One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd
by Jim Fergus
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Book Summary Information
Author: Jim FergusEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1999-02-15
ISBN: 0312199430
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780312199432
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd
Book Review: A Mixed Medicine Bag (Beware of Spoiler)
Summary: 3 Stars
I came close to tossing this book fairly early on. By page 64, May Dodd,
the main character, had begun to annoy me. She is just the perfect human
being: intelligent, practical, fearless, a born leader, irresistible to
men, ingenious, passionate, blah, blah, blah. In contrast, her companions
are for the most part a flawed, inferior group: a racist, drunken
southern belle, a nervous, sheltered old maid, the thieving, amoral,
joined-at-the hip Irish twins, a pinch faced, mean-spirited religious
fanatic, and the pathetically ugly amazon with the heart of gold. The
only two that can even vaguely approach our heroine in nobility are the
regal, courageous Black woman and the mannish, freespirited English
artist. Why it's no wonder that the handsome, sensitive Captain and the
brave Cheyenne leader both sucumb to her charms, and lo and behold they both
become her love interests! Her inferior companions of course merit inferior or
inconsequential partners. So much for character development.
There are a variety of personalities that could have provided much in the way of
emotional interaction and growth, but this is not examined. Characters go through intense
experiences, but there is little hint given
as to their mental state, perhaps because the story is written in the form
of one woman's journal. There is, however, no self reflection on May's
part either. She mostly reports what she sees and what is around her.
Another main peeve is the far-fetched attitude of the Cheyenne braves to
their outspoken, free-thinking, culture-bending "wives". I find it hard
to believe that a rambunctious pair of white women could push
their way irreverently into a native sweat lodge and proceed to intimidate the men
and make themselves at home without any consequences. Would they also be the ones to
suddenly take over the bargaining and
bartering negotiations on a trading expedition as the Cheyenne men
passively sit and watch? Would the irrepresible Irish twins become the
sudden masters of a gambling empire? Would our hulking Swiss amazon
be permitted to humiliate her Indian husband to the extent of actually
kicking him across the Cheyenne settlement in public? Maybe in the 21st
century, but I think not even then.
Okay, you might ask, so why'd I give it three stars? Although it did
annoy the hell out of me at times, the story itself (when I could get
past the contrived love affair between May and Capt. Bourke) did engage
me. I found that I generally enjoyed the writing style. Granted the
repetition of "Perhaps I am truly insane" etc. did wear a little thin,
along with the conveniently produced towels, May never running out of pencils
and notebooks (how many can you always carry on your back??),
and the character of Daisy having actually brought with her a 19th
century wedding gown although the women are told at the beginning of their journey (a three hour tour????)
that they cannot bring very much with them. These little nagging details I was willing to overlook, though.
I also enjoyed
the recounting of the travel and the details of native life. The
story moved along at a satisfactory pace and was readable and entertaining.
It didn't require much effort to just let the story carry
me along. There were enough characters to provide a variety of mini, if
scany storylines. Again, there was potential for further development here that unfortunately wasn't explored.
I'll admit that part of the reason that I continued to read was out of
sheer curiosity. Would the author predictably reunite May and the Captain, the long-suffering,
star-crossed lovers?
Would May remain with her Indian husband, Little Wolf? When May becomes pregnant, it didn't
take much imagination to figure out that the baby would belong to Bourke
(Oh,spare me...) Bourke one, Little Wolf zero. By now I felt sure that
May and the Captain would live happily ever after, but I doggedly read on.
One of the stars I therefore award because the author had the
courage not to tie all the stories into a neat package at the end. Life
is not a neat package, and that may have been the most realistic part of
the book.
In conclusion, One Thousand White Women was predictable at times, and tends to put a 21st century spin
on 19th century people, but on the whole it was an entertaining, and readable yarn, and even though I thought
I'd toss it a couple of times, it did keep me reading. Take it to the beach, turn off your critical brain, and enjoy.
Summary of One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd
One Thousand White Women is the story of May Dodd and a colorful assembly of pioneer women who, under the auspices of the U.S. government, travel to the western prairies in 1875 to intermarry among the Cheyenne Indians. The covert and controversial "Brides for Indians" program, launched by the administration of Ulysses S. Grant, is intended to help assimilate the Indians into the white man's world. Toward that end May and her friends embark upon the adventure of their lifetime. Jim Fergus has so vividly depicted the American West that it is as if these diaries are a capsule in time.
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