Charles Frazier’s Thirteen Moons is the story of one man’s
remarkable life, spanning a century of relentless change. At the
age of twelve, an orphan named Will Cooper is given a horse, a
key, and a and is sent on a journey through the wilderness to
the edge of the Cherokee Nation, the uncharted white space on the
. Will is a bound boy, obliged to run a remote Indian trading
post. As he fulfills his lonesome duty, Will finds a her in
Bear, a Cherokee chief, and is adopted by him and his people,
developing relationships that ultimately forge Will’s character.
All the while, his love of Claire, the enigmatic and captivating
charge of volatile and powerful Featherstone, will forever rule
Will’s heart.
In a distinct voice filled with both humor and yearning, Will
tells of a lifelong search for home, the hunger for fortune and
adventure, the rebuilding of a trampled culture, and above all an
enduring pursuit of passion. As he comes to realize, “When all
else is lost and gone forever, there is yearning. One of the few
welcome lessons age teaches is that only desire trumps time."
Will Cooper, in the hands of Charles Frazier, becomes a classic
American soul: a man devoted to a place and its people, a woman,
and a way of life, all of which are forever just beyond his
reach. Thirteen Moons takes us from the uncharted wilderness of
an unspoiled continent, across the South, up and down the
Mississippi, and to the urban clamor of a raw Washington City.
Throughout, Will is swept along as the wild beauty of the
nineteenth century gives way to the telephones, automobiles, and
encroaching railways of the twentieth. Steeped in history, rich
in in, and filled with moments of sudden beauty, Thirteen
Moons is an unforgettable work of fiction by an American master.
PRAISE FOR THIRTEEN MOONS
“Genius.”
–Time
“Gorgeous…Thirteen Moons calls Cold ain to mind in its
wonder at the natural world; its pacificist undercurrents; its
dismay at the dismantling of what matters, and its convication
that one love, no matter how tortured and inexplicable, can be
life-defining…fascinating…vivid and alive.”
–Newsweek
“Thirteen Moons is rare in many ways and occupies a literary
plane of such height that reviewing it is not really
salient….Thirteen Moons has the power to inspire great
performances from succeeding generations of writers….For those
who simply value the literary experience, Thirteen Moons will
provide the immense satisfaction of taking a literary journey of
magnitude. Whether on a plane, in an office or curled in a window
seat, readers who absorb Will's story will find their own lives
enriched….Thirteen Moons belongs to the ages.”
–Los Angeles Times
“Thirteen Moons brings this vanished world thrillingly to life…
One of the great Native American, and American stories, and a
great gift to all of us, from one of our very best writers.”
« –Kirkus Reviews, starred review «
“There are things so masterful words can’t do them justice.
Frazier’s writing falls in that category…With Thirteen Moons,
he’s doing important work fillnig in the gaps, helping restore
the roots, of our knowledge of our own history.”
–Asheville Citizen-Times
“Fascinating…Reading Thirteen Moons is an intoxicating
experience…This is 21st-century literary fiction at its very
best.”
–BookPage
“Thirteen Moons is rare in many ways and occupies a literary
plane of such height that reviewing it is not really
salient….Thirteen Moons has the power to inspire great
performances from succeeding generations of writers….For those
who simply value the literary experience, Thirteen Moons will
provide the immense satisfaction of taking a literary journey of
magnitude. Whether on a plane, in an office or curled in a window
seat, readers who absorb Will's story will find their own lives
enriched….Thirteen Moons belongs to the ages.”
–Los Angeles Times
“Once again, we are in the hands of an assured writer who knows
how to bring history to life…Gorgeous.”
–New Orleans Times Picayune
“Magical…the history lesson in Thirteen Moons is fascinating and
moving…You will find much to admire and savor in Thirteen Moons.”
–USA Today
“Incredibly powerful.”
–Melissa Block on NPR All Things Considered
“Verdict: A powerhouse second act….a brilliant success…Frazier's
second act should convince everyone that he's here to stay. It is
a powerful, dramatic, often surprising and memorable novel.”
–Atlanta Journal Constitution
“Thirteen Moons is a boisterous, confident novel that draws from
the epic tradition... Frazier is a natural storyteller, and
throughout his picaresque tale are grand themes and eulogies”
–Boston Globe
“Warm hearted…Frazier is a remarkably meticulous and tasteful
writer… Thirteen Moons is a worthy successor to the first novel
and a highly readable book.”
–Seattle Times
“Fiction of the highest order…Another indelible character.
Charles Frazier has a knack for them.”
–Charlotte Observer
“Splendidly written.”
–New York Daily News
“What a story!... Frazier's creation, Will Cooper, is utterly
charismatic….Frazier's genius lies in his ability to convey
emotions that feel pure and genuine…It was worth the wait.”
–Dayton Daily News
“To Charles Frazier, words are playthings. Like very few other
contemporary American novelists, he puts them together in such a
way that they can transform an otherwise mundane moment, scene or
conversation into one that is transcendent….No sopre jinx
here. Reading a Frazier novel is like listening to a fine
symphony. He's a maestro whose pen is his baton, beckoning the
best that each sentence has to offer. And just as you wouldn't
rush a conductor, you should take the time to savor Frazier’s
work, to take in each thought, to relish the turn of phrase or
the imagery of a craftsman.”
–Denver Post
“Two for two…Here is a book brimming with vivid, adventurous
incident…Charles Frazier set himself a daunting challenge with
this book. He set out to write a historical novel that was
retrospective and meditative, yet still vibrant and immediate
with life. Thirteen Moons succeeds in classy fashion.”
–Raleigh News & Observer
“If current fiction is anything to go by, it’s hard for a
novelist to make Santayana's puzzle pieces - lyricism, comedy,
tragedy - fit together, as they do in real life and real history.
Frazier has done it…Thirteen Moons makes you feel that change
that happened so long before our own time, and makes you mourn
it.”
–Newsday
“[Thirteen Moons] is superbly entertaining, and it packs enough
emotional heft to measure up to most readers’ high expectations.”
–Richmond Times-Dispatch
“Thirteen Moons is a fitting successor to Cold ain…fans of
Frazier's debut will be cheered to discover that the new book is
another compulsively readable work of historical fiction.”
–St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“If there is any doubt that Frazier is an incredibly gifted
storyteller - and not just a lucky name or a one-hit wonder - it
will be put to rest with the publication of Thirteen Moons.
Within 10 pages, this long-awaited new novel bears the reader
swiftly out of the waking world into its own imagined universe
like nothing else published this year.”
–Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Achingly beautiful descriptions of nature…It’s rich, it’s
beautiful.”
–Columbia State
“Forget the sopre jinx. Frazier demonstrates that Cold
ain was no one-hit wonder with this fully realized
historical novel again set in the South….Again, Frazier shows
himself a master of landscape and language, both often fresh and
surprising in his telling.
–Seattle Post-Intelligencer
“Thirteen Moons contains achingly beautiful passages of
snowfalls, fog-wrapped rivers and moonlit forests. There are
ribald and hilarious events, too, including a description of the
Cherokee Booger Dance that is a masterpiece of satire. The love
affair between Cooper and Claire threads its way through this
pseudo-historic epic like a brilliant, let ribbon. There is
also a melancholy refrain that celebrates a wondrous time and
place that is gone and will never return.”
–Smoky ain News
“Once again, we are in the hands of an assured writer who knows
how to bring history to life…Gorgeous.”
–New Orleans Times Picayune
“Magical…the history lesson in Thirteen Moons is fascinating and
moving…You will find much to admire and savor in Thirteen Moons.”
–USA Today
“Verdict: A powerhouse second act….a brilliant success…Frazier's
second act should convince everyone that he's here to stay. It is
a powerful, dramatic, often surprising and memorable novel.”
–Atlanta Journal Constitution
“Thirteen Moons is a boisterous, confident novel that draws from
the epic tradition... Frazier is a natural storyteller, and
throughout his picaresque tale are grand themes and eulogies”
–Boston Globe
“Fiction of the highest order…Another indelible character.
Charles Frazier has a knack for them.”
–Charlotte Observer
“What a story!... Frazier's creation, Will Cooper, is utterly
charismatic….Frazier's genius lies in his ability to convey
emotions that feel pure and genuine…It was worth the wait.”
–Dayton Daily News
“To Charles Frazier, words are playthings. Like very few other
contemporary American novelists, he puts them together in such a
way that they can transform an otherwise mundane moment, scene or
conversation into one that is transcendent….No sopre jinx
here. Reading a Frazier novel is like listening to a fine
symphony. He's a maestro whose pen is his baton, beckoning the
best that each sentence has to offer. And just as you wouldn't
rush a conductor, you should take the time to savor Frazier’s
work, to take in each thought, to relish the turn of phrase or
the imagery of a craftsman.”
–Denver Post
“Two for two…Here is a book brimming with vivid, adventurous
incident…Charles Frazier set himself a daunting challenge with
this book. He set out to write a historical novel that was
retrospective and meditative, yet still vibrant and immediate
with life. Thirteen Moons succeeds in classy fashion.”
–Raleigh News & Observer
“[Thirteen Moons] is superbly entertaining, and it packs enough
emotional heft to measure up to most readers’ high expectations.”
–Richmond Times-Dispatch
“Thirteen Moons is a fitting successor to Cold ain…fans of
Frazier's debut will be cheered to discover that the new book is
another compulsively readable work of historical fiction.”
–St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“If there is any doubt that Frazier is an incredibly gifted
storyteller - and not just a lucky name or a one-hit wonder - it
will be put to rest with the publication of Thirteen Moons.
Within 10 pages, this long-awaited new novel bears the reader
swiftly out of the waking world into its own imagined universe
like nothing else published this year.”
–Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Forget the sopre jinx. Frazier demonstrates that Cold
ain was no one-hit wonder with this fully realized
historical novel again set in the South….Again, Frazier shows
himself a master of landscape and language, both often fresh and
surprising in his telling.
–Seattle Post-Intelligencer
