A Parchment of Leaves (Hardcover)

~ Silas House (Author) "THERE WAS MUCH TALK that spring of a Cherokee girl who was able to invoke curses on anyone passing her threshold..." (more)
Key Phrases: little redbud, God's Creek, Redbud Camp, Black Banks (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

House offers a poignant, evocative look at the turmoil that plagues a rural Kentucky family during WWI in his solid second novel, which begins when Saul Sullivan takes a shine to a mysterious, beautiful Cherokee woman named Vine. Courtship quickly leads to marriage and a newborn girl named Birdie, but trouble surfaces when Saul's younger brother, Aaron, an unfocused dreamer who longs for a more fulfilling life than his country existence as a laborer, also becomes attracted to Vine. Aaron's opportunity to express his longings comes when Saul leaves to work at a logging camp, hoping to provide some luxuries for his family while supporting the war effort. Vine spurns Aaron's initial advances and manages to drive him away, but the younger brother returns with a young mixed-race bride from East Tennessee who looks exactly like Vine, and soon he is drinking heavily and exercising his formidable temper on his newly pregnant wife. Saul returns briefly to try to straighten out his brother but, when he departs, Aaron turns his attentions on Vine again, who shoots Aaron after he rapes her and goes after Birdie, then buries the body on top of a mountain near the family homestead. A slightly more original story line would have made this an exceptional novel, but House's lovely storytelling, graceful prose, strong characters and his feel for Southern rural life distinguish it. Agent, ICM. (Oct. 18) Forecast: Solid local sales are the bedrock on which this novel's success will rest, but strong reviews, a 15-city author tour and House's NPR connection (he is a frequent contributor) are certain to broaden House's audience.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In 1917 rural Kentucky, a young Cherokee woman named Vine, rumored to cast spells on unsuspecting men, falls in love with local Irishman Saul Sullivan, whom she eventually marries. This second novel by Appalachian writer House (Clay's Quilt) tells the story of Vine and Saul's tender relationship and the prejudice they face and eventually overcome. While Vine was not raised according to Cherokee customs, she is still aware of being seen as an outsider when she leaves her Cherokee community to be with her husband. People are drawn to her gentle and generous personality, however, and soon she forms enduring friendships with her hard-working mother-in-law, Esme, and feisty and independent midwife Serena. When World War I erupts and Saul temporarily takes a better-paying job far from home, Vine finds herself trying to ward off the unwanted advances of Saul's restless younger brother, Aaron, who declares his own love for Vine. A deep respect for the natural world and the enduring spirit of the human heart are what make this book worth reading and remembering. Recommended for all fiction collections.
Maureen Neville, Trenton P.L., NJ
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Algonquin Books; 1 edition (August 16, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565123670
• ISBN-13: 978-1565123670
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #622,746 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Who are your people?, November 8, 2002

By A Customer

Following his well-received Clay's Quilt, Silas House continues to explore the meaning of family, love, home, and belonging. Unlike many popular novels today, House is never heavy-handed in his themes. A Parchment of Leaves unfolds itself as naturally to the reader as own lives unfold to us. His clear prose is welcoming and contains an undercurrent of description that reveals the simple beauties of the landscape and human relationships. The characters of Vine and Serena are so three-dimensional that you'll convince yourself they're real people. Curl up with your quilt, a cup of hot chocolate, and this book. Recommended for all readers, not just devotees of Southern literature.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Striking, vibrant and intense................, June 12, 2003

By	jeanne-scott (Asan, Guam) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Amazon Verified Purchase

A Parchment of Leaves is a beautifully woven story of life in the backwoods of Kentucky at the beginning of WWI. It is a story of a young white man who falls in love with a beautiful Cherokee girl. When they decide to marry, it is inevitable that she must leave her people and that they must go and make their life among his. Silas House tells their story of love, acceptance, prejudice, secrets and betrayals in an intricate manner, told in the voices of the people themselves. The ultimate search for love and forgiveness is a poignant tale. The decisions of which secrets are revealed and which ones are locked away and the friction that results is deftly revealed. The fear and the loneliness is so striking and intense, the pure love is so vibrant and the story so well imagined that this is a novel that stays in your heart.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful book, September 26, 2004

By	Ratmammy "The Ratmammy" (Ratmammy's Town, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)

This review is from: A Parchment of Leaves (Ballantine Reader's Circle) (Paperback)

A beautifully written book by the author of CLAY'S QUILT, A PARCHMENT OF LEAVES takes us back to the early 1900's and the mountains of Appalachia. Vine, a young Cherokee girl, is rumored to have sent men to their graves by casting spells on them, for she is reputed to have special magical powers. The white men of the area fear her, especially as they pass her home on the way up the mountains to work on the construction of a mansion being built for a rich man named Tate Masters.

One day, Saul Sullivan and his brother Aaron are on their way up the mountain to help with the construction, and they pass Vine's house. Saul sees Vine for the first time and is instantly smitten, but she ignores him. A while later, she hears screams and finds that Aaron has been bitten by a poisonous snake. With her knowledge of Indian medicine, she saves his life.

Vine's life is changed forever. No longer does she live within the confines of the Cherokee community. The snakebite that nearly kills Aaron paves the way for Saul and Vine's courtship and soon they are married. She moves away from Redbud Camp and the Cherokee people, and moves in with her new husband and mother-in-law Esme, who live in a place called God's Creek.

Although Vine and Saul love each other, she misses her family terribly. However, her mother-in-law is very supportive of them, despite the rumors that have spread about Vine and her evil spells and the fact that she is a Cherokee. The two women become close, which helps to ease Vine's homesickness. She befriends the local midwife, Serena, who Saul mentions, is "crackerjack", but Vine ignores the comment and soon the two women are the closest of friends.

The people at God's Creek also accept Vine as part of their community. She learns their ways, sings their songs, dances their Irish jigs, and eats their food. She creates a loving home for her husband and new baby. But she is not completely happy. She finds that Saul is not as talkative as she would have liked, and is upset that he keeps things to himself, failing to open himself up to her.

At the same time, Aaron develops an obsession for Vine, which begins to scare her. She tries to ignore what is happening, and one day she finds that he is following her, hiding behind trees as he spies on her. She keeps this from Saul, knowing that he will never believe her and will always come to the defense of his family.

With Saul by her side, Vine feels protected, but one day he tells her that he has decided to temporarily move to a neighboring county to help with the war effort. It'll help bring in more money and give them the type of life they can only dream of. As soon as Saul leaves God's Creek, Aaron approaches Vine and professes his love for her, coming on so strong that she screams at him to leave. He disappears, leaving Esme and Vine to fend for themselves, only to return months later with a new wife, Aidia, who happens to physically resemble Vine.

With Aaron back in their lives with a new wife, Vine at first thinks that everything is going to be all right. But as Aidia begins to confide in Vine, she finds out that Aaron's return to God's Creek spells trouble. What later happens between Vine and Aaron is so horrible that no one learns the truth except Vine's closest friend Serena. With this weighing heavy on her mind, Vine finds life intolerable and dreads the day of Saul's return, knowing that she can never keep this secret from him.

Like a series of musical notes, Silas House creates in A PARCHMENT OF LEAVES a lyrical work of art as he tells the story of Vine and her life away from her Cherokee roots. The beauty of the story is found not only in the story itself, but also in the way that House lays down his words on paper and paints the world of early 20th century Appalachia. Although several important themes run through the story, I feel the most important component of this book is how House chose to tell his story, with a lot of imagery and descriptive passages that helped take me back to the home of his ancestors.