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When Two Feathers Fell From The Sky

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So many differing subjects are lumped into the same category, general fiction, that sometimes it is hard to say exactly what and where a story fits. WHEN TWO FEATHERS FELL FROM THE SKY is one of those books. Two Feathers is a horse diver at the Glendale Zoo in Nashville circa 1926. She is one of the many "shows" that are an attraction at the zoo, drawing in crowds along side the animals. As a Cherokee, Two Feathers often feels out of place in the predominatly white crowds who visit the zoo. Many of the shows feature actors of race but the zoo patronage matches the era's racial divide. This serves as a large piece of the back story.

The zoo was built on the site of a native burial ground. When Two Feathers is injured, her fear and restlessness will release many of the spirits into the zoo, where they will cause havoc. A caretaker with PTSD from WWI will become dangerous to himself and others. The entire zoo; actors, caretakers and owners must join together to allow these spirits to return to their rest and set one man onto the road to his recovery. The story is an emotional one, the characters move between diffidence to caring through their efforts to save the zoo. This was a very good read but I'm still not sure what genre would suit it best.

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Doing a clean-up of NetGalley and any long-lingering non-feedback titles! Apologies for never getting to read this; don't even think I downloaded it in time. Thanks though!

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I apprecitate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found this a really interesting read and the characters are quite engaging. it kept me reading until the end. I highly recommend.

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Two Feathers, a Cherokee woman, is the star attraction at the Glendale Park Zoo in Nashville. Her skill? Horse diving. It's an act that the crowds devour and she's good at it. She grew up on the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch in Oklahoma, “the last Wild West show in existence.” Despite her thriving career at Glendale, she struggles to fit in, especially with the white people around her. She's more comfortable with her friend, Hank, who also works at Glendale, and comes from a Black family. The novel has a ton of potential: an amazing historical framework with the Glendale Park Zoo and the Miller Brothers' Ranch, which were both real places. It's also got real potential to look at race and class during this period (the aftermath of WW1). But the historical research and exposition here really weigh things down and the novel becomes dense and hard to move through, like mud. It's a great subject that just needs different handling.

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Two Feathers is one of the last horse divers in the United States. World War I has ended and Wild West shows are not as popular as they once were. Two Feathers is thankful to have a regular job leaping into a pool astride her horse Ocher at the Glendale Park Zoo in Nashville, Tennessee. She's also thankful that her fellow employees are starting to feel more like family than colleagues, like Crawford, a black man who carefully tries not to overstep any perceived boundaries; the groundskeeper Clive, who is fighting his own demons from the war; and her boarding house friends Frannie and Marty, sisters who amaze the crowds with their spinning plate routine.

One day, Two's dive goes terribly wrong. She is injured, and strange things begin happening at the park--animals fall ill, people see ghosts on the grounds, and Two receives letters from a secret admirer who might not have good intentions.

When Two Feathers Fell From The Sky reminds readers that the boundaries between past and present are not as solid as we imagine them to be. Glendale is built on a Native American burial ground, and Two has a ghost from long ago who watches over her. The characters know that they are fortunate to have jobs and relative safety, but they also understand that the white people who come to the park view them as "exotic" or "dangerous," and it would take very little for their carefully constructed worlds to fall down.

Verble tries to cover a lot of ground in this book, as she focuses on the challenges faced by Native Americans, people of color, and war veterans within the same book. There are moments of tragic reality, and others when it seems perfectly possible that the dead and the living might occupy the same space. At times, it felt like Verble threw in extra historical references for the sake of it, but she truly evokes a specific time and place in this book. When Two Feathers Fell From The Sky is an engaging read and a story unlike any I've encountered before.


When Two Feathers Fell From The Sky
By Margaret Verble
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt October 2021
384 pages
Read via Netgalley

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When Two Feathers Fell from the Sky by Margaret Verble, a master storyteller, is the story of Two Feathers, a young Cherokee horse-diver set in the 1926. This well-written, beautiful, thought-provoking novel about friendship, mystery, justice, the past, Native American history will stay with you long after you finish the book! If you love historical fiction, this book is for you!

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The premise of this book so intrigued me and I did enjoy it but not as much as I thought I would.

I loved the historical fiction portion of the book - learned a lot! I really liked the characters and how they developed. Two Feathers is the person we get to know the most and I loved her emotions and thoughts.

There were lots of characters in the book so it was easy to get off track from the story which was a "mystery". I didn't find it to be a compelling mystery so I think my disappointment was in the set up of the story as "mystery". As a historical fiction book - I would really recommend it because there is much to be learned and understood.

Many thanks to Mariner Books and NetGalley for making this available to me.

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With a cleverly written plot and a cast of quirky characters, this book entertained me. Two is a strong character and I enjoyed reading of her adventures.
Many thanks to Mariner Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

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Quirky concept and interesting glimpses of lesser-known history, but too much backstory and not enough character development (2.5 stars).

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DNF @50%

I really wanted to love this one. I mean, how eye-catching is that cover? Unfortunately, I ended up finding it slow, boring, and a slog to get through. 😞 I finally had to call it a day halfway through. Life is too short for reading books that are not holding your interest.

**ARC Via NetGalley**

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This was just the right read for me during the Thanksgiving holiday! Two Feathers is a sturdy, admirable heroine full of all the noble, honorable aspects balanced with justified imperfections that one comes to expect in a complex protagonist. And all those other yummy characters. . . .I loved this book!

The writing was delicious as characters unfurled, the live ones, the dead ones, the inner thoughts of the bears and buffalos, as well as long-dead native grandmas. . .I loved it. Don't forget the spirit of the would-be-warrior who saves the day (he's dead). And we all know the magic of tobacco!

As one who is haunted by and believes in places as a tie to the many life events that occur on / in that very place. . . this story has great resonance for me. Stand in a place and feel it. . . I get that. Great book!

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I love reading historical fiction, particularly novels that touch upon the darker parts of American history. This story promised that and a strong, female character so I jumped at the chance to read it.

The setting is 1920s Tennessee, where Two Feathers, a Cherokee girl, is a horse-diver at the Glendale Park Zoo. Also working at the zoo are Crawford, a Black man who owns a plantation, and Clive, a WW1 vet haunted by his past. After Two suffers a horrible event while diving, a big secret is revealed and supernatural elements come to the fore. Many themes are touched upon in this book--the desecration of Native American land and lives by white people, Two's struggles with her precarious life as a "famous" Indian, the laws of nature/animal vs. manmade structures/cages, racism, etc. This novel spans only a few months, but the themes it incorporates are many.

When separated out by single storyline, this novel engages and entertains. But when viewed as a whole, it seems to plod along at parts and lack a cohesive tie holding it all together. Is it a romance? A mystery? A commentary on 1920s racism against Native Americans and Black Americans? Is it a ghost story? It doesn't seem to know what it ultimately is and suffers for it. I loved the character of Two and really wanted to spend more time with her, instead of other characters that are given a lot of "page" time, but who ultimately don't move the story forward much. Crawford was intriguing as well, but again, his specific experiences with racism weren't explored as much as I would have liked.

The issues this novel brought up regarding the differences between Native American culture and the culture of the white people who took their land and caged their animals were its most interesting part. I loved how Verble addressed each theme separately. I also enjoyed the character of Two. While relatively quiet and subdued, her strength and passion were still evident. Crawford and Clive intrigued as well. All in all, this novel explores important historical issues in a distinct setting with unique characters. I just would have preferred a bit more cohesiveness and closure.

Much thanks to @NetGalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Once upon a time there was the magical Glendale Park Zoo in Nashville, Tennessee. The spirit of fantasy filled the air. It was the good old days, back in 1926, and families could flock to see exotic animals, enjoy rides, and witness amazing novelty acts. By far the most breathtaking was the Cherokee woman Two Feathers and her horse Ocher, who together made death-defying plunges down 40 feet into a small pool of water. People got their money's worth.

One day the horse sensed danger, but the jump was made and things went terribly wrong. A sinkhole opened up to an underground cavern and the crash killed Ocher and badly hurt Two Feathers. As she recuperated on the park property unsettling messages began arriving from a disturbing admirer who may have been creeping in her room. She also sensed the presence of Little Elk, a protective ghost spiritually chained to the park. At this time a few animals started dying mysteriously and Two Feathers questions just what is the cause.

Two Feathers has lived her whole life being treated and considered a step below a white person. Her friend Crawford has to be wary of being seen with her too often because he is black. "Negros" were allowed to work in the park. "They could even, if well-behaved and accompanied by a white, ride the rides." The book is saturated in racism. With all the whimsy and magic in the air there were the lynchings and beatings, too. The park itself is built on an old native burial ground and it is crushing, if not surprising, to read about the desecration done to the remains. What reason was there for human dignity to stand in the way of the white man's creature comforts? So there was an ugly underside to paradise.

I love the characters Margaret Verble has portrayed. Glendale Park Zoo was real, as were many of the people in the story. We get such detailed histories-- but it is a little confusing to see how they all tie together at the novel's conclusion. We read about Crawford's courtship of his fiancée, we see the park's owner and his family squabbles... nice and believable, but it is not clear how this information was necessary to the plot. I could have spent more time directly with Two Feathers, a strong and fiercely independent personality.

Thank you to NPR's "Book of the Day" podcast for bringing "When Two Feathers Fell From the Sky" to my attention. The interview with Pulitzer Prize-nominated author Margaret Verble jumped-started my interest and led me to this flawed magic wonderland. Thank you to Mariner Books and NetGalley for the Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review. #WhenTwoFeathersFellFromTheSky #NetGalley

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I was sold when I heard this book was going to be about a Cherokee diving horse rider set in 1920s Nashville. Sadly however, I found this story very disjointed and rambly and I had a really difficult time staying focused. There is a wide cast of characters and multiple storylines, jumping back in forth in time. I found the various POVs just didn't mesh well cohesively and I really just wanted to focus on Two Feather and her journey when her diving career comes to a tragic end. The author does do a good job establishing a sense of time and place and the way all people of color were really second class citizens in 1920s America. I also did really enjoy the Zoo setting and all the animals (I got lots of Water for elephants vibes in the best possible way). Where I got kind of lost is with the stalker and ghost storylines. Overall a solid book but I was hoping for a tighter plot. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance review copy!!

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This was an interesting story. At first I thought I wasn't going to continue reading; it just didn't hold my attention but I persisted and am glad I did. The last third of the book was the best part. The character of Two is really defined as are some of the other characters, like Clive and Crawford. This book is an easy read once you get into it.

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Set in the 1920s in Nashville, this novel follows Two Feathers: a young Cherokee woman who is a horse diver. She performs for crowds at Glendale Zoo. She is best friends with Hank Crawford who is a black man. They both struggle to fit in to Nashville’s racist society. When one of Two’s jumps go wrong, she must depend on people she never thought she would have to.

The historical world building was great in this book! I could picture Glendale Zoo almost exactly as though I was walking through it. Two was very loveable and resilient, which are the makings of a great protagonist. I found the minor characters to be a bit weaker. There just wasn’t enough there to really connect with them. There was also a lot going on in the subplot. I feel like I would have liked it more if there was only one main plot and one subplot as it just felt scrambled at times. Thanks to @houghton.mifflin, @librofm, @marinerbooks and @netgalley for my review copies.

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An enjoyable and original read with a great cast of diverse characters. Reviewed for the Historical Novel Society. Link below

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In the summer of 1926, ayoung Cherokee woman who goes by the name Two Feathers is working as a horse diver in Glendale Park Zoo, Nashville. She, along with her mare, Ochre, jumps from a diving platform forty feet into a pool. While dangerous, Tow Feathers enjoys the freedom and the money she earns, sending much of it back to her family in Oklahoma, and then a freak accident in a dive gone wrong kills her hers and breaks her leg. She’s always been aware of the segregation in Nashville. Her good friend, Crawford is black and is limited in where he can go as is she, a Cherokee Indian. She has some other friends, but the racism keeps her from many things. She’s being protected by the ghost of a Indian who lived in Tennessee long before whites settled the area. What really shines in this is the narrative skill of the author, Margaret Verble. She’s able to keep the story from wandering too much and has filled the pages with memorable characters. I’m looking forward to a sequel telling us where two Feathers’ life goes from here.

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Margaret Verble, the author of Maud's Line (2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction finalist) and Cherokee America, returns to once again tangle with the intricate knot of racial and class divides present in 1920s Tennessee. Her new novel, When Two Feathers Fell from the Sky, is a wild ride with horse diving, a mysterious hippopotamus illness, and roaming spirits all set in an amusement park atop a desecrated Native American burial ground.

The story leaps off from the beginning with Two Feathers, the titular character, returning to horse diving after months of recovering from an injury. Originally from the 101 ranch of Wild West show fame, Two has grown up under spotlight and scrutiny due to her curated talents and her Cherokee ancestry. As such, she is used to admirers. Unfortunately, the love notes sent by the anonymous Strong-Red-Wolf are the start of a new set of terrible events for Glendale Park and its residents.

Two is uninterested in engaging in a romance with Strong-Red-Wolf and ignores the letters. Jack Older --AKA Strong-Red-Wolf-- continues to stalk and spy on the unaware Two.

Woven into this tumultuous one-sided affair are stories of the other residents in the park. Included are the eclectic head zookeeper, Clive Lovett, as he struggles to deal with the mental toll war left on his psyche; Henry Crawford, a man from a wealthy black family, who is enamored with Bonita, a woman from another wealthy black family but with different values; Little Elk, the spirit of an ancient Cherokee warrior that has taken an interest in Two. Even with these varying storylines, each has a key role to play when tragedy strikes Two and her equine companion, Ocher.

When Two Feathers Fell from the Sky truly shines with the dramas that are created around these characters. While the story has supernatural elements, the crux of everything is the relationships between the living characters. They are constantly having to navigate the social expectations of the time while solving mysteries and operating in the park. Crawford and Two, close friends, do not even feel safe conversing unless there is a horse between them or there is work to be done. Two is aware of how easily her views could enrage a white person and, for the most part, holds her tongue. By the time Two rejects the white Strong-Red-Wolf or Jack, readers are already aware of the repercussion that could happen as a result. The suspense of wondering what he will do mixed with wondering what society will allow him to get away with makes even the mundane scenes tense with expectation.

While so much enjoyment of this novel is derived from the characters, there seems to be an endless list of useless characters that are introduced. This can be helpful in establishing how everything is interconnected in such a class- and race-aware society. Ultimately, though, there are some characters that you have to wonder whether their inclusion was necessary. For example, Glendale Park’s owner James Shackleford constantly despairs his son Lewis’ actions, which include Lewis’ buying a Kentucky racehorse for seemingly no reason. There is a continual build-up that Lewis might be a key player in the finale of the novel, but he never reaches past background character status.

Overall, When Two Feathers Fell from the Sky is an enjoyable read for those that like slice-of-life moments, a pinch of the supernatural, and realism-based explorations of a historical time period.

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this was such a interesting premise in this book, I enjoyed going on this story and I loved the characters were interesting and engaging.

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