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James A. Michener - Centennial

Postet 09:09, 6/12 2006
Kategori: Bøker
Nøkkelord: Centennial | James A. Michener
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Centennial is an epic tale, a saga of the old west on a huge scale.

Set in the fictional town of Centennial, Colorado, on the banks of the Platte river, it is as much a story of the region as of the town.
Indeed the location is a microcosm of the wild west, chosen for the richness of its history by the author James Michener, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The novel covers several thousand years, first describing the geology of the area in rich detail, then painting vivid and unforgettable pictures of its inhabitants: from the first animals, through the Indians, trappers, settlers, cowboys, and farmers, to the present day.

No-one who reads Centennial will ever forget its characters: Lame Beaver, the proud Arapaho brave, who counted coup on his enemies many times, introduced the horse to his people, and retained his dignity even as the world he knew disappeared; Alexander McKeag, the solitary trapper existing alone amidst huge forbidding landscapes, dwarfed by the surrounding peaks, wracked with guilt and angst; Colonel Frank Skimmerhorn, bigot and fanatic, hater of all Indians indiscriminately, and egregious hypocrite; and Levi Zendt, the outcast Amish youth who sets forth on the Oregon Trail to seek his fortune.

Though a novel in its own right, Centennial can be regarded as a series of independent but connected stories, each story set one or two generations after its predecessor.
Major characters from early chapters sometimes appear later on, much older, as minor characters; and mysteries, remaining enigmatic through the centuries, are solved hundreds of pages later.

Cast from the same mould as Michener’s Texas and Hawaii, placing fictional characters in and around historical events, Centennial excels by developing its characters more deeply and more believably.
We share their lives and thoughts and struggles, but ultimately we realize they are just grains of sand caught up in the great whirlwind of human affairs - Michener’s true gift is in showing us the mortality of man and his true place in the order of nature.

Sadly the pace and the excitement do decline as the book progresses. Modern history is by nature less dramatic than ancient history simply as a function of its proximity. Nevertheless this is a book which can change the way you perceive the human psyche and the world around us.

At once dramatic and soulful, Centennial can change your life.

(Amazon)