A picture emerges of a poor child, half black and half Native, whose mother has barely eked out a living for the two of them by tanning deerskins and cleaning houses. Rebuilding her life in a different town as a housekeeper, tanner, and beader of moccasins and bags, much like her mother, the taciturn Elsie finds modest comfort and connections among the white people who employ and befriend her. But her peace is fleeting, for someone from her past, or possibly her present, would like to see her silenced completely. A mystery of mesmerizing suspense and sadness, Elsie’s Business weaves the story of a ravaged woman into the traditional tales of her people to create a vivid sense of communities bound by storytelling and understanding and sundered by ignorance and silence.
Book Description
Beaten, raped, and left for dead at the side of a road on the Standing Rock Reservation, young Elsie Roberts disappears into her self to revisit the haunts of her childhood and, perhaps, the depths of her experience to uncover the deepest mystery of all. In Elsie’s Business, Elsie’s search through her own memories ultimately intersects with the search of a stranger who is seeking Elsie’s story.
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Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
Elsie Roberts has been dead a year when the narrator arrives in the town where she was bludgeoned to death in January 1969. The daughter of a black father and a Native American mother, Elsie moved there after being attacked by white teenagers near the Standing Rock Reservation. The narrator searches for the truth about Elsie, a story an old Native "grandfather" tells him has been "polished . . . with lies, half truths, and omissions." In chapters alternating between Elsie's past and the narrator's present, pieces of her tragic life are gradually illuminated through the eyes of those who knew her. The priest in the town where Elsie is sent after the assault. His parishioner, who has a penchant for Native women and becomes Elsie's confidant and her husband. And the town drunk, Elsie's friend until shortly before she is killed. Each one either harbors a motive for killing Elsie, or suffers guilt over her brutal death. Washburn weaves together a murder tale, a story of small-town prejudice, and a bit of Native American mysticism in a haunting debut. Deborah Donovan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
"[A] blend of murder mystery and Native American legend . . . intriguing."—Kirkus Reviews
(Kirkus Reviews 20060920)"Washburn weaves together a murder tale, a story of small-town prejudice, and a bit of Native American mysticism in a haunting debut."—Booklist
(Deborah Donovan Booklist )"An outstanding, original, engaging narrative of a native community and survivance."—Gerald Vizenor, author of Manifest Manners: Narratives on Postindian Survivance
(Gerald Vizenor )
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautifully written,
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This review is from: Elsie's Business (Native Storiers: A Series of American Narratives) (Paperback)
I was sent a copy of this book by the publishers (I review books for my job) and couldn't stop reading. The beginning chapters are tough because the main character lives through some tramatic events. However, the story is so powerful that you have to continue. And honestly, I was weepy at the end.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Couldn't Stop Reading!,
This review is from: Elsie's Business (Native Storiers: A Series of American Narratives) (Paperback)
This is one of my favorite novels! Once I started it, I couldn't put it down. An extremely thought-provoking, touching, and well-crafted story!
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Inside This Book
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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs):
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deer woman Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Father Horst, John Caulfield, Jack Mason, Main Street, The Steak House, Elsie Roberts, Frank Staley, Hail Mary, Nancy Marks, Sheriff Peterson, South Dakota, Donald Marks, Sheriff Parker, Dakota Hotel, Jim Walker, Little Mack, Rolling Fork New!
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Front Cover | First Pages | Surprise Me!
deer woman Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Father Horst, John Caulfield, Jack Mason, Main Street, The Steak House, Elsie Roberts, Frank Staley, Hail Mary, Nancy Marks, Sheriff Peterson, South Dakota, Donald Marks, Sheriff Parker, Dakota Hotel, Jim Walker, Little Mack, Rolling Fork New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 3
books:
- Designs of the Night Sky (Native Storiers: A Series of American Narratives) by Diane Glancy in Back Matter
- George Washington (Presidential Leaders) by Jeremy Roberts on page 33
- Mending Skins (Native Storiers: A Series of American Narratives) by Eric Gansworth in Back Matter
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