Customer Reviews

Plant Them Deep

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

 

 

This is the best Thurlo book I've read. I disagree with those who call it "cozy". It shows the intractable conflicts that cleave Navajo society today: tradition vs. science, development vs. conservation, spiritual well-being vs. material comfort. PLANT THEM DEEP is a dramatic shift from the Thurlo's police procedurals, in which Navajo detective Ella Clah is the protagonist, or their hokey vampire series. It is told from the perspective of Rose Destea, Ella's feisty, traditionalist mother. Ella and her brother Clifford, a hataalii, play supporting roles this time. The story has plenty of crime and suspense, even as it focuses on the traditionalist side of Navajo culture -- its manners, herbalist lore, and healing ceremonies.

The Tribal Council hires Rose, a long-time "plant watcher" to conduct a survey of endangered native plants, especially those used by traditional herbalists, to assist them in evaluating the restoriation plans of mining and utility companies. She immediately runs into determined opposition from a young Navajo plant biologist and other modernists, both tribal and Anglo. Rose discovers that scarce medicinal herbs are being systematically dug up all over the reservation. Suspense builds when another plant watcher dies under mysterious circumstances and her best friend falls grieviously ill. In short order Rose must find a rare herb to help cure her friend, solve a murder, and catch a plant thief.

PLANT THEM DEEP may not be full of mayhem and bloodshed, but it is full of the clash of competing values. Rose Destea is clear on where she stands, but readers must draw their own conclusions.

This title is not included in the Ella Clah series. As such I found it very interesting and informative. Not only does the author tell about medicinal plants and their uses,she reveals more about tribal hierarchy. Ella appears in the book but only plays the part of a worried loved one,the same as Rose appears in the Ella Clah books.

This book is the best work by the Thurlos. It is great to get to know Ella's mother Rose so much better. The book wonderfully illustrates the plight of indigenous peoples when dealing with the outside world's pressure to take their land's natural resources, and brings the plant people to the forefront of the story.

She raised her two children to adulthood on the Navaho Reservation in New Mexico and is very proud of them both. Her son Clifford is a traditionalist who is a medicine man, a leader for those who don?t believe in Anglo medicine. Her daughter is a special investigator working for the Navaho police, a woman who is considered a modernist who follows the Anglo way.

Instead of relaxing Rose Destea has become a political activist on the reservation, protesting against gambling and the nuclear plant and holding the strip miners accountable for the damage they do to the land. Many of the plants that are used in their herbal medicines and healing ceremonies are becoming difficult, if not impossible to find. Someone is stealing the Plant People and the tribal council asks Rose to investigate what plants are in short supply. A patient who happens to be Rose?s best friend needs a plant for a medicine ceremony that is impossible to find and she is willing herself to die. When a friend who joins Rose in her search in hunting the plant is killed, the staunch traditionalist vows to find the plant thief and killer and find the plant that will save her friend.

The Ella Clan mysteries are hard-hitting police procedural that always seem to concentrate on action more than characterizations. PLANT THEM DEEP is very different but just as good. It is a gentle cozy that concentrates as much on the people as on the action. This stand alone book is an anthropologist's delight as it looks very deeply into a culture so that even trained sociologists would enjoy reading this novel. The Thurlos are great storytellers who allow readers to see just how deep their talent runs.

Harriet Klausner

The story is generally carried along by short conversations. but the voices do not change. I had to see who said or replied to know who was speaking. In good writing each character carries their own voice through the novel - that is how we get to know them. This does not happen here. The only interesting part is the knowledge about medicine herbs. I guess if one has never read a novel about Native Americans, either modernists or traditionalists, or better yet gotten to know a few, this might be a good start. But every culture carries its own language and thought patterns and to capture that is the trick of good writers. Hillerman of course comes to mind (as does Faulkner with an entirely different kind of "unbeknown" culture) - we know who each character is just by the way they phrase things.

I know this is not considered part of the Ella Clah series, but it does deal with the same beloved characters. I have to say that I haven't enjoyed any book by the Thurlos as much as this one since Blackening Spring, the book in which Ella Clah was introduced. I loved the plant lore and the fresh viewpoint of Ella's mother, Rose Destea.

The stealing of Navajo medicinal plants reminded me more than a bit of Wildcrafters by Skye Kathleen Moody, another mystery dealing with endangered plant species. But Plant Them Deep focuses specifically on the plants used by medicine men in ceremonies. There is also the mysterious death of a man who had been a Code Talker in World War II.

I'm a big fan of Aimee and David Thurlo, but "Plant Them Deep" was deeply disappointing. It was lo-o-o-ng on botanical info and short on mystery. I was determined to see it through to the end. And I will admit that the ending was the best part. Please don't let this review deter you from reading any of the Ella Clah mysteries. They are worth the read.

Plant Them Deep is my favorite of the Aimee and David Thurlo's books (so far!)
As I have written to them, the only complaint I have with their books, especially the Ella Clah series, is that I can't stop reading them! The characters are like real people to me and I have been enjoying their aquaintance--
The area of New Mexico where they live and work is familiar to me, and it's fun to be able to picture the exact locations as I'm reading.
The mysteries are good, keeping your attention and surprising you which always makes a good mystery!
Their young people's book, Spirit Line is also a favorite of mine. I'm looking forward to the next books and too, finding the older ones that I haven't read yet!!

Carol J Dewing

It is a little hard to submit a review since I still have not recieved the book in over a months time even though I have alreafdy been billed. You said you would check into the problem and get back to me. Is this the way you contact me back and ask how I liked the book ? Naughty, naughty. I have been patient but the person VANA11, I bought the book from said she sent it to me in or on January 23rd and to contact you. You wouldn't let me contact you until 15 working days had passed and then made me wait 3 more days before I was allowed to sent a problem report to Amazon.

So needless tyo say I probably won't be ordering from Amazon anytime soon again. I also now have to go the trouble of contacting my credit card company and asking them to get my money back or to credit me for an item I never recieved.