Sacred Ground (Mass Market Paperback)

by Barbara Wood (Author) "Erica gripped the steering wheel as the four-wheel-drive vehicle flew up the dirt road, coroming around boulders and slamming into potholes..." (more)
Key Phrases: clan medicine woman, fur bundle, most likely descendant, Jared Black, Tall One, Native American (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In a historically cloudy page-turner, Wood (Perfect Harmony) splices past and present, covering 2,000 years on the California coast. Erica Tyler, a talented anthropologist haunted by a professional mistake, sees the excavation of a collapsed pool in an exclusive Los Angeles suburb as an opportunity to restore her reputation. She persuades her reluctant boss to give her the case, even though she will have to work with Jared Black, an old adversary employed by a state agency that protects indigenous interests. In a parallel narrative, Marimi, a Topaa Indian, is expelled from her clan when she embarrasses the shaman by saving a young boy predicted to die. She and the boy, led by visions, walk for miles to an area they can settle. As Erica's dig proceeds, she meets opposition from the Indian community, local residents and the state; threats and violence soon follow. Complicating the dig further is Erica's powerful attraction to the enigmatic Jared. As each new artifact and clue is discovered, the narrative returns to the tale of Marimi's descendants, some of whom are blessed with foresight. Erica is driven to resolve the mystery of the site for personal reasons; raised in a series of foster homes, she is deeply conscious that she has no family history of her own. The novel concludes in the present, neatly twining all of the stories into an unsurprising but upbeat finale. Erica's theories are too consistently accurate to be plausible, and Wood does her readers a disservice by failing to provide better clarification of what is fact and fiction, but her fans will likely welcome this flawed yet engaging tale. Agent, Harvey Klinger. Foreign rights sold in 12 countries.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
The story of Marimi and her female descendants spans back 2,000 years to the native Californian Topaa Indians and the role of tribe shaman, which passed to each of these mystical women as a descendant of the first mother. The history of the Topaa women reveals itself to archaeologists when an earthquake rocks an elite Santa Monica community and unearths a cave inscribed with pictographs and puzzling relics. Archaeologist Erica Tyler becomes obsessed with discovering the story behind the mysterious cave, and in the background the story of Marimi and her people begins to unfold, beginning in prehistoric California and continuing through the Spanish Inquisition and the gold rush colonization, which ultimately obliterated the natives' way of life. Wood's writing is rich with history and time travel. Tradition and respect for the bounties of the earth were the core of the Native American's lifestyle, and Wood does a wonderful job of conveying the richness of their spiritual life and bringing to light their current struggle with archaeologists for entitlement over ancestral burial grounds. Elsa Gaztambide
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (September 16, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312982526
• ISBN-13: 978-0312982522
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #603,074 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My first title by this author and looking for more, September 28, 2001

By	Marilyn Jones (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sacred Ground (Hardcover)

I obtained Sacred Ground at the urging of a friend who lives on the east coast. She called me at the beginning of September to let me know that she had just read a wonderful novel that contained the story of Southern California.

I ordered and received the book a couple days after that, and it has served as a way to temporarily escape the grief and shock of the events that took place a few days later in New York, D.C. and Pennsylvania. I would recommend it if for no other reason.

Sacred Ground tells the story of an archaeologist (Erica Tyler) who becomes involved in a dig in the middle of a wealthy community. An earthquake has caused a long buried cave to become accessible. As Erica Tyler makes her way through the layers of soil in the cave, she must also make her way through the political labyrinth that is the reality of modern Native American cultural debate.

The story of the excavation is intertwined with the stories of the women of the Topaa tribe, a hunter gatherer tribe founded by "First Mother," Marimi. As each layer of soil reveals its contents, it also reveals the story of successive generations of Marimi's female descendants who carry her characteristics.

There are two things I wish the author had done. First, I felt the story of the "First Mother" could have used with a bit more fleshing out. Her initial struggles are well detailed, but we are left to imagine how the stories and traditions of the Topaa tribe, the ones that are passed on from generation to generation, are created. It would also have been interesting to read how her teachings to her great-granddaughter differed from those she rebelled against.

The second thing is that I wish the author had included a map showing the locations of significant events in the book. As it was, after the first couple chapters, I read the rest of the book with a AAA Southern California freeway folding map in hand.

The above are minor quibbles, however. The book as a whole contains an incredible amount of historical detail that touches upon most major aspects of California history. We learn, not only about the way-of-life and traditions of ancient California tribes, but also about the mission period, the settlement of Los Angeles, the California gold-rush, and about the competing interests of Native Americans, scholars, private collectors and developers. The book allowed me to see the issues involved from a number of different perspectives.

I give the book 4 stars for plot, 5 stars for entertainment and educational value. I have lived in Southern California for most of my life, and this book helped me to better understand the place I live. Sacred Ground gets my strong recommendation.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful, accomplished novel, May 12, 2005

By	Dan "Longsword" (USA, Florida) - See all my reviews

Dr. Erica Tyler, an anthropologist in modern-day Los Angeles, comes across an intriguing situation. An earthquake has revealed a hidden cave containing the ancient bones of a young woman - one whose tribal affiliation strangely cannot be identified. In pursuit of the woman?s identity, she clashes with Jared Black, an attractive lawyer assigned to protect Native American interests. In a parallel tale set 2,000 years earlier, the young healer Marimi, happily married and expecting a child, is cast out of her tribe for breaking a taboo. Determined to survive, she and two other children, also outcasts, walk a great distance to form their own tribe. Marimi and her female descendants have the gift of foresight, and we see examples of how their lives intertwine with major events in California?s history.
I found myself having to suspend disbelief a little too often during my reading of this tale. For example, we?re expected to believe that a young woman, barefoot and heavily pregnant, physically carried a young child hundreds of miles to a new land: a rather superhuman feat! Also, the way all of the loose ends are tied together in the end, though satisfying, may cause some raised eyebrows. Despite these flaws, Wood is a wonderful, accomplished storyteller. Her prose flows smoothly and easily, making this a pleasant afternoon?s read

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sacred Ground, December 31, 2001

By	Barbara J. Frayser (The Book Place, Inc. Memphis, TN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Sacred Ground (Hardcover)

Interesting fairly fast-paced pre-historical/historical/contemporary novel told in past/present/past/present format. The orgins of a small tribe in
California are connected to the anthropologist excavating a cave, and researching the artifacts discovered after a major earthquake. Enjoyable, but coincidences abound. The historical parts are so much better than the contemporary parts. The historical being well researched and written; and the contemporary was somewhat corny and seemed amateurish; not the author's usual calibar at all. Made me wonder if Barbara Wood even wrote the present day portions.