The Removed

Viac o knihe

Steeped in Cherokee myths and history, this novel explores a fractured family grappling with the tragic death of their son, Ray-Ray, killed in a police shooting fifteen years ago. The Echota family remains trapped in their grief: Maria struggles with her husband Ernest's Alzheimer's, while their daughter Sonja lives in solitude, marked by intense romantic obsessions. Their son, Edgar, has long escaped home, resorting to drugs to cope with his feelings of alienation. As the annual bonfire approaches—marking both the Cherokee National Holiday and Ray-Ray’s death—Maria seeks to reunite her family, despite their emotional and physical distances. As the event nears, each family member experiences a blurring between the living and the spirit world. Maria and Ernest take in a foster child who seems to alleviate Ernest's mental fog. Sonja becomes dangerously fixated on Vin, a man connected to tragedy in her past. Meanwhile, Edgar, after a suicide attempt, finds himself in the mysterious Darkening Land—a space between life and death where past atrocities resonate. Drawing on Cherokee folklore, the narrative intricately weaves the real and spiritual, delving into trauma, family, grief, and the enduring power of stories on personal and ancestral levels.