Customer Reviews

Eye of the Bear: A History Novel of Early California

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This book is as excellent and finely constructed as is Ms. West's prior book, "River of Red Gold", which follows "Eye of the Bear" in time. Her obvious extensive research is paid off in a compelling tale of pre-gold-rush (1820's) California, and the conflict between and among the Native Americans, the Spanish/Mexican secular rulers, and the religious zealots of the early California Missions. Interweaving historical characters with fictional representations of the time, "Eye of the Bear" draws the reader into a starkly believable environment. The story is painted with well-developed characters, engaged in love, hatred, empathy and war. I'm sorry these two books weren't written (and would recommend that they be read) in reverse order -- nonetheless, I hope another volume, perhaps continuing the same story but set in POST-gold-rush days, will follow. The book is long (over 600 pages), but I couldn't put it down until I came...sadly...to it's ending.

As a fellow Northern Californian I really enjoyed reading both of Ms. West's stories. I met her at a book signing and I preferred to read Eye of the Bear first as it is a prequel to The river of red gold. I lived in the area that the books are mainly set in. (Sacramento) I have been to most of the areas and it really makes it more interesting to visualize the home of the Mi-wok's. The Sloughhouse Inn in the book is still there (although closed at the moment-2006-due to ownership problems. Both Eye and River of Red Gold are 5 star reads.

This excellent prequel to Ms. West's "River of Red Gold," the first volume of her Central Califonia historical trilogy, provides lots of information about California in the early 1800's (before the Gold Rush). It is a valiant and very helpful effort to give a voice to the Native Americans who lived in California at the time, most of whom are gone now.

As a linguist, I was particularly fascinated by her painstaking work on native languages, much of which she clearly deepened after the first book. If you live in California, and want to know why some of our rivers have such strange names (American, Cosumnes, Mokelumne, Calaveras, Stanislaus, Tuolumne), you absolutely must read this book. The names will never be the same to you again.

As was true for Ms. West's first book, the detail is convincing and accurate. One example I might give is the odd ridge-like rock formations that cross Putah Creek. I recognized them immediately from her description.

Like "River of Red Gold," this is not a book of happy history. Ms. West's genius is to bring alive all if the best aspects of the times as well as the tragedies, so that the reader can absorb and understand the injustices, while still enjoying the wonderful tales of heroic and rightous characters.

Eye of the Bear is not what I expected! Naida West has done a superb job in weaving historical fact with fiction and creating the first of 3 great novels about the California Native Americans.

In the back of Naida West's novel is a list of glossary terms. You will learn about the Neophytes. During the time of establishing Missions along the California Coast and inland, the captured Indians, called neophytes were baptized Indians into the Catholic faith. The details of their cruel torture and punishment while confined to the mission walls and way of life was difficult for me to read and almost unforgivable by the Black Hats. This is a fanciful name for the Mexican soldiers who lived in the Presidios of San Diego, Santa Barbara, Monterey and San Francisco.

Not only does Naida West explain the Spanish terms in her book such as Tulares, a specie of giant hollow-stemmed marsh grass known as Tule Fog but Nadia's main character, Grizzly Hair becomes her main fictional character. The author's huge efforts of research greatly shows in her ***** star novel, Eye of the Bear. If you want to learn the stories of the Indians and their life style, plus the stern, cruel taskmaster's of the mission, like Father Narcisco Duran then you must purchase the book!

Naida reveals so much of what really went on in the missions, stuff you would never learn in school nor have any idea... the land that you walk on was once inhabited by these dear people.

Naida West did a masterful job weaving fact/fiction with California history that I had not known before. A wonderful wordsmith, beautiful job. Naida deserves much praise for Eye Of The Bear.

I'm looking forward to reading her next book in the series.