I can’t say if this is a good or a bad book. It is the first time I read a historical novel like that.
I only know that The Thicket is a tale with escapes, violence, murders, chasings, and a profound search for salvation and redemption.
It is a story where nobody is who or what would have wanted to be.
It is a desperate adventure set in the remote land of Western America, namely in the old wild west we often watch at the TV or Cinema.
We are in the 1800s. A sudden smallpox outbreak decimates an entire village. A brother and a sister, Jack and Lula, run away from their country to avoid the epidemic.
They are accompanied by their grandpa, because their parents got infected and killed by the virus.
During the crossing of the river that will lead them out of the hell of the contagion, Jack, Lula and the grandfather are attacked by a gang of outlaws accustomed to raid ethnic minority groups scattered in the West areas of the United States.
The attack leads to the murder of grandpa and the kidnapping of Lula, who risks to end up involved in a murky ring of prostitution.
This is the main concern of Jack, at least, because from this stage, this bold American guy will be committed to snatch Lula from the hands of her kidnappers.
The initially solitary journey of Jack becomes soon after a quest for freedom accompanied by a group of unlucky people like him, such as Shorty, a dwarf, and Jimmy Sue, a prostitute.
All together go to the search of the outlaws who outraged and ruined their lives. There is a strong desire for revenge in their hearts, the ultimate mission is to find and kill Fatty and the Cut Throat, two of the outlaws who left a long trail of blood and death along their path.
The Thicket is just the place where white, black and native Americans combat their fight to overpower each other.
But the ultimate end of Jack is to discover and save Lula before it is too late!
Those who love this literary genre will find a lot of intriguing stuff in this novel, and many historical hints to understand what happened to the native Americans during the twisted age of the dominion of the white over them.
Entire families, including women and children, were killed in that turbulent period of American history. These are the details that saddened me the most during the reading.
However, in the entire course of the novel, you can also find valuable and moving insights.
Every personage desires a better future.
The dwarf rejected by his parents for his diversity dreams to get married with the perfect woman, the killer dreams to be an honest peasant, the prostitute aims to be a chaste wife.
But, while one dreams, life goes away and forces us to become who or what we would never have wanted to be.
That is the great moral lesson of this work, awarded in 2014 as the best American historical novel.
Rosalba Mancuso is the journalist, born in Sicily, who founded three online magazines in English. On Advicebooks Book Reviews, Rosalba shows her great passion for books, helping readers and book lovers choose and buy the best books she read and reviewed. She also worked as a contributor to print and online magazines and as a bilingual Italian-English writer. Here, Rosalba also offers room to authors and publishers who want to get their books reviewed through the voice of an avid reader like her. You must also know that this book review magazine lives thanks to your help. Rosalba, in fact, earns a small commission, with no cost for you, when you buy books through the affiliate links you find in her book reviews. This book review magazine is also funded by services of editorial reviews and book press releases.
