Customer Reviews

Sacred Ground

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

When Erica Tyler, a controversial archaeologist, takes a stand regarding the discovery of the 2000 year old bones of an aboriginal woman found after an earthquake disturbs a cave in the Los Angeles region of Southern California, she embarks on an incredible journey of love and self-discovery while uncovering the story of an unknown Indian tribe whose history parallels that of the state of California.

As Erica battles both the Native American tribes who disagree with archaelogists interfering with the graves of their own, and her boss who is intent on turning the cave into a museum financed by a wealthy and influential benefactor, she relates the troubled story of her own past, an ordeal of abandonment, foster homes and trouble with the law. Concurrently, in an every other chapter format, Wood retells the bittersweet history of the Topaa tribe, founded by medicine woman Marimi, an outcast from an Arizona tribe forced to traverse the desert and settle her family near the Pacific ocean. Unbeknownst to Erica, the strength of Marimi and her descendants, warrior women who suffer from the dehabilitating headaches of prescience, infuse her with willpower and steadfastness of her own and with the help of lawyer and love interest Jared Black, she finds her way as did Marimi and her kin.

As always, Wood weaves a powerful tale of healer women whose compassion and sense of obligation acts as a strong repellant for all things negative. Her pages on the Topaa tribe fascinate; the reader cannot help but finish this novel in one or two days. Reminiscent of Michener's 'Centennial', without the cumbersome geological first chapters, her personal stories regarding the different generations of women remind me of an adult version of the American Girls series, where individual stories are intertwined with great moments of American history to allow the reader to empathize with the times and the time's emotions. Here, Wood delivers a page-turning tale of a strong yet subjugated people who make up the backbone of today's California. Nicely done.

If you are looking for a romance tale, this novel focuses more on self-discovery and the resolution of identity. As in other examples of Wood's work, Jared, although a fine masculine specimen, is depicted as more of a helpmate playing second fiddle to Erica's strong first. I also thought that the ending was a little rushed, but perhaps this is due only to the fact that usually I expect a Wood novel to be almost 500 pages.

All in all this is recommended to all who are fans of Ms. Wood or like novels depicting strong women in less than perfect situations.

Reading this story was amazing, combining the present with different past eras, and viewing how the people make the same things no matter the era that is living and always go to the same place to look for their past.
When you are reading the book you see how she (Barbara Wood) studied the geographic land, the custom of the tribes, the way people get dressed in the past, etc.
Barbara involves in this story love, hate, family and going from hate to love again, including finding a lost parent. I read it in 3 days, it was really wonderful.

As a California native born in Santa Monica, I've always wondered about the street names and city names, as well as what the area looked like prior to civilation invading the area.
I've also been a great fan of Jean Auel and have read many other stories that talk about ancient man.
This particular book is a great find for any Los Angelino or (like myself) a California native who has now moved away who also enjoys stories about Indian and ancient man.
The story is pretty well-crafted and obviously a lot of time went into the research. I enjoyed seeing the progression of history through the descendants of Marima, and think the author found a great way to take a fairly contrived idea and make it into a workable story.
I enjoyed the older indian stories more than the contemporary half of the novel, but perhaps that is because I am more curious about yesterday in Los Angeles than today. It gives the reader an inside look at what the people, land and customs were like and how the Los Angeles area indians fared through history.

This wonderful book not only entertains but educates with tidbits of information about religion,history,cultural differences,geography, etc. I was mesmerized from the first page and hated to see the last page appear. Fix a cup of tea, curl up in a cozy spot and prepare to be enthralled.

I read this book several or more years ago and reread it again just a few days ago; it's still a good book, but it did not improve on rereading, which for me is the hallmark of a great book.

I've never read a novel by Barbara Wood that I didn't thoroughly enjoy and devour in one fell swoop of voracious deep-night reading. That held true even on reread. But this is one of her weaker works. While Wood always strives for an epic feel, and often accomplishes, it doesn't quite work here. The coincidences are just a few too many, just a little too far-fetched. Wood tries too hard, in essence. I also felt less interested in the particular setting of this novel than I have been in others of hers.

I have never read Wood for her writing style, which is solid, enjoyable, and easy to read, but beyond that holds no special quality. I read Wood for her action-filled plots, her fantastic female heroines, her sense of the epic, the historic, and the romantic. All of these trademark traits were present in Sacred Ground and provided the fix I was seeking. As usual, I loved her balance of the joyous and the tragic, adored the heroine and lusted after the (perhaps too perfect, but hey, it's sorta-romance) hero, and found the mysteries of the plot compelling. Also as usual, this work felt well-researched and realistic in its depiction of Native American life and beliefs.

A very satisfying, quick, and exciting read.

The historical chapters were interesting. However, the contemporary story did not fit because it was too predictable and reminded me of romance novels (unrealistic fantasy). I also felt this book was a way of convincing readers that Native Americans are wrong and ignorant to insist that sacred artifacts, etc. be removed from museum displays. Museums can make replicas which will also serve to educate the public.

Unfortunately, I fell in love with another of her books.... "The Dreaming" and thought this book would be as interesting.
I did try.........but gave up 1/3 of the way through it. Someone else might like it......we all have different tastes. I gave my copy to the library.

Frances J. Jessup

Very well written. Kept you going from chapter to chaper to find out what happens next. I finished in 2 days.