Godmothers Web (Paperback)

(1) Cindy must be the dimmest heroine I've seen in a long time. First of all, what on earth does she see in Raydir? He only appreciates her when she's gone. Second, and more importantly, why must she spend chapters upon chapters upon chapters NOT realizing that Grandma Webster is supernatural? Cindy has met a real-life fairy godmother; it's not like she's never seen magic before. And here she is, traveling with a little old lady who nonetheless has boundless energy and physical fitness, whom everyone in the entire Southwest seems to know personally, and who has food that regenerates itself. After a hundred pages of this, you'd think it would have dawned on Cindy that Grandma is a little bit more than the average nursing-home escapee.

(2)...In _The Godmother_, though the characters frequently break into political rants, the speeches take a back seat to the story, but this book seems to be one long political speech about the plight of the Hopi and the Navajo. It doesn't matter how worthy the cause is; it doesn't matter whether you agree with her views or not. I agree with almost everything she says, and yet I don't appreciate being sledgehammered with a moral when I sit down in my chair looking for a good story. There are shining moments of good story--my favorite is the weaving scene, where Grandma manages to get a feuding family to see each other's worth again--but overall this reads more like a political tract. Gimme a break.

Cindy's first indication that the trip was not going to go according to plan was when she picked up an older American Indian woman whom everyone called Grandmother. Shortly thereafter, Cindy discovers that her hitchhiker had a slightly different voyage in mind and had no intention of letting Cindy get rid of her easily. Grandmother seems to be concerned about the pain and anger caused among the Hopi and Navaho by a recent land partition. By no means a political activist, Grandmother is intent on providing wisdom to her many grandchildren.

Among her extended family we will find Carl Loloma, a drug counselor, his daughter Sela, and her boyfriend Wiley Smiley. Also playing major parts are Michael Blackgoat, on a quest for a horse, Dr. Maria Chee, who has come back to the reservation to help her people, and Alice and Martha Tsosie, two sisters who are split over how to deal with land partition.

I shouldn't leave out an ill-intentioned Navaho witch, several representatives of a power company who intend to take advantage of the political situation to advance their own cause, and some other unpleasant 'bad guys.' Confronted with inter-tribal anger and misunderstanding, horse theft, witchcraft and assassination, Grandmother has her work cut out for her.

Not only does Scarborough write one of her best tales ever; she shows a grasp of Hopi and Navaho culture that is truly astounding. She weaves legend, myth, culture and politics into the story without missing a step and never lets the story get bogged down by all the details. I learnt as much about these to American Indian cultures in a book intended for entertainment as I have reading books on the same subject. Because of this excellent mix of story and cross-cultural information I would recommend "The Godmother's Web" for everyone, young and old, short and tall.