Thirteen Moons: A Novel [Paperback]

Charles Frazier (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 5, 2007

At the age of twelve, an orphan named Will Cooper is given a horse, a key, and a map and is sent on a journey through the uncharted wilderness of the Cherokee Nation. Will is a bound boy, obliged to run a remote Indian trading post. As he fulfills his lonesome duty, Will finds a father in Bear, a Cherokee chief, and is adopted by him and his people, developing relationships that ultimately forge Will’s character. All the while, his love of Claire, the enigmatic and captivating charge of volatile and powerful Featherstone, will forever rule Will’s heart. In a voice filled with both humor and yearning, Will tells of a lifelong search for home, the hunger for fortune and adventure, the rebuilding of a trampled culture, and above all an enduring pursuit of passion.

Named ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR by
Los Angeles Times Book Review, Chicago Tribune,
and St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“A literary journey of magnitude . . . Thirteen Moons belongs to the ages.”
–Los Angeles Times

“A boisterous, confident novel that draws from the epic tradition: It tips its hat to Don Quixote as well as Twain and Melville, and it boldly sets out to capture a broad swatch of America’s story in the mid-nineteenth century.”
–The Boston Globe

“Frazier works on an epic scale, but his genius is in the details–he has a scholar’s command of the physical realities of early America and a novelist’s gift for bringing them to life.”
–Time

“A powerhouse second act . . . a brilliant success.”
–The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Compulsively readable . . . a fitting successor to Cold Mountain.”
–St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“Magical . . . fascinating and moving . . . You will find much to admire and savor in Thirteen Moons.”
–USA Today

“Genius.”
–Time

“Mesmerizing . . . a bountiful literary panorama . . . The history that Frazier hauntingly unwinds through Will is as melodic as it is melancholy, but the sublime love story is the narrative’s true heart.”
–Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Brimming with vivid, adventurous incident.”
–Raleigh News & Observer

“Reading a Frazier novel is like listening to a fine symphony. . . . Take the time to savor Frazier’s work, to take in each thought, to relish the turn of phrase or the imagery of a craftsman.”
–The Denver Post

“[Four stars] . . . Commanding . . . Frazier’s faithful will not be disappointed.”
–People

“Superbly entertaining.”
–Richmond Times-Dispatch

“Fascinating . . . vivid and alive.”
–Newsweek

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Once in a great while, all of the elements of an audio book come together to create a near-perfect experience for the listener. Frazier's follow-up to his 1997 National Book Award–winner, Cold Mountain, is another saga of enduring love. It's no small gift to work with great material, and Patton transforms the text into a tale that sounds as if it were meant to be read aloud. It's a story to be told by the fire over the course of a long winter, just as the narrator Will Cooper and his adoptive Cherokee father, Bear, swap yarns while they are hunkered down until the end of the snow season. Patton's voice has an unidentifiable Southern lilt, which nicely fits a novel vaguely set in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Patton makes the correct choice not to individualize each character's voice as this is so much Cooper's tale. Bluegrass melodies played by Ryan Scott and Christina Courtin enhance the production. The CDs have been thoughtfully designed, with the numbers circling each disc like a moon. This attention to detail makes for a beautiful production of a love story that listeners will not put down and will want to replay.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Bookmarks Magazine

Critics voiced great expectations for Thirteen Moons, coming nearly ten years after Charles Frazier's National Book Award-winning Cold Mountain (1997). Unfortunately, this second novel fails to achieve the same uniform critical acclaim. Certainly, similarities between the two books abound, including a deep appreciation for the Southern Appalachian landscape, a protagonist embarking on a life-defining odyssey, an elegiac tone, and swatches of excellent prose. Here, Frazier frames Will's story against America's transition from a frontier society into an industrial nation. Despite some praise, reviewers generally agree that Thirteen Moons is an "airier production" (New York Times), with perhaps more clichés, less convincing characterizations and relationships, and a less wieldy plot. What critics do agree on, however, is the excellent period detail and research that makes Frazier a first-rate chronicler of American history.

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks; Pf edition (June 5, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812967585
• ISBN-13: 978-0812967586
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (225 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #341,381 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

111 of 121 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Charles Fraizer helps keep Cherokee language alive! August 1, 2007

By Anonymous

Format:Paperback

I'd never read Cold Mountain, but picked up Thirteen Moons because of the story related to the Cherokee nation. The book itself is a fictionalized rendition of the life and times of Will Thomas, known as Will Usdi (little Will) by the Cherokee. I was impressed by how much Fraizer got right about Cherokee life during those times, and how well the book was written. While the story end for the main character is dissatisfying, I think that was the point, because that chapter in Cherokee history and in the life of the actual Will Thomas was, to put it mildly, dissatisfying and tragic. But here's something to know about this exemplary author of Thirteen Moons: He worked with the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation on parts of his novel, and then turned around and set up a grant to assist the Nation in translating it into the Cherokee syllabary, so that it could be used to teach Cherokee to become fluent in the language. Cherokee itself (particularly the Kituwah dialect) is a language that is in danger of becoming extinct, and is an integral part of Cherokee identity. To know one's language is to more firmly be grounded in one's identity. Anyway, the Museum of the Cherokee Indian in Cherokee, NC, central to the Qualla Boundary of which Fraizer writes has translated copies of his chapter on the Removal from the book Thirteen Moons. On one side of the page is the Cherokee in Syllabary form, and on the opposite page it's there in phonetic spelling. Each page is labeled to correspond to the English version from the original book. This is the first major publication in Cherokee since the Bible. As a person of Cherokee heritage working these past few years to learn my own language from the Midwest, this was a blessing, to see our language in print. Charles Fraizer ought to win national acclaim for both this fantastic book and for his efforts to revitalize the Cherokee language. He really thought of giving back to the community in a positive and enduring way. I've heard that there may be a movie, and would hope that whoever bought the rights to it will be as considerate and thoughtful in actively including the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation in their production and direction.

47 of 50 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A terrific sophomore effort by Frazier October 11, 2006

By Robert Busko TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Thirteen Moons marks only the second novel by Charles Frazier. Coming nine years after his blockbuster hit Cold Mountain, Thirteen Moons is also a story of mountain people but this time prior to the Civil War.

The ninety year old main character, Will Cooper, relates his long and interesting life through a series of stories. As a small child he is orphaned and eventually "bound" to the owner of a small trading post near the Cherokee reservation. Through hard work and diligence he ends up running the store and eventually buys the operation upon the owners death. At the age of 12 he wins the love of his life in a card game. He fights in the Civil War on the side of the confederacy while leading a regiment of natives Americans. He interacts with national legends such as Davy Crockett and Andrew Jackson.

Frazier doesn't admit that Will Coopers character is loosely based on the real exploits of William Holland Thomas, but he does admit that they might share some "DNA".

One of the hallmarks of Frazier's writing style is his eloquent, almost poetic prose. Even when the story lags a bit, as all stories like this do from time to time, reading his sentences, paragraphs, and pages is a joy. He reminds me a bit of another North Carolina author, though less well known, Ron Rash. Both authors have a love of the language and that is evident in how they write. Both also manage to catch of meter of how mountain folk talk and how they think. These gifts only come from having the region in your vains.

Without giving away anything, the characters that he provides us in Thirteen Moons are marvelous and provide a rich tapestry....a background and foreground on which the story plays. Perhaps the most notable is the Cherokee Bear.

The story does seem to ramble in places but this is not a critical error. You'll love reading Thirteen Moons and you'll remember the story and characters for years to come

40 of 43 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Read it slowly and savor every sentence October 6, 2006

By shanarufus

Format:Hardcover

I recently read an essay I'm almost sure was in NYT about slow reading. One of the reasons I read 12+ books a month is because I'm a fast reader. So it's wonderful to be able to read so many books, but the bummer is: they don't stay with me. I remember if I liked or disliked and if I dislike or am not drawn in quickly, I move on. So always on this website I will say how wonderful something is, because I don't continue with something nonwonderful. All of that being said, I read 13 Moons slowly, didn't want it to end, and adored every moment. It's a fascinating story and it takes place at a time where old old happenings have been passed down in the oral tradition. In the 1930s for example, there were many who had been slaves. Now there are only great great grandchildren of slaves. Another example and from the book: Bear, the Indian man who becomes Will's surrogate father, possesses a 250 year old metal headdress worn by a Spanish conquistador. How during the time of this novel, postmen had to be able to read Gaelic because so many Scots and Irish were in the new America and still speaking Gaelic and when mail was sent across the sea the postman had to be able to read the address. The book is chock full of these kinds of odd historical details. Another reviewer or two has given the general plot outline and done it well. Yes, as someone said, this was worth the wait. I slowed down about 40% and this is very thrilling to me--to read a novel the way I read poetry. Not just any novel, but one written so beautifully--with love and knowledge, respect and tenderness. p.s. keep a dictionary handy.