Satanta's Woman

by Cynthia Haseloff

Book Overview

Captured by the Kiowa war chief Satanta, Adrianne Chastain must learn to adapt to a new culture and locate her missing grandchild while fighting her growing feelings for the tribe that adopted her.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786213353
• ISBN13: 9780786213351
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Five Star (ME)
• Length: 284 Pages
• Weight: 0.84 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.8" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Marvelous, wonderful, fabulous book

Ms. Haseloff writes with a spare, fluid, economy of words which is vividly descriptive and without a word out of place. This is a bittersweet and heartbreaking book but one which is WELL worth the time of any fan of Western novels. Or a fan of any novels. How can a woman watch her home be destroyed, her possessions stolen, her children killed or abducted and yet find peace and acceptance from the very people who did it? Read this book and you will know. It's only fault is that it is far too short. Be warned that there is a high degree of violence in keeping with the times and circumstances. This is the first book of Ms. Haseloff's that I ever read and it lead me to read all of her books that I can find.

GREAT DIALOG MAKES STORY MORE ENJOYABLE

The two main characters in this book--Kiowa Chief Satanta and a 35-year-old grandmother (Adrianne Chastain)--are based on real people. We come to know them through great dialog and well-researched, well-written descriptive passages that can stand alone but are important to developing the story and its characters. I found reading this book a real treat. For the west Texas business woman (Adrianne Chastain), October 13, 1864 did not seem an auspicious day for beginning a great romance. The woman had been married and widowed three times, but had never known love. On that October day the chief and his warriors slaughtered whites mercilessly. He claimed this white woman as his own, took her to his people's camp, and to hunting grounds beyond. An appreciation for the gentle side of Satanta of the home fire led to respect and love. In this historical novel the reader comes to respect and admire several people from drastically diverse cultures. We, and Adrianne, come to know Satanta and his first wife, Woven Blanket, through their deeds and conversations. "Perhaps it is becoming necessary to make peace," Satanta observes. "But . . . the peaceful Indians are soon starving, while the fighting ones are given talks and gifts and food. If the white men are afraid of us, we can have a satisfactory peace." Woven Blanket describes her people's predicament to Adrianne: "In the past we often have had trouble with (Indian) enemies. . . . Now it is the white man, but he does not just come and take horses or fight warriors. The white man kills us all, even the babies. He does not go away and let us rest from killing. He chases us about, looking for more killing. Why is this?" Unlike a mystery story, this western novel invites multiple readings, first to learn how the story turns out, and second to savor the revealing dialog and gripping adventures. If you read only one western this year, let it be by Cynthia Haseloff. Satanta's Woman is recommended as a great start. See if you can resist another. I couldn't and did not.