The Color of Lightning
A Novel
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4.3 • 183 Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
“Meticulously researched and beautifully crafted.... This is glorious work.” — Washington Post “A gripping, deeply relevant book.” — New York Times Book Review
From Paulette Jiles, author of the critically acclaimed New York Times bestsellers Enemy Women and Stormy Weather, comes a stirring work of fiction set on the untamed Texas frontier in the aftermath of the Civil War. One of only twelve books longlisted for the 2009 Scotiabank Giller Prize—one of Canada’s most prestigious literary awards—The Color of Lightning is a beautifully rendered and unforgettable re-examination of one of the darkest periods in U.S. history.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The author of Stormy Weather and Enemy Women returns with a lively exploration of revenge, dedication and betrayal set mainly in Kentucky and Texas near the end of the Civil War. Britt Johnson is a free black man traveling with a larger band of white settlers in search of a better life for his wife, Mary, and their children, despite the many perils of the journey itself. After a war party of 700 Comanche and Kiowa scalp, rape and murder many of the whites, Mary and her children get separated from Britt and become the property of a Native named Gonkon. Britt must wait through the winter before he can set out to rescue and reclaim his wife and children, only to discover that not only does he not have enough money to bargain with the Indians but also that his own family's fate has as much to do with land disputes and treaties as it does with his determination to get revenge. Jiles writes like she owns the frontier, and in this multifaceted, riveting and full of danger novel, she does.
Customer Reviews
Splendid
Well worth a read.
The Color of Lightening
Ms. Jiles puts words together that gave a picture to me throughout her book. I could not stop reading until I finished. I believe she is an excellent storyteller and wordsmith.
Settling the West
At the end of the Civil War a band leaves Kentucky to go settle on the edge of Indian territory. One was a family of freed slaves, the other a white one. One day the men leave and the women and children are attacked, some murdered and some carried off to the Indians’ homes. But also after the women are brutalized and raped. So the story begins. Life goes on as to how they all survive and become a part of this new life.