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Indlæser... Deep Creek: A Novel (udgave 2010)af Dana Hand (Forfatter)
Work InformationDeep Creek af Dana Hand
   mom (210) Der er ingen diskussionstråde på Snak om denne bog.  DeltaQueen50 | Jan 14, 2019 |    ) CallieD | Jun 25, 2010 |  )1  KenCross | Jun 25, 2010 |  )1 cecie | Jun 17, 2010 | )1 JodyN | Jun 7, 2010 |
 Using a creative imagination and facts uncovered in a case that almost no one in that region wanted told, the authors elegantly weave an engaging, thrilling, lively narrative of how and why the gang murdered and mutilated the Chinese miners at Deep Creek, a Snake River tributary 65 miles south of Lewiston, Idaho. Their prose is spare and vivid... Indeed, "Deep Creek" has the feel of a movie script waiting to be developed - if any filmmaker cares to portray a brutal massacre of the "heathen Chinese" and its subsequent injustice. The massacre, investigation and acquittal by an all-white jury are the central nervous system of "Deep Creek," but the narrative effortlessly wraps it in a backdrop of the growing Wild West, with self-serving land deals, nefarious connections between powerful men and the rustlers, the precariousness of frontier justice, the strenuous and quixotic task of gold mining, some insights into the inner workings of the segregated San Francisco Chinatown establishment, and pervasive racism against the Chinese..."Deep Creek" is a splendid read... "Deep Creek" is a gripping, spooky historical novel...based on true events. It's a foregone conclusion that justice, in this time and place, isn't going to work very well, but the authors (Dana Hand is the pen name of Will Howarth and Anne Matthews) have used an astonishingly effective ploy in combining Chinese and American realities. Deep Creek is populated, after the murders, by more than 30 "hungry ghosts," irate souls who haven't been buried properly after their ignominious deaths, and they demand their own justice, which will not be denied. The real mystery, the real attack on rationality, is the intractable fact that a group of otherwise moderately respectable human beings -- far from full-on criminals -- managed to skin innocent victims, castrate them, etc., just because they had the chance and were bored enough to try it. How can humans be so awful? But it turns out that a lot of humans in this book are awful. Their sins are greed and lust, mostly, but there are also the sins of sloth, lethargy and emotional blindness. Joe [Vincent], a nice guy in his own eyes, is guilty, too, and it comes as a considerable shock to him when he finds all that out. But once one life fades away, there's always a chance for another. Joe, Lee Loi and Grace form a de facto family and help some appealing children along the way. They create another, entirely credible world, which is what America used to be all about. "Deep Creek" is highly ambitious and compelling, much more complex than it might appear from paraphrase. The dual authorship of this novel may have something to do with the fact that it's twice as good as it might have been otherwise. Engrossing and insightful. Hæderspriser
"Deep Creek" is a historical thriller inspired by actual events and people: the 1887 massacre of Chinese miners in remote and beautiful Hells Canyon; the middle-aged judge who goes after their slayers; and the sham race-murder trial that follows. No library descriptions found. |
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 Google Books — Indlæser...GenrerMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyLC-klassificeringVurderingGennemsnit: (3.79)
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Soon the judge, along with two others, travel up the river to investigate. Along with the judge is Lee Loi, an ambitious young company investigator and Grace Sundown, who is along as their tracker. Very quickly they come to understand who did the murders, but as they deepen their investigation into why this happened, they uncover a land-grabbing conspiracy that involves some of the most prominent members of Lewiston, including members of the judge’s own family. Even when some of the murderers are brought to trial the locals neither cared enough about the Chinese victims or the horrible way they were killed. The accused were acquitted.
I found Deep Creek to be a gripping historical novel that made for a compelling and challenging read. Although in real life no one was ever charged with this mass murder, the authors have delivered a complex, interesting story that serves to illuminate many of the prejudices and deeply rooted racism that the Chinese faced when they came to America seeking a new way of life. (