Black Sun Rising / La Corazonada

Starred review from October 1, 2020
Gifford wrote this short novel early in his career, envisioning it as a movie in the great tradition of Ford, Hawks, and Peckinpah, but westerns weren't being made then, and the story languished; it is now published for the first time in a bilingual edition. It's a compelling tale on multiple levels, as an action-filled western and an unconventional love story, but especially as a vivid recounting of the fascinating history of the Seminole Indians, the legendary warrior tribe who, forced to evacuate their Florida homeland, united with fugitive slaves from the South called Mascogos to form the first integrated Native American tribe in North America. The action picks up in 1851 as the Seminoles are camped in Mexico, near the Texas-Mexico border, negotiating with the Mexican government to be granted land in the state of Coahuila as their own. But before that can happen, the Seminoles must deal with a band of slave hunters led by former Texas Ranger Cass Dupuy, whose daughter, Teresa, has run off with Sonny Osceola, son of the revered Seminole chief Osceola. Gifford brings his signature noir flair to the story, but also draws effectively on classic western themes, evoking Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch, in particular, while giving life to the moving exodus story of the Seminoles and Mascogos in search of a home. It's not too late for that movie.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)