Talking Leaves

May 16, 2016
The Cherokee villagers of Willstown avoid Uwohali’s father, Sequoyah—despite his artistry and storytelling skills—believing that his fascination with strange symbols indicates witchcraft. Although Sequoyah has been largely absent from his son’s life, traveling and starting a new family with a second wife, Uwohali braves the villagers’ ill will to visit his recently returned father and is rewarded with a devoted half sister and his father’s new invention, a Cherokee syllabary. Frustrated by false promises and loss of land due to treaties broken by the government, Sequoyah seeks power and community through the syllabary, which allowed the Cherokee to create their own texts, or talking leaves. Based on historical events, Bruchac’s (Killer of Enemies) lyrical novel is filled with myths and fables that serve as guides for Uwohali as he comes to understand the importance of his father’s creation. Wrenching descriptions of the 1814 Battle of Horseshoe Bend help transform an ostensibly simple story into a profound cautionary tale of what can happen without a language of one’s own. An afterword and reproduction of the syllabary are included. Ages 10–up. Agent: Barbara Kouts, Barbara Kouts Agency.

As Joseph Bruchac announces the cast of characters, his authentic pronunciations evoke the mood of an elder storyteller and the rhythms of Native American oral traditions. Bruchac weaves Cherokee legends and historical facts from the nineteenth century into a tale based on the life of Sequoyah, who brought the alphabet to the Cherokee. This makes for a dense story, but Bruchac has created an engaging main character, a son who seeks connection with his father. Thirteen-year-old Uwohali has a divided heart upon the return of his estranged father, Sequoyah. Is it disloyal to want to know his father when his mother has divorced the man? Is his father practicing black magic, or crazy like the villagers say? Bruchac reveals the father-son relationship realistically and sensitively. S.W. � AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine