From Publishers Weekly
Thirteenth-century North America, where bands of Indians roam the land, again provides the backdrop in this sequel to the bestselling She Who Remembers . Kwani, a woman with compelling spiritual powers, has been driven from her Anasazi tribe and joins her mate Tolonqua's people, the Towa, in the Pueblo city of Cicuye. Over the next 20 years, Kwani survives enemy attacks, participates in rituals seeking guidance and good fortune from the deities, nurtures her spirited son Acoya and daughter Antelope, and struggles to fulfill her anointed role as She Who Remembers, the woman chosen to teach young girls the secrets of Earthmother. The author steeps her narrative in meticulously researched detail, which seems to have taken priority over the plot. Endless listings of minutiae, combined with an awkward dialect that reads like an inferior translation from a foreign language, diminish the reader's willingness to be transported to another time. In the end, Shuler's living history never comes fully to life. Literary Guild main selection.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Deserted by her itinerant husband while giving birth to their first child on a treacherous journey, Kwani returns to the Cicuye village as the mate of Tolonqua, an esteemed hunting chief. Kwani is "She Who Remembers," venerated for her mystical visions and powers, charged with a mission to hand down Indian folklore to young women who will immortalize the ancient customs and beliefs. In this sequel to She Who Remembers ( LJ 2/15/88), Shuler once again crafts a finespun epic saga of Indian tribal rituals in the American Southwest during the late 13th century. Although a bit lengthy, this well-researched novel (complete with bibliography) balances the gusto of buffalo hunts and horrific tribal attacks with romantic interludes and warm vignettes of family life. Recommended. Literary Guild selection; previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 3/1/92.
-Mary Ellen Elsbernd, Northern Kentucky Univ. Lib., Highland HeightsCopyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
by Linda Shuler
by W. Michael Gear
