The Indian Lover: A Novel

By Garth Murphy

Book Overview

With a sweeping sense of history and landscape that contributed to making Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove a classic, and the precise sense of character and passion that made Cold Mountain so successful, Garth Murphy has written a brilliant saga about California in its last days as part of Mexico, and about the lives of those caught up in this moment of historical high drama. Peopled with a sumptuous cast of characters, both real and fictional -- Indians fighting for their survival against the Mexicans and the coming Americans; Hispanics desperate to hold on to the vast tracts of land they have usurped from the missionaries and the Indians; vibrant women determined to assert themselves in a man's world; adventurers, soldiers, scoundrels and heroes -- The Indian Lover tells a major story in the history of our nation, a clash of three cultures that has never been fully explored in fiction, and does it with drama, dazzling storytelling, and a scrupulous sense of reality. The Indian Lover opens in 1844 with the arrival of William Marshall, a penniless young American seaman, sailing down the coast of California aboard the whaler Hopewell. Enchanted by all he sees, Bill jumps ship in San Diego and falls in love with the mayor's elegant daughter, Lugarda. Thwarted in his bid to marry Lugarda and rejected by the Mexicans, Bill and his cultured Indian companion, Pablo, journey north to seek shelter in the crumbling grandeur of Mission San Luis Rey, Pablo's childhood home. But there is no going back, for either of them, and Pablo leads Bill farther and farther into the wilderness, to the native town of Cupa, where they take up life with the local tribe. Pablo and Billsettle into Indian society: Pablo dancing with the warriors, plotting against the wrongs done to him and his people by the Mexicans; Bill, innocent and naive, pining for Lugarda, learning the native ways, helping them to cope with the arriving Americans, and sliding into love with Falling Star, the beautiful daughter of the chief. Their love blooms, and Bill becomes dangerously involved in his adopted tribe's struggles, never imagining the eventual cost of his stubborn but divided loyalties and of the enemies he is making. Garth Murphy has crafted a novel of immense breadth, at once a great love story and an extraordinary unsung chapter of American history. The Indian Lover shouts out with truth: the growl of a grizzly, the sing of an arrow, the lover's cry, the toll of a mission bell, the crack of the lash on bent back, the rattlesnake's rattle, the sizzle of white-hot steel on living flesh, the roar of the mob, the silent struggle, the splash of falling tears on bare breast. Overflowing with affection, delight, wit, and insight, The Indian Lover captures the heart and imagination with timeless prose and holds them captive to the thrilling end.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743219430
• ISBN13: 9780743219433
• Release Date: November 2002
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 1.61 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 1.3" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

a wonderful novel - first rate!

I was quite pleasantly surprised at the depth and breathe of the writer. Is this a man who can also know and write about women and animals so well? Even though I am a strict vegan I appreciated the hunting descriptions as well. Great sensitivity towards the Native American quandry combined with engrossing story. The area will never again seem the same. Thank you for your gift Mr. Murphy.

A must read for San Diegans...

The other reviews sum it up... it's a great book, especially if you live in the area. It's really fun to read about places you've actually been to. Also, it's quite an eye opener to see how badly the natives of California were treated by wave after wave of immigrants.

Wax Nostalgic

Every day, due to comercial and housing developments, there are fewer untouched areas of San Diego that can transport you to the time of the Gold Rush. THIS BOOK IS A TREASURE WORTH MORE THAN ITS WEIGHT IN GOLD. I remember as a child roaming the wild wheat feilds and rolling hills of pure unadulterated Southern California. Every time I read The Indian Lover I relive the adventure of long horseback rides through the countryside and discovering the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of plants, streams, ponds, lakes, canyons and animals. The romance is steaming hot with fantasically descriptive scenes but still leaves something for the imagination. The history of the Native American tribes in the San Diego area is not widely known and it is quite a blessing to finally be awakened to some of the beauty as well as harsh reality. This is a must read!!!

The Indian Lover (Where have all the good guys gone?)

Garth Murphy took fifteen years to write this book, which explains why a reader without prior knowledge of the Californio days will close it feeling satisfied--having learned his history wrapped within an exciting story of love and betrayal. A young Easterner, Bill Marshall, is lured to California in the mid-1800s and his adventure becomes our history lesson. The women in his life--the mayor's daughter, Lugarda, and the native chief's daughter, Falling Star-take their place as unwitting heroines.It's fascinating to read about the nature of the hardy and unworldly individuals of the times, since all but the best of us know instinctively that we couldn't survive one month in similar situations. The details of their living flow, revealing the enormous amount of research, though the facile way it is written belies the effort. The descriptions of the natural settings are enchanting; those of us most content in nature will love reading every single detail of the land and sea, smelling and feeling the living in the canyons under the oaks and the sleeping on the beaches. Murphy writes about Bill Marshall's sexual relationships with an uncanny knowledge of the way a woman's mind works. With native women, he finds sex is wonderfully natural, earthy, uncomplicated. When Falling Star finally surprises Bill with what every woman can relate to, that he was initially an insensitive lover, we have to chuckle. One minute Murphy has on the eyes of the cynical male, the next minute he makes us laugh with his female perspective on callow sex. Not since Larry McMurtry's "Lonesome Dove" have I had the pleasure of thinking a male has figured us out.At the end, Falling Star's dispassionate outlook is strangely soothing; it lends itself to a sequel. This story spins and spins. It's good and strong like beef stew and biscuits.

must read

Garth Murphy takes you on a time travel back to the beginings of california. The atmosphere is wonderfully engaging and his blend of history and romance is compelling. I could not put the book down once I had started. A must read for anyone ready to be transported back into an adventurous and unpredictable world!