3 out of 4 stars
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[The following is a review of Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon.]
Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon takes the reader on an enthralling journey in “a land of magic, history, and legend. A place of myth, ancient stories, ancient people.” Sheldon beautifully weaves familial history with the wild beauty of nature in his novel.
The book begins with Tom Olsen, along with his friends William and Myra, making preparations for a backpacking trip deep in the heart of the Olympic Peninsula to visit Tom's grandfather, Robert ‘Bob-Bob' Olsen's grave. However, their best laid plans are pushed off-kilter by a single knock which heralds the arrival of Tom’s estranged wife, Ruth. She unceremoniously dumps their teenage granddaughter Sarah Cooley in Tom's unsuspecting hands. Before this very moment Tom had no idea that his deceased daughter, Becky had a daughter of her own. First abandoned by her father and then dumped by her grandmother, thirteen year old Sarah cynically calls her grandfather's place, “the end of the earth, this place.” On the other hand, a flabbergasted Tom does not know what to do with her. On the advice of William and Myra, a reluctant Tom decides to take Sarah along for the journey.Thus, begins a journey of a lifetime.
While on the journey, things become tense when Sarah claims to see a long-extinct short faced bear. When Tom does not seem to believe her, the trip goes haywire. An angry Sarah disappears with an important artefact, namely ‘atlatl’. When she returns after eight days, she narrates an outlandish tale which the others find difficult to believe. They all return home but after a few months circumstances lead Tom, Sarah, William and Myra to go back to the mountains with a new quest.This time around, they are joined by Russian genealogist, Sergei. They aim to retrieve the lost artefact which could not only put a long argued theory at rest but also save a heritage site from being commercialized.
Sheldon does a wonderful job at creating a powerful plot by interspersing themes of magic realism, science, history and familial ties. His technique of depicting Sarah's vision through her point of view was masterful. This not only gave us a deeper insight into her character but also portrayed her strong heart beautifully. However, I felt that the transition between Sarah's vision and the present could have been a bit smoother.
The plot becomes all the more interesting because of the presence of well developed characters. Among all the different characters, I found the ornery Sarah to be quite endearing. Despite facing harsh conditions, both in the present and her vision, she did not lose her spark for one moment. I loved the way Tom gradually became Tom-Tom to her towards the end of the book. Also, I found the relation between Myra and her father, William to be heart-warming. The affection between them was evident in every dialogue the father-daughter duo exchanged amongst each other. Apart from that I found the banter between Sarah and the adults to be quite witty. Also, I enjoyed the skirmish of wits between Sergei and Myra.
In a span of 44 chapters and about 261 pages, Sheldon takes us on a rendezvous spanning across the Olympic Peninsula. Through his words and excellent use of imageries , Sheldon paints a vivid picture of the milieu, making the reader feel like a character of the book.The one thing that I absolutely loved about the book is the way Sheldon's passion for Native American culture is evident in each and every chapter. The way Sheldon portrayed the plight of the Sol Duc Tribe due to the conflict of interest between Buckhorn International and the environmentalists was praiseworthy. Also, the dilemma faced by the natives of choosing between a job and protecting their age-old traditions intrigued me. Sheldon gave us a clear picture of the nature of exploitation the Native Americans have to endure, even in the twentieth century.
This book taught me a lot. I got to know many things about the Ice Ages and the way of life in “the time before there were people as we are people.” Not only did I get to know about the myriad prehistoric animals traversing the earth thousands of years ago but also got an an insight about the lifestyle of the ancient Native Americans. All of this gave me a new perspective about the world we live in.
However, a few things made this read a bit less engrossing for me. I found the writing to be somewhat stilted in a few places. The sentence construction, use of punctuation, articles, tenses etc. were not always on point. For instance, in the second chapter Sheldon writes “They ate but they watched Sarah”. There is an improper use of conjunction here. Also, in chapter six there is an incorrect use of tenses in the sentence, “When those two met, sparks would fly". I feel one more round of proofreading and editing will make the book absolutely perfect.
Keeping in mind the pros and cons, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. Despite a few minor errors, Sheldon does a marvellous job of mesmerising his readers. He takes the reader on a breath-taking journey along with a strong heart, or rather a handful of strong hearts bent on discovering themselves and validating their very existence. I would recommend this book to anyone with an adventurous heart and a passion for history.
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Strong Heart
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when I get a little money I buy books; and if I have any left l buy food and clothes
