"Believe you have wings, and you fly. Believe you are an animal, and you roar. Believe you are dead in the mud, and you sleep with the worms in the mud. No matter what you decide, provide counsel to your people as they are removed." -the wolf to Tsala, from the novel
I am glad I read The Removed but I can't say I truly enjoyed it. It involved some Cherokee history I knew a bit about, e.g. the Trail of Tears, but it was loaded with magic realism (see quote above). The characters were interesting and each shared their perspectives in first person but there was not a great deal of happiness in their lives. So the book was thought-provoking but not very uplifting. I am rating it a 3.
In Quah, Oklahoma, four members of the Echota family are still struggling to cope with the tragic loss of their son and brother, Ray-Ray 15 years before. Maria, the mother, still grieves and must cope with husband Ernest's Alzheimer's disease. Grown daughter Sonja seems to look for love in all the wrong places and youngest son Edgar tries to fill the void in his soul with drugs.
Their lives change for the better when Maria and Ernest take in a foster kid, Wyatt. It is almost like Wyatt is channeling Ray-Ray and bringing some temporary joy to the home.
The family's stories are interspersed with Cherokee history and mythology. I have to admit I am still confused as to how Tsala fits in!
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