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The Heartsong Of Charging Elk

308 Words2 Pages

The Heartsong of Charging Elk, by James Welch details the life and trials of a Native American Indian who naively left his home on the adventure of a lifetime, only to have his life’s path inexorably altered on French soil. I can’t help but feel as though I were somehow watching a modern version of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels. Welch brings us into Charging Elk’s journey as he wakes up in unfamiliar surroundings to find he is doesn’t know anyone. He finds himself ill and injured in a place he calls the sick house. From there Charging Elk’s life is a Labyrinth of unexpected twists, turns and dead ends with only his Heartsong that one day he will be able to return to his home and people. Welch writes this humanistic narrative

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