Customer Reviews

Across the Endless River

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Jean-Baptiste Chardonneau is the son of Sacajawea, the famed Native American scout that helped Lewis & Clark on their expedition across America to the Pacific Ocean. His father is a voyageur, and so Baptiste grows up straddling two worlds- that of the native tribes of America and that of the American culture in St. Louis. When Baptiste is 18, he gets the opportunity to leave the United States and travel to Europe to help a German duke catalog his collection of North American flora and fauna. He spends his time visiting high society in Paris and attending all the pursuits of the leisurely class. Over time, and through his interactions with the people around him, he comes to terms with his own identity and his place in the world.

This book really had the makings to be right up my alley! But sadly, it was not. I read about 100 pages of a 300 page book and felt like I was still in the prologue, waiting for the action to begin. Carhart starts the book with Baptiste's birth in 1805, and the first 60 pages or so of the book really don't do much but summarize the first 18 years of his life. I don't think this was necessary.

Carhart's previous book, The Piano Shop on the Left Bank, is a work of non-fiction, and I think Carhart is probably more comfortable in that genre. He shares a lot of imagery and history and facts, but his characters are flat and impenetrable. Baptiste spends more of his time observing the world and people around him than actively engaging with them. I couldn't get a handle on his personality. I think that if Carhart had made this a non-fiction account of Baptiste's life and travels in Europe, it would have been more successful. Unfortunately, in this case, fiction does not work as Baptiste's letters and journals are dry, and his conversations with people seem wooden and formulaic. While the novel has its finer points- lush descriptive passages and the author's clear love for history- it fell flat for me.

Across the Great River by Thad Carhart ISBN 978-0-385-52977-8 Published by Doubleday, September 2, 2009. [...] Reviewer received book from FSB Associates, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920

Review by Chris Phillips

The great exploration of the wild Western frontier by Lewis and Clark is part of every person's schooling. Their trip opened up the West to expansion. There are many legends and stories from this expedition but here is one that is unique. Carhart takes the historical facts: Toussaint Charbonneau and Sacagawea had a child. Jean-Baptiste Charbonneau was that child. He took part in the expedition on his mother's back. Upon the expedition's end, he was warded with Clark to further his education and spent summers with the tribes. Carhart provides those details in the first few chapters of the book, but upon Pompy's (Jean-Baptiste's Native name) decision to travel to Europe as the companion and interpreter for Duke Paul of Wurttemberg, his life never remained the same.

Carhart fills-in the 5 years (1823 - 1828) that Baptiste spent in Europe with all the intrigues and machinations of European royalty. Baptiste is definitely a "stranger in a strange land" and often struggles with being an oddity, and then being ignored. This is an adventure tale, but more a story of coming of age for a man split between three cultures but not fully part of any. He is denied acceptance among the Mandan because he is too "white." He can only be accepted as a well behaved "half-breed" in the American culture of St. Louis. And then, throughout most of the book, he is almost a trophy to be brought-out and shown-off for entertainment purposes in Europe.

He finds his own way through all this. He develops intimate relationships with two women, Princess Theresa, Paul's older cousin and with Maura Hennesy, a wine mechant's daughter. But even then his plurality makes it difficult for him to be more than a dalliance to one and a long distance friend to the other. There are trials and tribulations throughout, but none seem to rest on Baptiste's shoulders for long. Usually they are taken care of by others in some way. The one character flaw in Baptiste's personality is that of watching the world go by while not knowing where he fits.

Carhart handles all the characters and develops them faithfully and fully. He takes the time to let this reader know that these are real people with real problems and real lives. He handles plot twists as they would be in real life. Baptiste's father's alcoholism, Clark's high idealism and the rose-tinted glasses ideas of Europeans about America, the West and most particularly "Indians." Throughout the book there are times when the senses are almost overwhelmed with the images that are described. At others, the frustrations and stress of always being in the background are portrayed faithfully.

The plot is well-developed while maintaining integrity to history. When fictionalized there is continuity and connection with the separate plots. The emotional interaction is true to what history states about European royalty and its power during this time. Historical depiction of the various power struggles is well-grounded, but left in the background as it would be for someone from another culture.

The production of the book is professional and consistent. This reviewer can heartily recommend this book for any and all readers. The book should help each understand the various cultures Baptiste passes through. And it is a great story to do it with.

5 Stars.

Jean-Baptiste Charbonneau was born during the Lewis and Clarke expedition in 1805; his mom was Sacagawea while his father Charbonneau was a French trapper turned translator. As an infant he made it to the Pacific; as a boy he went to school in St. Louis and at his mom's village. He learns several languages growing up in his divided lineage.

European naturalist Duke Paul Wilhelm of Wurttemberg is in the United States analyzing and classifying North American flora and fauna. Baptiste assists him and accompanies him back to Paris where he becomes the toast of the nobles though not one of them; only the Duke's cousin Princess Theresa understands his duality but she has a pragmatic outlook that excludes the mixed breed. Baptiste meets and falls in love with Irish expatriate Maura Hennesy. However, in his early twenties after five years on the continent he decides to go home with his Maura at his side.

This is an entertaining biographical fiction of the youngest member of the Lewis and Clarke expedition. Baptiste is a fascinating character whose bi-racial background makes him in at the highest levels of European aristocratic society and yet never really in. Fans will feel they are transported to the first half of the nineteenth century in Europe and Americas as the imagery is incredible vivid. Although more a series of anecdotal occurrences that bring to life time and place than a cohesive novel, ACROSS THE ENDLESS RIVER is a fascinating historical fiction that takes a fresh timely look at contrasting two worlds through a lead character who has a foot in both and in neither.

Harriet Klausner

Of course the author's novel is delightful -- but please don't confuse it with history!

The actual history of Charbonneau as known through thoroughly researched documents, times and places before and after his European period exceeds recent fictional accounts by various writers. Of the many remarkable characters present in the pre-1860 American West, JBC absolutely stood alone, notwithstanding the few literate trappers, journalists and others, including John Fremont, who wrote about him.

Regarding his time in Europe, he was as prepared as most Americans could be for genuine palace life in an egalitarian period in Germany -- having been raised since age two in the elegant domain of the illustrious William Clark, the most powerful civil authority in the West, who entertained and met with dignitaries coming through St. Louis. Eventually Jean Baptiste spent more time and saw more places in Europe and North Africa with high-placed royalty than any U.S. diplomat.

The notion that he was uncomfortable or a misfit is discountable. Wilhelm likely assured Clark and perhaps even Toussaint Charbonneau that JBC's European visit would be as normal as possible. Certainly there would be challenges for anyone, including modern readers, taking up residence in a European kingdom. To his credit, before 1823 JBC spoke French and English and perhaps some Latin. And the egalitarian, even cosmopolitan, life he knew in the important port town of St. Louis was fair preparation.

Every book written about JBC has its strength and relevance, but to learn his true story actual history works best.

In Indian culture, the ocean was called "the endless river" as no one ever sailed across it. Thad Carhart explores the life of Jean-Baptiste Charbonneau, who was the baby born to Sacagawea on the explorations of Lewis and Clark, where she served as a translator. Because of this connection with Americans, Jean-Baptiste grew up with connections both to his Indian heritage, the French trapping culture of his father, and the American/English culture. Sacagawea died when Baptiste was eight, and he lived after that with Captain Clark, who treated him as a ward and provided him with an education. There, he met and grew to know a German nobleman, Duke Paul of Wurttemberg. Paul is in America to satisfy his longing to make a name for himself as a natural history scientist. Baptiste is invaluable to his efforts, serving as a guide and helping him capture various wild animals.

When Paul returns to Europe, he convinces Jean-Baptiste to go with him. What is meant as a short journey ends in Jean-Baptiste staying as Paul's guest for five years. He learns about European royal culture and it's strict structure for every part of life. During these years, Baptiste learns about royal hunting, familial expectations, music, art and various scientific studies. He also forms relationships with two women. One is a young widow, Theresa, who is Paul's cousin and who starts a friendship with Baptiste that turns into an affair. He also forms a relationship with the daughter of a wine-merchant to European nobility. Maura is half French and half Irish, and understands better than anyone else the way that Jean-Baptiste feels balanced between two opposing worlds.

Thad Carhart has done extensive research into this man's life, and it is evident in his writing. One of the strongest examples is the contrast in hunting. The reader is taken along on an Indian hunt for buffalo, and this writing is exciting and compelling. When Baptiste goes to Europe, this hunting, which is done for survival, is contrasted with the very formalised hunt performed by the noblemen, where one animal is selected, his moments traced, and he is harried to exhustion and then executed. Another example is Carhart's writing of the ceremony that young Indian men underwent to become braves. It is a chilling ceremony, and the reader is transported into the smokey, loud tent in which the ceremony occurs. The contrast in European culture is the stylized dance that Baptiste attends, where all moves are structured and there is a definate pattern to every stage of the evening. This book is recommended for lovers of historical fiction. I enjoyed getting to know Jean-Baptiste, and I think others will also.

The Endless River was a captivating and well crafted book. It is a historical but also fictional account of Jean-Baptiste Charbonneau's life from the time he is born to his early/mid twenties. From the wilds of the New World along the Missouri River and his mixed heritage caught between Native American tribal life and the 'white man's world,' to traveling with Duke Paul Wilhelm Wurttenberg at 19 to many cities in Europe for five years. He learns much of the life of the elite aristocracy and the hardships and lives of the peasants as well. Although Baptiste had no money to be speaking about -- as a guest of Duke Paul -- he had privileges that most common people in Europe at that time would never have had the chance to experience.

I love historical fiction, especially historical fiction that is based on real characters, and particularly when it is carried out so lovingly and beautifully. He took the 'wireframe' of history known about Baptiste, and wove a wonderful story. I found myself wondering about Jean-Baptiste Charbonneau for the first time because of this book. Of course, due to the lack of much real historical detail one could never truly see through his eyes - so to speak - but Thad Carhart brings him and his life during that period in history to life in a very unique and extraordinary way.

Sacagawea and Toussaint Charbonneau had a baby boy names Jean-Baptiste Charbonneau. His mixed heritage makes him feel like an outcast. When he turns eighteen, he befriends Duke Paul of Wurttemberg and together they travel around Europe. Jean Baptiste and Paul's cousin, Princess Theresa, begin a hot and steamy affair. When Theresa gives Baptiste an ultimatum, he's unsure of what to do. He travels to Paris and meets a woman named Maura. Now he's torn between two worlds and two women. What will he decide?

I felt like I traveled back in time and watched this novel come to life. This is a touching story of a man who has the world at his fingertips. He is forced to make important decisions that will alter his life forever.

As a fan of historical fiction, I was excited to begin this novel about Sacagawea's son. It did not disappoint! Wonderful writing,great characters, very detailed and imaginative! Loved the ending and hope there is a sequel!

Thad Carhart wrote one of my favorite recent books about Paris, The Piano Shop on the Left Bank. It's a charming and inspirational story about how Thad discovered a piano shop in his neighborhood and got in touch with his love of playing the piano again after having a traumatic experience as a child that put him off from playing for many years. Thad's new book Across the Endless River, an historical novel about Jean-Baptiste Charbonneau the son of Sacagawea and his time spent in 1820s Europe was just published. V

Where were you born and where did you grow up?

Since my father was an Air Force officer, we lived all over the place. I was born in Alabama, but only lived there for six months (I've had a lot of explaining to do over the years about the "lieu de naissance" entry on French forms...) We lived in Fontainebleau when I was a boy, and also in Washington, DC, Minneapolis, Tokyo, and Amherst, Massachusetts.

When did you move to Paris and how long have you been living here?

I moved to Paris in 1989 and have lived here ever since. When I was a boy we used to come to Paris every weekend when we lived in Fontainebleau, and something about the place imprinted itself in my imagination.

You told me a writers dream come true story about how your first book The Piano Shop on the Left Bank was published. Can you tell the story again for my readers?

It really has to do with the generosity of a fine writer, Alberto Manguel, as well as good luck and fortuitous timing. Alberto encouraged me to develop a book proposal from an idea we had discussed; I had imagined writing a series of articles about acquiring a used piano in Paris. A month later he had shown forty pages or so of the material to his agent in Toronto, and the next thing I knew, his agent was calling me to say he had sold the book to Little, Brown Canada!

Once I recovered my breath, I stammered that I was delighted - and then tried to figure out how I was going to actually write the whole story and make it work. There were a number of twists in the road early on - Little, Brown Canada went out of business before the book was published there; my U.S. editor left Viking Penguin and so the book was orphaned for a while. But things worked out eventually, and it was first published in the UK by Chatto & Windus.

Are you still playing the piano?

Yes, but rather badly, I'm afraid. My teacher left Paris, and I'm someone who doesn't improve without the regular stimulus of a lesson and an attentive ear. My resolution after I return from the book tour for ACROSS THE ENDLESS RIVER, my new book, is to spend more time at the piano keyboard, and a bit less at the computer keyboard.

Your newest book Across the Endless River is coming out on September 1. It's your first historical novel. Why did you choose to write an historical novel and can you tell me what the book is about?

In THE PIANO SHOP ON THE LEFT BANK, I was interested in examining the porous membrane of relationships that exists between outsiders and locals in our Paris neighborhood. I told the story of how buying a used piano in France revealed a place not found on any map. This same interest in those who live where disparate languages and customs overlap sparked my enthusiasm for the story of Jean-Baptiste Charbonneau / Pompy.

I have always read a lot of history, and the American frontier holds a special fascination. When I first learned that Sacagawea's son had spent five years in Europe as a young man, I was both astounded and intrigued. I then found that very little was known about his time there, and I began to imagine telling his story in a historical novel. That Idea came to fruition as my new book, ACROSS THE ENDLESS RIVER.

My principal interest is in how Baptiste saw Europe in the mid-1820's--a world as different from that of the frontier as another planet might be from our own--and how he then fashioned his own path, his own choices. That is something we all have to do to some extent, but the nature of the cultural dissonance that Baptiste faced is phenomenal, and his way of making sense of it compelling. This terrain, at the intersection of dissimilar ways of life, continues to inform my writing, both fiction and nonfiction.

In ACROSS THE ENDLESS RIVER, we see a young person of mixed race who, through the accident of his birth, has access to privilege and power. He comes from the New World and gets to know the Old World. His challenge is to learn what he can from all that he is exposed to, and then to fashion his own path forward. As William Clark says to him at one point, "Lie low, and watch those around you.

"If there's a lesson in this story that we can draw upon today, I suppose this is it. Life at the edges of two cultures can be tough, but it can also be an enormously fertile and rich place to be. It involves that skill that has come to be thought of as essentially American: re-inventing yourself. I hope that it will resonate strongly with those who today find themselves at the intersection of cultures, languages, and customs.

What are some of your favorite books about Paris and who are your favorite French authors?

I like books about Paris that tell me things I don't know about the city, and that remind me of what a remarkable cultural landscape we live in. Leonard Pitt's "Paris Disparu" (Parigramme) gives readers a fascinating look at how Paris has changed in the last century and a half; it uses text, photos, maps, and architectural drawings to great effect. I'm also a fan of Nigel Simeone's "Paris: A Musical Gazeteer" (Yale), which has intriguing and improbable information about the rich musical life of Paris over the centuries.

As for French writers, I have always loved Marguerite Yourcenar's voice. When I first read "Mémoires d'Hadrien" it made me feel as if the past were vivid, necessary, and compelling; her craft always impresses without intruding. Recently I've been on a Fernand Braudel kick: reading "La Méditerranée" is like setting off on a long and complex sea voyage in the hands of a captain whom you know you can trust absolutely. His voice, too, is distinctive, convincing, and pleasurable to read.

Who is the one writer living or dead you would most want to have dinner with?

Marguerite Youcenar.

What Paris book shops do you like the best?

The English-language bookstores, Village Voice and The Red Wheelbarrow, are both favorites. Each bears the stamp of its owner when you look at the books selected, as well as the feel of its neighborhood. Going to Galignani is a bit like going to the Ritz, but then their English-language section is remarkably deep in many areas, and the staff knowledgeable. For a small French bookstore in the quartier, I like "L'Arbre à Lettres."

What do you prefer about Paris?

I appreciate daily the combination of a big, cosmopolitan city and a real "vie de quartier". There truly is a human dimension to most Paris neighborhoods, and that's a precious commodity these days. I also savor the fact that Paris is deeply international. Beyond the diplomatic and business circles (which is to be expected), there are people here from all over the world, and it makes a difference in the feel of the city. Finally, all the things one tends to take for granted - street markets and terrific bakeries, beautifully maintained parks and monuments, dependable public transportation, a widespread interest in books and cultural events, political discussions and the importance of ideas - are in fact things that are rareties elsewhere. I'm always happy to return to Paris, no matter where I've been.

This story begins in 1805 when Jean-Baptiste Charbonneau is born before an advancing wave of white settlers moving westward in North America. His mother is an Indian woman, Sacagawea; his father is French, Toussaint Charbonneau. Carrying her baby on her back, Sacagawea will lead the Lewis and Clark Corps party northwest along the Missouri River until they are forced to follow her lead cross the Rocky Mountains.

Upon reaching the Pacific, the explorers and their party build small Fort Clatsop. Sacagawea has nicknamed her son, "Pompy," meaning Little Chief in honor of her Indian heritage, but throughout Across the Endless River, he is mostly known as Baptiste. As a youngster, he grows up in two places. Part of each year he lives with his Mandan cousins mastering all the physical traits and skills known to Indian braves. He wears moccasins.

He wears shoes the rest of the year, living in Saint Louis in Captain Clark's house where he is taught the proper manners and customs of white people. Initially, he hates this adaptation, particularly the footwear, shirt, pants, and a brimmed hat.

In spite of his readiness for the agonizing ritual where Indian adolescents are initiated into manhood, because of his mixed blood, Baptiste is spared the tortuous ceremony. He must stand aside as pure-bred braves are skewered through their skin in various places and hung aloft until unconscious--a sure sign that the Great Spirit is moving. Exclusion troubles him deeply because he identifies closely with his Indian roots.

While leading several men to meet real Indians face to face and see them in action on a frenetic buffalo hunt, one of these explorers, a French Duke, realizes Baptiste's intelligence, particularly his facility with languages. This duke is also a collector of New World specimens he can ship back to Europe--a collection he'll distribute to influential French scientists and noblemen.

The Duke persuades young Baptiste to journey to Europe with him Across the Endless River. At once he becomes an exotic sensation among high society in France during the years following Napoleon's defeat. Baptiste's superb knowledge about the Duke's preserved wildlife specimens, along with his descriptive tales of Indian life wins him the adulation of the upper echelons of French society. He lives like a prince.

Yet at times when he walks through Paris alone, Baptiste pities the poor of the city. The vast difference between the upper class and commoners troubles him especially when he is warned not to mix with those beneath him.

While they are not bought and sold like slaves in America, still Baptiste cannot understand why French servants are treated with such disdain--as if they are a worthless human lot. He is directed never to use the word "please" when addressing a servant.

Baptiste begins to communicate with Maura, a young woman he meets quite by accident. Her father is a respected wine merchant. At first, they see each other only occasionally--and very formally. More often, they communicate by post. As Across the Endless River develops, even planned reunions are interrupted because of family and/or business matters. Baptiste longs for Maura, yet his attention is drawn elsewhere.

Because of his Adonis-like body, angular face, and dark skin, when introduced in court or attending private parties or balls, Baptiste easily becomes the desire of many women. His penchant for short quick answers rather than dreary periods of societal small talk and gossip makes him all the more mysterious--a foreign erotic. His mystique earns him a torrid love affair with Princess Theresa, a woman much his senior.

To me, the most telling moment in the story occurs when Baptiste finally realizes that he is as much of a specimen from the New World as the duke's preserved dead samples. As he wearies of Paris, Baptiste longs for his Indian people along America's western frontier. He knows whites are moving westward and wonders about the conflicts sure to come between the Indian and the white settlers. He longs for Maura, a true love whom he hopes might return with him to the Missouri River front.

And here, I will leave Across the Endless River to the reader. The tale is somewhat of an epic considering the journey of a highly intelligent young Indian lad traveling from America's Wild West to France, Germany, and other European countries, where he lives and moves with grace and ease among high class people ignorant of his background but charmed about stories of Indian lore.

The book is more fact than action oriented. It details the dreary excesses in court life which, although lavish, became overwhelming and tedious to me as a reviewer, but not for Baptiste. Yet he feels this French society cannot last--the rich, living high and mighty off the backs of lower classes.

I found it difficult to grasp Baptiste's real character. His quick transition from an active Indian/pioneer tradition to dull high society life seemed unrealistic. In addition, Baptiste is intimately aware of white injustice in America toward slaves and his own Indian tribes, yet the man moves among white high society in France aware of the hideous discrepancy between the privileged upper class and commoners including servants who bow and curtsey before him.

Across the Endless River might prove a good read to those who love picturesque historical fiction where places and people are detailed much more than any fascinating actions. All too often, I felt bogged down in a long chain of unexciting events where characters plodded along as if they had no real purpose other than to await the next lavish extravaganza.

Review written by Regis Schilken

Author of:

Tears of Deceit

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