Cherokee America by Margaret Verble

One Sentence Summary: A one sentence summary is impossible to do for this book. I have no idea what it was about. I wish I did. The book took place in the 1800s and it was kind of about relations between blacks, whites, and Native Americans.

Number of Pages: 385

Rating: 2/5 stars

Review: I had high hopes for Cherokee America. A trusted source recommended it and Ron Rash (author of Serena, which I loved) talked it up. The book started with a solid 4/5 stars, but it lost me along the way. There were a bazillion characters, and 90% of them were forgettable. Somehow, there were almost as many plots and subplots as characters. I kept reading thinking the plots would link together and make sense, but they never conjoined and many seemed to get lost and left unresolved. Cherokee America was filled with interesting historical tidbits and the writing itself was actually good. However, the book had zero focus. Maybe it would be better as a set of short stories. Or perhaps trimmed of characters and plots to create a narrower focus. As is, though, the book was a big, swirling mess of a disappointment.