Customer Reviews

Red Heart

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I finished this 533 page novel in four days, and I read from page 264 to the ending in one sitting. I think that pretty much sums it up that I really, really enjoyed reading this book. It is on such a fascinating subject which is not too often found in adult literature. Most historical fiction novels on white children taken captive by the Indians are written for juvenile or young adult readers.

This novel is based on the true story of Frances Slocum who at age 5 was carried off by Delaware Indians right in front of her family in 1778. Her family searched for nearly sixty years until they finally found her- the widow of a Miami chief who could not speak any English or even remember her given name except for Slocum. Thom details what occured in the sixty years before that reunion. Mostly, it is a story of young Frances adapting to her new life, her growth into womanhood, and her experiences with the tragedies that occur to her Indian people as the Americans take their lands and destroy the entire fabric of their lives. Thom also details the Slocums' attempts to find their lost child during that same period. Thom does a great job of capturing what must have been the emotions when that lost sister met her Slocum siblings for the first time in six decades. Truly poignant.

My only complaint about this book is Thom's rather simplistic portrayals of the Indians and whites. With the exception of the Quaker Slocum family, every white in this book is a brutish lout; and with the exception of a couple drunken brutes, the Indians are all portrayed as wonderful people. The historical reality was a little more complex, and even most children's books on the subject of Indian captivities present a more even-handed picture. For instance, historically the Indians, who carried off little Frances, also carried off two other children who they later killed for crying too much, and that they had killed a "boy" on the Slocum farm. Thom doesn't ignore that the Indians also took other captives with Frances or that they had killed someone at her family's farm, but he has the other captive being ransomed back to the whites, and he has turned that killed "boy" into a soldier. I think that is being a little dishonest for sake of "political correctness," which is annoying.

I really enjoyed reading this novel. It not only inspired me to read other books by James Alexander Thom, but also made me want to find out more about Frances Slocum. It was in doing this research that I discovered that Thom had played a little loose with the facts of Slocum's abduction. I believe he did this simply to place her Indian abductors in a better light. Yes, it was a little disconcerting; but this discovery did not ruin my overall enjoyment of the book.

The novel attempts to view the history of Old Northwest from a very pro-Native perspective. Thom wants the reader to be fully aware that what happened to the Indians of the Old Northwest was a tragedy and a blot on the history of the U.S. And I think he is absolutely correct in that viewpoint. However, I felt that occassionally he went a little overboard in attempting to illustrate this point. His portrayal of the differences between whites and Indians sometimes came across as simplistic and condenscending. It can be annoying since I've read children's books on the subject of Indian captivities that presented a more even handed and realistic look at racial relations- Sally Keehn's "I Am Regina" is an excellent example that shows that cruelty could be found on both sides.

However, "The Red Heart's" political correctness is a quibble that really does not deter from its effectiveness as a terrific novel. It's really well-written, and is about one of the most poignant and fascinating stories in American history. If you love historical fiction set in early America and have enjoyed James Alexander Thom's work then you will surely enjoy this book.

This is one great book.

It is based on the true story of Francis Slocum, a 4 year old Quaker girl who was kidnapped by Delaware Indians in the 1770s on the Pennsylvania frontier near Wilkes-Barre. (There are recreation areas named for her in both Pennsylvania and Indiana)

It is also the story of her family's 60 year search for her across the Midwest and even into Canada.

It is also the story of the relentless American westward movement and how the Indians dealt with it.

The reader also gets a fantastic lesson on daily life among the Delaware and Miami Indians.

If you're a Star Trek: The Next Generation fan you'll remember the epidsode in which Picard is "attacked" by the alien probe from the long-dead world that makes him live an entire lifetime among their people in his mind in just a few seconds so that their way of life will never be forgotten. (It's the one where he learns to play the little flute-type instrument). Well, this book reminds me of that - you are drawn into this woman's life and initiated into Indian culture as she is. you learn along with her. You grow up with her, feel her disappointments and joys and her confusions as she learns that her white family is searching for her (should she seek them? should she run? Would it be best to take advantage of her white skin and abandon her Indian family as the times get harder and harder?)

I have a few quibbles with the book but those are dwarfed by Thom's overall accomplishment. Honestly, at the end of the book, when Francis Slocum dies, I felt as though a longtime friend who'd lived a wonderful and fulfilling life had died - and that is the greatest compliment I think I can give it.

Bravo!

This is the story of Frances Slocum, as well as a sad tale of the Native American people's loss of homeland and life at the hands of the `new' Americans. Based on the life of the actual historic Frances Slocum, the novel's Frances is kidnapped in 1776 from her Quaker family at the age of 5. The history has been edited, but this is a novel and doesn't claim to be nonfiction. Frances is taken to replace the dead child of an Indian woman whose own daughter was killed by whites. Frances and her adoptive family, Tuck Horse and Flicker spend many years running from war in search of a peaceful place that the Americans will allow them to call home.

The storytelling is simple and well done. The descriptions of Niagara Falls, the Great Lakes and American lands are wonderful. Thom manages to give Frances the voice of a child when she is young and her voice matures as she grows. As she grows, so does the population and expansion of whites into territory once occupied by Indians. More and more information about how the Indians are being killed and pushed out of their homeland is woven into the narrative in later chapters. The history of the politics sometimes overwhelms the story of Frances, but it does explain a lot. There are occasional updates on her Quaker family's constant search for their missing relative. These updates are brief and do not interrupt the flow of Frances' life story. They illustrate how the Slocum's always kept her in their heart and thoughts and prayers. Both Frances and her family are depicted as such kind and good people, which seems too simplistic for realism, but it made for very nice reading. Because of the accounts of Native American life and the heart-touching persistence of her family, I enjoyed this story in spite of the suffering inflicted on the Indians. Recommended.

Frances Slocum is a small child of four or five when she is captured by Lenape Indians near the Fort of Wilkes Barre. Frances quickly adapts to her new life and is admired by her adoptive family for her red heart. As she grows to be a woman the struggles of Native American life become her own. The constant battle for survival against the encroaching white settlers and the soldiers they bring. Over 60 years of her life are covered in this tale of historical fiction.
What I found so endearing was the love shown to her by her adoptive family and the continual unending love of her biological family as they search for their beloved Frances for sixty years.
This story seems to be well researched and I am going to try to find out more about Frances Slocum.
Mr. Thom once again has written an incredible tale.

This book is wonderful from start to finish. I read Follow The River 20 years ago and this book was just as satifying. It was enlightening to be inside the mind of a white girl raised as a Native American during the turn of the 19th century, and to begin to understand the tragic outcome of the federal government's policies during that period.

I am a Slocum decendent. My gggrandmother's name was also Frances Slocum. (not the Frances in the book) I found this book by accident while searching for books on the Slocum's and truely enjoyed reading about a very distant cousin. This book also helped to change my thoughts about Native Americans, although not negative, it gave me a new understanding of the Native American's due to the fact that all I knew of them came from old cowboy movies. Thank you Mr. Thom for helping me to understand and for helping me to see "to be an Indian wasn't cowboys and indians". You also helped me to know some history behind one branch of the "Slocum" family tree. Deborah Jones

I picked it up having never read anything by Thom before.

Well, now I'm hooked! I didn't realize at first that this was a true story (based on the real-life of Frances Slocum). To me it just sounded like an interesting premise, the story of a child carried off by Indians.

Seeing as how the majority of books out there tend to portray American Indians in a very typical one-dimensional way, I was very pleased to find the characters here three-dimensional and complex, from Tuck-Horse to Minnow with her hatred for men, alcohol, whites, and just about everything in between. The only thing that disappointed me was that poor Mackonakwa's life (Frances Slocum) is rushed through in the latter half. The first half of the book is her early years growing up with the indians, while after she meets The Awl, the entire story is rushed through. A bit disappointing, but still a 5 star book.

Rushing out right now to get the rest of Thom's books!

The author has done it again!!! James Alexander Thom is well known for being a master of the historical fiction novel...and in the case of The Red Heart...he only adds to his unique reputation! I was totally absorbed in the story of Frances Slocum from page one! The author completely succeeded in making me care about the main charactors in the novel and, more importantly, he taught me quite a bit about the history, culture and lives of the Native American peoples among whom Frances Slocum lived. I would highly recommend this novel to anyone who has even the slightest interest in understanding more about the history of our nation's earliest days. I also would recommend this book to anyone who would like a rousing read and a real "page turner"! Without a doubt this is one of the author's finest works to date!!

I usually am not one to read historical fiction, but with Thom I make the exception. This is a fantastic read! Very visual. And you can tell that Thom did his research!!!! Very educational!!!! I recommend this book to anyone who has interest in Native Americans.