Book Review - 'Tho I Be Mute by Heather Miller @HMHFR @maryanneyarde

 

 'Tho I Be Mute

 By Heather Miller

Publication Date: 13th July 2021.  Publisher: Defiance Press and Publishing. Page Length: 340 Pages. Genre: Historical Fiction/Romance.

Home. Heritage. Legacy. Legend.

In 1818, Cherokee John Ridge seeks a young man’s education at the Foreign Mission School in Cornwall, Connecticut. While there, he is overcome with sickness yet finds solace and love with Sarah, the steward’s quiet daughter. Despite a two-year separation, family disapproval, defamatory editorials, and angry mobs, the couple marries in 1824.

Sarah reconciles her new family’s spirituality and her foundational Christianity. Although, Sarah’s nature defies her new family’s indifference to slavery. She befriends Honey, half-Cherokee and half-African, who becomes Sarah’s voice during John’s extended absences.

Once arriving on Cherokee land, John argues to hold the land of the Cherokees and that of his Creek neighbors from encroaching Georgian settlers. His success hinges upon his ability to temper his Cherokee pride with his knowledge of American law. Justice is not guaranteed.

Rich with allusions to Cherokee legends, ‘Tho I Be Mute speaks aloud; some voices are heard, some are ignored, some do not speak at all, compelling readers to listen to the story of a couple who heard the pleas of the Cherokee.

Book Rating:

📚📚📚📚📚⭐ = A book in a million

📚📚📚📚📚 = I could not put this book down. I Highly Recommend it.

📚📚📚📚 = A really great read.

📚📚📚 = It was enjoyable.

📚📚 = It was okay.

📚 = Um...! 😕

My Review

 'Tho I Be Mute

📚📚📚📚📚 = I could not put this book down. I Highly Recommend it.

This novel follows the lives of Sarah Bird Northrup and John Ridge, a white woman and a Cherokee, who come together through dire circumstances and withstand anything and everything life puts in their way.

John has had a bad hip for a long time, and he cannot walk properly without the help of a crutch. With a bout of cold weather when he is at school, John falls ill and his hip worsens considerably. John is taken to the school’s steward, so that he can recuperate, and here he meets the steward’s daughter, Sarah.

There are many ways in which to tell of a people that many readers may not know much about, but taking a character who also knows next to nothing, and putting them into the society is a perfect way to accomplish such a thing. Sarah travels with John to his home, and, although she does not speak Cherokee, (‘Tho she be mute…) she falls into her place, quickly gaining approval from John’s parents.

I had a few issues with this book, mostly that, at the beginning, it took me a while to figure out what was going on. There is one scene, where John starts reading a Shakespeare play for the first time and had to read it slowly to understand it. This book was much like that. Although, once I got into it, everything started to sort itself out in my mind and I began to find that I liked the intense amount of detail, for it painted a complete picture so that my mind did not have to fill in any gaps.

I love books wherein it is incredibly obvious that the author has put hours upon hours of research into making sure they know everything there possibly could be to know about the era and setting. This book is one of these. Not only was it necessary to find out about the era and the Cherokee and Creek nations, but the characters in this book are also based on real people who lived and died. I adore books such as this, ones that bring to life a memory of people who would have otherwise been lost to history. 

This book is one that I would gladly read again, for the narrative is rich with detail, the characters come to life on the page, and it was truly a wonder to read.

You can pick up your copy of this book on Amazon.

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As an English educator, Heather Miller has spent twenty-three years teaching her students the author’s craft. Now, she is writing it herself, hearing voices from the past. 

Miller’s foundation began in the theatre, through performance storytelling. She can tap dance, stage-slap someone, and sing every note from Les Misérables. Her favorite role is that of a fireman’s wife and mom to three: a trumpet player, a future civil engineer, and a future RN. There is only one English major in her house. 

While researching, writing, and teaching, she is also working towards her M FA in Creative Writing. Heather’s corndog-shaped dachshund, Sadie, deserves an honorary degree.

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