“This is a novel that Robert Louis Stevenson would have approved of.” The Herald
“An amply rewarding read.” Kirkus Review
“What James Welch has produced, ultimately, is a novel with an expansiveness of heart and mind, an intimate analogue of Indian estrangement worthy of any readerly voyage.” Chicago Sun Times
“Utterly engrossing.” The List
“An engaging, pointed, heartfelt examination of culture clash and the debilitating effects of otherness.” San Fransisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle
I just finished reading Heartsong. I think Jim Welch has written a masterpiece.” Leslie Marmon Silko, author of Ceremony
“This moving portrait of an Oglala Sioux . . . has a slow, brooding power that builds majestically . . . a brilliant representation of clashing cultures.” Andrea Barrett, author of The Voyage of the Norwahl and Ship Fever
HEARTSONG
JAMES WELCH is the author of four previous novels, including Winter in the Blood (1974) and Fools Crow (1986) which won the Los Angeles Times Book Award and the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award. He attended schools on the Blackfoot and Fort Belknap reservations in Montana, and studied writing at the University of Montana. He lives in Missoula, Montana and is considered to be one of America’s most gifted literary writers from the Native American tradition.
“One of the year’s best works of fiction, a novel that is universal in its emotional and intellectual implications . . . By the last hundred pages I found myself in something like an altered state, reading as fast as I could while at the same time holding on to the hope that the book would never end.” Chicago Tribune
“A stirring tale of a man’s triumph over circumstances, a griping story of solid literary merit and surprising emotional clout.” Publishers Weekly
“Welch has a natural story-telling ability, equally capable of fine focus and overview.” The Independent
“Unbearably moving. Charging Elk is a magnificently imagined and understood character, and his soaring heartsong sounds, in its finest moments, much like an American Les Miserables.” Boston Globe
‘Already acclaimed as a classic in the US, Welch’s book looks set to become one here in the United Kingdom too.” The Big Issue in the North
First published in the UK in 2001 by Canongate Books Ltd,
14 High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1TE.
This digital edition first published in 2013 by Canongate Books.
First published in the US in 2000 as The Heartdong of Charging Elk by Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
This novel is a work of fiction. Any references to real people, events,
establishments, organizations, or locales are intended only to give
the fiction a sense of reality and authenticity. Other names, characters,
and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are
used fictitiously, as are those fictionalized events and incidents that
involve real persons.
Copyright © 2000 James Welch
The moral rights of the author have been asserted.
British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available on request from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 84195 229 1
Book design by Chris Welch
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CONTENTS
