From Library Journal
Set in the polite society of 19th-century San Francisco and along the rapids of the Colorado River, this novel attempts to dramatize the emerging conflicts between land developers and preservationists and between the native inhabitants of the West and the newcomers. When a prestigious California literary magazine changes hands, the new owner, a pompous industrialist named Daggett, proposes a journey down the Grand Canyon to discredit the fieldwork of John Wesley Powell decades before. One of Daggett's editors, Mary Temple, the "Poetess of Russian Hill," suggests that the expedition also include the rescue of a white woman?who happens to be her sister?from the Hoya Indians. The historical settings are full of interesting details, but the characters fail to live and breathe apart from the roles they have been assigned as observers of history. The awkward dialog is full of melodramatic cliches, especially in the exchanges between Mary and her lover, Beau. Hall, best known for his numerous plot-driven Westerns, including Warlock (LJ 10/15/96), has exceeded his grasp by attempting to merge social commentary with an adventure novel.?Charlotte L. Glover, Ketchikan P.L., Ak.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"Hall evokes the dust and danger of the Old West, without falling victim to commonplace trappings of genre Western fiction. As sublimely detailed as the John Wesley Powell illustration which adorns it cover, Separations distills the sweep of an epic into a compact tale of survival and innocence lost. It is a remarkable book." --
Independent Publisher"Publication of any novel by Oakley Hall calls for champagne, but Separations demands the jolt of tequila to celebrate its tale of raw adventure laced with action, greed, and lust. . . . Wonderfully drawn characters and evocative settings that include San Francisco and Mormon settlements in Arizona weigh strong among the book's merits; but most captivating of all is the Colorado River and Grand Canyon combination that dwarfs all but man's spirit as the adventurers struggle to survive their encounter with forces of nature. A terrific reading experience." --
Amarillo Sunday News-GlobeOakley Hall is one of the country's finest writers. In Separations, he has given us a beautifully written, authentic and colorful evocation of the American West. His story of river exploration and commercial intrigue in the late nineteenth century speaks directly to our twentieth century environmental concerns. --
Robert Stone, Dog SoldiersSeparations is nothing less than a story of American conquest matched against unique American innocence. It is a large, imposing and rich book, fitted perfectly to its vision of our history. As I read it, I didn't want it to end. --
Richard Ford, Independence DayThe 21st book in Oakley Hall's long career offers a painful reminder that the good old days lacked the innocence with which nostalgia often gilds them. In the 1880s, roughly a decade after Maj. John Wesley Powell published his majestic descriptions of the Grand Canyon, a Colorado mining magnate named Charles Daggett sponsors another expedition through the region ... its actual assignment: to impugn Powell's reputation and discredit his plea to preserve the canyon as public land, thus enabling Daggett to pursue his own interests there.... Female members of Hall's cast reflect the crushing vulnerability and victimization of the 19th-century woman, but the most violated of all is Mother Nature." --
The New York Times Book Review, Andy SolomonThis wonderful story may be the most sophisticated novel of the frontier ever written. It combines two previously uncombined elements--the early California literary world, one of great diversity and vigor--and the raw blending edges of the frontier experience--and all in a way which will delight and divert the reader. --
Thomas Keneally, Schindler's List
