story of their journey as they arrive in other
Indian villages. They even meet certain
colonists who try to save Katie from Syawa and Hector and are quite surprised
that she chooses to remain with them. This
then is the story of that perilous journey.
At one point they are captured by renegades who suggest great danger but
whom they manage to escape, a scene in which Katie shows her daring mettle and
during which she amazes Syawa and Hector who believe this is mystical ability
rather than sheer bravado.
A
tragic occurrence occurs and Hector is left alone with Katie. He comes to believe she now has the ability
of a seer and yet there are moments when both are close to something
indescribable which will take time to emerge to full acknowledgment. Multiple adventures, threats, challenges,
etc. from both humans and animals, constantly pose danger to the couple. What they will or not become leave the reader
tense with anticipation, questions, doubts and finally joy.
Katie,
Syawa and Hector are dynamic characters who defy stereotypical characterization
and never fail to thrill their readers. The
Spirit Keeper is a lovely, engaging reader with just enough tension and
intrigue to fascinate any lover of contemporary or historical fiction. Simple
and profound truths exist within its pages and hold it notches above other
Native American fiction. Nicely done, K.
B. Laugheed!
No comments:
Post a Comment