Finished reading: Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford 📚
An excellent alternative historical novel. All the wonder of a history where indigenous Americans more successfully resisted conquest and destruction, and remain a vital political and social force. A detective story, a personal redemption and loss story, a re-discovery of lost roots, and the discovery of personal emancipation.
This quote captured much of the feel and writing of the story for me:
“Someday, when the night of wonders was far away in memory, he would probably long to be able to go back to it. But he couldn’t miss it now, when he was carrying the happiness of it in his whole body. When it ran through, it filled him, vein by vein, nerve by nerve, muscle by muscle, from the soles of his feet to the graze on his scalp. Now, what he felt was free. She had freed him by giving him this gift. It could not be repeated, but it could not be relinquished either. He was one self, in one skin, but he could do anything, it felt like, go anywhere. From this morning forward many possible lives branched out, and all of them his own.”
Thanks to @jeremycherfas (https://www.jeremycherfas.net/) for the recommendation!