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Free Men
From the author of the highly acclaimed The Story of Land and Sea comes a captivating novel, set in the late eighteenth-century American South, that follows a singular group of companions—an escaped slave, a white orphan, and a Creek Indian—who are being tracked down for murder.
In 1788, three men converge in the southern woods of what is now Alabama. Cat, an emotionally scarred white man from South Carolina, is on the run after abandoning his home. Bob is a talkative black man fleeing slavery on a Pensacola sugar plantation, Istillicha, edged out of his Creek town’s leadership, is bound by honor to seek retribution.
In the few days they spend together, the makeshift trio commits a shocking murder that soon has the forces of the law bearing down upon them. Sent to pick up their trail, a probing French tracker named Le Clerc must decide which has a greater claim: swift justice, or his own curiosity about how three such disparate, desperate men could act in unison.
Katy Simpson Smith skillfully brings into focus men whose lives are both catastrophic and full of hope—and illuminates the lives of the women they left behind. Far from being anomalies, Cat, Bob, and Istillicha are the beating heart of the new America that Le Clerc struggles to comprehend. In these territories caught between European, American, and Native nations, a wilderness exists where four men grapple with the importance of family, the stain of guilt, and the competing forces of power, love, race, and freedom—questions that continue to haunt us today.
In 1788, three men converge in the southern woods of what is now Alabama. Cat, an emotionally scarred white man from South Carolina, is on the run after abandoning his home. Bob is a talkative black man fleeing slavery on a Pensacola sugar plantation, Istillicha, edged out of his Creek town’s leadership, is bound by honor to seek retribution.
In the few days they spend together, the makeshift trio commits a shocking murder that soon has the forces of the law bearing down upon them. Sent to pick up their trail, a probing French tracker named Le Clerc must decide which has a greater claim: swift justice, or his own curiosity about how three such disparate, desperate men could act in unison.
Katy Simpson Smith skillfully brings into focus men whose lives are both catastrophic and full of hope—and illuminates the lives of the women they left behind. Far from being anomalies, Cat, Bob, and Istillicha are the beating heart of the new America that Le Clerc struggles to comprehend. In these territories caught between European, American, and Native nations, a wilderness exists where four men grapple with the importance of family, the stain of guilt, and the competing forces of power, love, race, and freedom—questions that continue to haunt us today.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published February 16, 2016
111 people are currently reading
1617 people want to read
About the author
Katy Simpson Smith
9 books172 followersKaty Simpson Smith attended Mount Holyoke College and received a PhD in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars. She has been working as an Adjunct Professor at Tulane University and is the author of We Have Raised All of You: Motherhood in the South, 1750-1835. Her debut novel, The Story of Land and Sea, was published by Harper in August 2014. She lives in New Orleans.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 111 reviews
April 20, 2020
Katy Simpson Smith, once again, beautifully weaves nature alongside the lives of her characters in her second novel – this one based on actual figures in history – about a disparate group: runaway slave, white man, Creek Indian (and, to a lesser degree, a Frenchman tracking the trio).
The novel introduces the characters of this unlikely grouping, present day (1788), but then circles back to separate sections telling the backstories of these men. All are told heartrendingly and create depth to the characters while aiding the central question of the story, which the Frenchman, LeClerc contemplates throughout: Is human existence both practical and predictable? Or are there exceptions to human interactions?
The three characters will answer this question for you as they make personal journeys each, leaving you amused, sad, and contemplative.
The writing (and period details) are simply gorgeous:
BOB:
My brother Primus was dark and shiny, like someone had wrapped an old brown sheet around a boy of gold.
The rain catches in my eyelashes, making little bubbles of the road, the pines, the palmetto spikes. I don’t brush them off right away but let them play around with my sight, ballooning some things, washing others away.
CAT
I heard a bird settle near. It sang like a wren and perched on my back. Its tail bobbed against my shoulder. I was its earth.
I have sat and watched so many things, my legs are criminals.
ISTILLICHA
Scars crossed faces like maps. Bodies smelled of dirt and decaying food caught between teeth. As men passed me, the pines breathed after them, exhaling a sweetness into their wake, washing the path clean of their scent.
He’s like water the way his face holds moods.
This is a story about the stories we tell ourselves, the dreams we chase, and the people we call family. Recommended for readers who love literary historical fiction and who want to learn more about this tumultuous period of American history when Native people were displaced, Africans were in chains, and the white man was spreading his beliefs and customs like a wildfire across the newly formed United States.
The novel introduces the characters of this unlikely grouping, present day (1788), but then circles back to separate sections telling the backstories of these men. All are told heartrendingly and create depth to the characters while aiding the central question of the story, which the Frenchman, LeClerc contemplates throughout: Is human existence both practical and predictable? Or are there exceptions to human interactions?
The three characters will answer this question for you as they make personal journeys each, leaving you amused, sad, and contemplative.
The writing (and period details) are simply gorgeous:
BOB:
My brother Primus was dark and shiny, like someone had wrapped an old brown sheet around a boy of gold.
The rain catches in my eyelashes, making little bubbles of the road, the pines, the palmetto spikes. I don’t brush them off right away but let them play around with my sight, ballooning some things, washing others away.
CAT
I heard a bird settle near. It sang like a wren and perched on my back. Its tail bobbed against my shoulder. I was its earth.
I have sat and watched so many things, my legs are criminals.
ISTILLICHA
Scars crossed faces like maps. Bodies smelled of dirt and decaying food caught between teeth. As men passed me, the pines breathed after them, exhaling a sweetness into their wake, washing the path clean of their scent.
He’s like water the way his face holds moods.
This is a story about the stories we tell ourselves, the dreams we chase, and the people we call family. Recommended for readers who love literary historical fiction and who want to learn more about this tumultuous period of American history when Native people were displaced, Africans were in chains, and the white man was spreading his beliefs and customs like a wildfire across the newly formed United States.
November 12, 2015
This was a 3.5 read for me
I had mixed reactions to this compelling compassionately told story of four men from disparate backgrounds grappling for answers and their place in the late eighteenth century American South. The action of the book takes place over a couple of weeks in 1788 in what is now Alabama. I enjoyed how the author deftly guides us with her compelling storytelling skills as the characters try to make sense on how each should proceed and the tension builds and builds to heart-stopping and exhaling points. With remarkable frankness and nuances the time and place comes alive with a gripping richness not often seen in stories of this time. To appreciate the full experience of the main characters – an escaped slave, a Creek Indian, an abused white man, and a curious adaptable Frenchman – we needed to know their stories which are done through a lot of internal monologues and flashbacks which often had me not being as engaged in the story. I also liked how the story explores the female characters that affected each of the male characters and added a layer of realistic complexity.
Overall this is a deeply moving gem that is sweeping in scope but intimate in its telling of human nature. It is a welcome addition to the southern historical fiction genre exploring issues that still speak to contemporary times.
I had mixed reactions to this compelling compassionately told story of four men from disparate backgrounds grappling for answers and their place in the late eighteenth century American South. The action of the book takes place over a couple of weeks in 1788 in what is now Alabama. I enjoyed how the author deftly guides us with her compelling storytelling skills as the characters try to make sense on how each should proceed and the tension builds and builds to heart-stopping and exhaling points. With remarkable frankness and nuances the time and place comes alive with a gripping richness not often seen in stories of this time. To appreciate the full experience of the main characters – an escaped slave, a Creek Indian, an abused white man, and a curious adaptable Frenchman – we needed to know their stories which are done through a lot of internal monologues and flashbacks which often had me not being as engaged in the story. I also liked how the story explores the female characters that affected each of the male characters and added a layer of realistic complexity.
Overall this is a deeply moving gem that is sweeping in scope but intimate in its telling of human nature. It is a welcome addition to the southern historical fiction genre exploring issues that still speak to contemporary times.
March 1, 2016
. This book put me to sleep a couple of times, but in a good way. I'd stay up late reading it and the lyrical way Smith writes, especially about nature, would lull me to sleep. I could hear the creek and taste the clean water, hear the woodland creatures and smell the dirt. And then she builds up the underlying tension where there is always this fear, this uneasiness, you can sense, everywhere. Smith's other strength is she captures the different voices of her characters so well as they tell their story. And they are so different but so much the same."What is a free man except a man with money" is the sociological premise here and all four main characters are really trying to discover what a free man really is, all while they are trying to take another man's freedom while seeking their very own. A worthwhile read!
Copy Provided by TLC Book Tours
Copy Provided by TLC Book Tours
February 7, 2016
I know it's only February, but Free Men is one of the best books I've read this year.
It's the story of three men--Bob, Cat, and Istillicha--each significantly different from the others. The men are randomly thrown together, but somehow end up committing a gruesome crime. The book is mostly (though not entirely) told from their perspectives. Each of the three men gets a chance to talk about his past and what has led him to this current point. But there is also a fourth man, Le Clerc, who helps move the story along in real time (well, the real time of March 1788), as he attempts to hunt down the three criminals and bring them to justice.
I absolutely loved this book start to finish. The character development blew me away. Bob's backstory comes first, and after I finished it, I thought, okay, that's it. Author Smith has nowhere to go but down from here. She can't top that. And then I read Cat's backstory, and I fell in love with him, too. I mean, the writing is phenomenal. I was carried away by their stories.
I could tell right away that Smith was using the three main characters--and even Le Clerc, actually--to make a point about the tumultuous state of America during this specific time period. I was worried that she was going to become a bit heavy-handed with the metaphors, imagery, symbolism, blah, etc., but she never did. I could recognize the points Smith was making, but I never felt like she was beating me over the head with the obvious. Honestly, the balance in this book is remarkable--especially since it all felt so effortless.
In the end, I devoured Free Men in, like, a day. Katy Simpson Smith is definitely on my radar now, and I can't wait to read her other, previously published book, The Story of Land and Sea: A Novel.
It's the story of three men--Bob, Cat, and Istillicha--each significantly different from the others. The men are randomly thrown together, but somehow end up committing a gruesome crime. The book is mostly (though not entirely) told from their perspectives. Each of the three men gets a chance to talk about his past and what has led him to this current point. But there is also a fourth man, Le Clerc, who helps move the story along in real time (well, the real time of March 1788), as he attempts to hunt down the three criminals and bring them to justice.
I absolutely loved this book start to finish. The character development blew me away. Bob's backstory comes first, and after I finished it, I thought, okay, that's it. Author Smith has nowhere to go but down from here. She can't top that. And then I read Cat's backstory, and I fell in love with him, too. I mean, the writing is phenomenal. I was carried away by their stories.
I could tell right away that Smith was using the three main characters--and even Le Clerc, actually--to make a point about the tumultuous state of America during this specific time period. I was worried that she was going to become a bit heavy-handed with the metaphors, imagery, symbolism, blah, etc., but she never did. I could recognize the points Smith was making, but I never felt like she was beating me over the head with the obvious. Honestly, the balance in this book is remarkable--especially since it all felt so effortless.
In the end, I devoured Free Men in, like, a day. Katy Simpson Smith is definitely on my radar now, and I can't wait to read her other, previously published book, The Story of Land and Sea: A Novel.
January 10, 2016
Though Free Men is the story of a slave, an orphan, and Creek Indian, it is not so much a story about being a slave, orphan, or Indian. At its essence, it's really a very poignant story of relationships, injustice, loyalty, and how we perceive ourselves.
It's 1788 and the unlikely trio of Bob (escaped slave), Cat (a misunderstood, fragile, and traumatized white man), and Istillicha (a Creek Indian who has been wronged by his tribe and his love interest) form a bond after their lives intersect by sheer coincidence. When what was supposed to be a robbery turns into the brutal murder of several men, the French tracker Le Clerc is dispatched to find them and bring them to justice. As they travel along together with no clear plan, we learn so much about them and their previous lives that we gain a solid understanding of who they are and how they came to be that way.
The characters were very well-developed and described in a way that had me thinking I knew and understood them well. As with any good story, however, there are some things one just doesn't see coming.
Katy Simpson Smith gives us a beautifully written story to reminds us that friendships and loyalty are not always based on the things we have come to expect, sometimes the most permanent love is based on mutual respect and friendship rather than wild romantic notions, and justice is frequently imperfect.
Thanks to HarperCollins Publishers via Edelweiss for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
It's 1788 and the unlikely trio of Bob (escaped slave), Cat (a misunderstood, fragile, and traumatized white man), and Istillicha (a Creek Indian who has been wronged by his tribe and his love interest) form a bond after their lives intersect by sheer coincidence. When what was supposed to be a robbery turns into the brutal murder of several men, the French tracker Le Clerc is dispatched to find them and bring them to justice. As they travel along together with no clear plan, we learn so much about them and their previous lives that we gain a solid understanding of who they are and how they came to be that way.
The characters were very well-developed and described in a way that had me thinking I knew and understood them well. As with any good story, however, there are some things one just doesn't see coming.
Katy Simpson Smith gives us a beautifully written story to reminds us that friendships and loyalty are not always based on the things we have come to expect, sometimes the most permanent love is based on mutual respect and friendship rather than wild romantic notions, and justice is frequently imperfect.
Thanks to HarperCollins Publishers via Edelweiss for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
February 17, 2016
Smith’s strange, ruminative story develops with a cycle of monologues - a demanding narrative strategy that she deploys somewhat unevenly. With this collage of experiences twisted together and soaked in blood, Smith cuts to the bone of our national character. Then, as now, for all its violence and desperation, it’s noble and inspiring, too.
Read more about "Free Men" at The Washington Post: http://wapo.st/1oqfrls
Read more about "Free Men" at The Washington Post: http://wapo.st/1oqfrls
January 28, 2016
Review to follow.
February 21, 2016
The central themes for this one are disillusionment, despair, hopelessness, and for two of the characters, a push for a different future than the one that seems to be destined for them. Each of the three fugitives stories are heartbreaking. There is absolutely no joy for these men that wasn't eventually tainted by pain. What makes this book so painful to read is how easily I could imagine how easily these events could have happened to real people.Review to come.
September 13, 2015
Exquisite.
March 2, 2016
This story is based on actual documented historical characters:
Bob is a black slave who escapes from his Spanish master in Pensacola, Florida, leaving behind his wife Winna and daughters to seek his freedom. Bob and Winna didn’t choose one another, but were put together by his master, after Bob was denied the woman he loved to begin with. On the run, he meets up with a white man called Cat who has labeled himself a killer, as well as a Muskogee Indian by the name of Istillicha, or "Man-slayer".
Cat is a rather enigmatic character, not speaking much of his past, but Istillicha is seeking revenge of the woman who wronged him. The three join up together and wind up involved in a mass murder and robbery, which leads to them being hunted by a Frenchman by the name of Le Clerc who has been living with Creeks (otherwise known as Muskogee, the same tribe as that of Istillicha), where he has been documenting "the divergences of man". Le Clerc has a history as a bounty hunter, and meter of justice, all while studying the very men he is hunting.
The book shifts perspectives between these men, as well as that of Bob's wife Winna. Bob begins with his story as a young slave boy and life with his mother and big brother in Virginia. He is later sold, and finds himself in Pensacola, owned by a master who decides to pair him up with a female slave from a neighboring plantation. Bob and wife Winna make due, finding a certain comfort and solace in one another, but Bob is restless. He remembers his brother's tales of freedom and of a black man on a donkey.
Eventually he gains his master's trust and is given the freedom to ride a horse to trade rum with the Creeks, taking him from the plantation for days at a time. This trust and freedom is what allows Bob to escape undetected one day.
Oh, this is such a hard review for me. I wanted to love this book. I was introduced to the author through her last novel The Story of Land and Sea, which I enjoyed, and I'm a fan of slave narratives and southern lit. But this is a tough one for me. At times there was beautiful prose, and other times it was very trying and even boring.
The narrative of Cat (which was unfortunately one of the longest chapters) was very difficult for me to get through. The writing used to relay his tragic narrative was stilted and draining, and oftentimes rambling. I know it is symbolic of his mind, and a useful tool toward that end, but knowing that didn’t make reading it any easier. But then I really enjoyed reading Winna’s narrative, as well as Istillicha. Le Clerc and Bob were okay, but Cat was almost unbearable. If I hadn’t had a commitment to read the book, I may have given up on it during Cat's long period. And that would have been a shame, because it would have meant missing out on Winna, and Istillicha, and a really clever story wound up in there.
I know a lot of this is my own fault. I’m a relatively lazy reader. I don't want a challenge. I don't like to read a book heavily symbolic or laden with descriptive text. I'm not going to read a lot of the classics for that reason. I don't care for stilted writing (which is what most of Cat's narrative was), which is why I have yet to get through Cormac McCarthy's The Road. I just like a good story to get lost in. This book wasn't a victim of “bad” writing, but much of it simply wasn't "fun" for me. I just didn’t enjoy reading half of the story. Much of the time it felt arduous, like a textbook. I had to trudge through Cat's chapter like it was quicksand. The first half of the book was a trial; the second half was a pleasure.
My final word: I'm so torn. I recognize what a clever story this was, and how inspired. It was full of emotion and compassion, heartache and tragedy. And ironically, despite the fact that I barely made it through Cat's narrative, he actually wound up being my favorite character: the boy who only wanted to be loved. So the author was very effective in her writing, and I grew to love him despite myself. A religious theme develops throughout the story, one of redemption and sacrifice and forgiveness. So it comes down to this: If I were rating this book based on my enjoyment of it, I'd probably give it a B-. I just didn't enjoy it enough. But for the author's clever weave of the story, for her effectiveness in getting me to care so much for Cat, and her development of the characters...for that I have to boost my rating to a solid B+. Muted and austere, it was a good effort full of heart.
I'd give this about 3.5 stars.
Bob is a black slave who escapes from his Spanish master in Pensacola, Florida, leaving behind his wife Winna and daughters to seek his freedom. Bob and Winna didn’t choose one another, but were put together by his master, after Bob was denied the woman he loved to begin with. On the run, he meets up with a white man called Cat who has labeled himself a killer, as well as a Muskogee Indian by the name of Istillicha, or "Man-slayer".
Cat is a rather enigmatic character, not speaking much of his past, but Istillicha is seeking revenge of the woman who wronged him. The three join up together and wind up involved in a mass murder and robbery, which leads to them being hunted by a Frenchman by the name of Le Clerc who has been living with Creeks (otherwise known as Muskogee, the same tribe as that of Istillicha), where he has been documenting "the divergences of man". Le Clerc has a history as a bounty hunter, and meter of justice, all while studying the very men he is hunting.
The book shifts perspectives between these men, as well as that of Bob's wife Winna. Bob begins with his story as a young slave boy and life with his mother and big brother in Virginia. He is later sold, and finds himself in Pensacola, owned by a master who decides to pair him up with a female slave from a neighboring plantation. Bob and wife Winna make due, finding a certain comfort and solace in one another, but Bob is restless. He remembers his brother's tales of freedom and of a black man on a donkey.
Eventually he gains his master's trust and is given the freedom to ride a horse to trade rum with the Creeks, taking him from the plantation for days at a time. This trust and freedom is what allows Bob to escape undetected one day.
Oh, this is such a hard review for me. I wanted to love this book. I was introduced to the author through her last novel The Story of Land and Sea, which I enjoyed, and I'm a fan of slave narratives and southern lit. But this is a tough one for me. At times there was beautiful prose, and other times it was very trying and even boring.
The narrative of Cat (which was unfortunately one of the longest chapters) was very difficult for me to get through. The writing used to relay his tragic narrative was stilted and draining, and oftentimes rambling. I know it is symbolic of his mind, and a useful tool toward that end, but knowing that didn’t make reading it any easier. But then I really enjoyed reading Winna’s narrative, as well as Istillicha. Le Clerc and Bob were okay, but Cat was almost unbearable. If I hadn’t had a commitment to read the book, I may have given up on it during Cat's long period. And that would have been a shame, because it would have meant missing out on Winna, and Istillicha, and a really clever story wound up in there.
I know a lot of this is my own fault. I’m a relatively lazy reader. I don't want a challenge. I don't like to read a book heavily symbolic or laden with descriptive text. I'm not going to read a lot of the classics for that reason. I don't care for stilted writing (which is what most of Cat's narrative was), which is why I have yet to get through Cormac McCarthy's The Road. I just like a good story to get lost in. This book wasn't a victim of “bad” writing, but much of it simply wasn't "fun" for me. I just didn’t enjoy reading half of the story. Much of the time it felt arduous, like a textbook. I had to trudge through Cat's chapter like it was quicksand. The first half of the book was a trial; the second half was a pleasure.
My final word: I'm so torn. I recognize what a clever story this was, and how inspired. It was full of emotion and compassion, heartache and tragedy. And ironically, despite the fact that I barely made it through Cat's narrative, he actually wound up being my favorite character: the boy who only wanted to be loved. So the author was very effective in her writing, and I grew to love him despite myself. A religious theme develops throughout the story, one of redemption and sacrifice and forgiveness. So it comes down to this: If I were rating this book based on my enjoyment of it, I'd probably give it a B-. I just didn't enjoy it enough. But for the author's clever weave of the story, for her effectiveness in getting me to care so much for Cat, and her development of the characters...for that I have to boost my rating to a solid B+. Muted and austere, it was a good effort full of heart.
I'd give this about 3.5 stars.
February 25, 2016
This is my second book by Ms. Stimpson Smith. I read her debut, The Story of Land and Sea and just loved it. Like that book, Free Men is complicated, messy and not at all easy to read. But you are richly rewarded for diving in to this beautifully bound novel. I love when a publisher takes the time to present a book rather than just printing it up and shoving it out the door.
This is the story of 4 men and they each tell their tales in their own voice. That is part of the brilliance of the book – each character has a very distinct voice and that does not waver. Three of the men Cal, a white man, Bob, a slave and Istillicha, a Creek Indian are running from separate yet somehow similar problems. They come together through force and murder, not by choice.
The fourth man is LeClerc and he is, if not the law, the man that is charged with catching them and bringing them to justice – which really means killing them. But he is a man of curiosity and he wants to know the men’s histories and why they did what they did. He is a man that studies everything around him and writes it all down in “reports.” So while he will do what he is charged to do, he will do it his way.
Free Men is a delightfully long book, rich in character and long on development. It’s actually based in fact and that, to me always makes a novel more interesting. Ms. Simpson Smith has a way with words – I wrote this in my review for her first book – that just draws you into the world of the characters until you just don’t feel like you are reading any more. You are immersed in the world and walking, eating and living with the characters. I was drawn in from the first sentence. There is a lot of ugly in the book; it was not a graceful time in this country’s history particularly for people of color. I will keep this one on my “to read again” shelf because I do believe it deserves a second go round. Now to just find the time to do so.
This is the story of 4 men and they each tell their tales in their own voice. That is part of the brilliance of the book – each character has a very distinct voice and that does not waver. Three of the men Cal, a white man, Bob, a slave and Istillicha, a Creek Indian are running from separate yet somehow similar problems. They come together through force and murder, not by choice.
The fourth man is LeClerc and he is, if not the law, the man that is charged with catching them and bringing them to justice – which really means killing them. But he is a man of curiosity and he wants to know the men’s histories and why they did what they did. He is a man that studies everything around him and writes it all down in “reports.” So while he will do what he is charged to do, he will do it his way.
Free Men is a delightfully long book, rich in character and long on development. It’s actually based in fact and that, to me always makes a novel more interesting. Ms. Simpson Smith has a way with words – I wrote this in my review for her first book – that just draws you into the world of the characters until you just don’t feel like you are reading any more. You are immersed in the world and walking, eating and living with the characters. I was drawn in from the first sentence. There is a lot of ugly in the book; it was not a graceful time in this country’s history particularly for people of color. I will keep this one on my “to read again” shelf because I do believe it deserves a second go round. Now to just find the time to do so.
January 7, 2016
This is a historic fiction tale of events that took place in 1788 in present day Alabama, Georgia and Missippi. It begins when 3 desperate men meet up on the road. Bob is a runaway slave who wants to get far away from his old Florida plantation and start a new life as a free man. Cat is man who was a former indentured servant to a doctor and who had recently lost his wife and unborn baby. He is wandering to get away from the town where they lived and which was destroyed by illness. Finally there is Istillicha, a Native American who left his tribe when he was not chosen the chief.
The three men are heading west when they encounter another group of men traveling with a large supply of silver coins. The three men kill six of the second group and steal the silver. LeClerc, a Frenchman with a talent for hunting down criminals, sets out to find the silver and return it to its rightful owners.
Smith uses each main character to show what was life was like for an orphan, a slave , a Native American in the South and a Frenchman who left his country to make his fortune in the new world. She examines the plantation, the orphanage and indentured servitude as well as tribal life and life of a minor nobleman in France. The reader will learn about the backgrounds of these men as well as life on the trails and villages in the South.
History buffs as well as current residents of the South will enjoy learning about that period in history as well as the geography of the areas the group traveled through.
The three men are heading west when they encounter another group of men traveling with a large supply of silver coins. The three men kill six of the second group and steal the silver. LeClerc, a Frenchman with a talent for hunting down criminals, sets out to find the silver and return it to its rightful owners.
Smith uses each main character to show what was life was like for an orphan, a slave , a Native American in the South and a Frenchman who left his country to make his fortune in the new world. She examines the plantation, the orphanage and indentured servitude as well as tribal life and life of a minor nobleman in France. The reader will learn about the backgrounds of these men as well as life on the trails and villages in the South.
History buffs as well as current residents of the South will enjoy learning about that period in history as well as the geography of the areas the group traveled through.
November 9, 2015
"Free Men" by Katy Simpson Smith, tells of the convergence of four men in the spring of 1788. Cat, a young, damaged white man; Bob, a young runaway salve; Istillicha, a Creek Indian cheated out of Chiefdom, and Le Clerc (aka The Clerk), a French bounty hunter and amateur sociologist.
The Indian, the White Man and the Slave have committed a crime. Bound together in escape, how long with these three stay together? During the pursuit Le Clerc has several epiphanies; what will happen when he finds the fugitives? Will he stick to his plan of justice and vengeance? Le Clerc muses: "Three men, none alike...Each pursuing a wild fantasy that only this country, with all its contradictions, can permit."
Told from each character's perspective, this compelling story explores what it means to be free and asks how much of ourselves do we actually "own". It also muses on the history of American individualism, and the concepts of the family verses tribes.
Smith's prose is gorgeous and evocative and her ability to switch among the characters is a strength in this well-paced novel that is at times a historical piece, a suspense novel, and a character study.
The Indian, the White Man and the Slave have committed a crime. Bound together in escape, how long with these three stay together? During the pursuit Le Clerc has several epiphanies; what will happen when he finds the fugitives? Will he stick to his plan of justice and vengeance? Le Clerc muses: "Three men, none alike...Each pursuing a wild fantasy that only this country, with all its contradictions, can permit."
Told from each character's perspective, this compelling story explores what it means to be free and asks how much of ourselves do we actually "own". It also muses on the history of American individualism, and the concepts of the family verses tribes.
Smith's prose is gorgeous and evocative and her ability to switch among the characters is a strength in this well-paced novel that is at times a historical piece, a suspense novel, and a character study.
February 29, 2016
I review Free Men, by Katy Simpson Smith, in the News & Observer.
News & Observer
--Joe
The revolution is over. It’s spring, 1788, in the Southeast wilderness. A party of American loyalists has been murdered, and a Frenchman tracks down the killers: a Muskogee Indian, a slave and a white man. Smith includes plenty of adventure in this story, but she and her French tracker Luis Le Clerc Milfort are more interested in what brought this disparate trio together and what drove them to murder. Smith’s decision to have the characters tell their own backstories gives the book its sociological heft.
News & Observer
--Joe
April 6, 2016
So ultimately I liked this book. That being said I did have a few issues. There were times when the narratives were...unrealistic? I'm not sure what the word is, but they didn't feel quite right or believable. I can't say too much without giving away spoilers but I really was not happy with the ending. Another issue I had is that I would go through periods where I was really enjoying the book and then all of sudden I had to push myself to keep reading. I do like the book and I did enjoy the writing. I think I would read more by this author. I do recommend this, but it probably won't be everyone's cup of tea.
October 30, 2018
This was my book of the month from Parnassus books. I have to admit I put off reading it because I didn’t think
I’d enjoy it. I got sucked in pretty quickly. It’s 1788 and three men are on the run. One is a white man, one an escaped slave and one an Indian. Le Clerc is the Frenchman sent to track the murderers. How they met up and their stories is the gist of the novel. Gripping.
I’d enjoy it. I got sucked in pretty quickly. It’s 1788 and three men are on the run. One is a white man, one an escaped slave and one an Indian. Le Clerc is the Frenchman sent to track the murderers. How they met up and their stories is the gist of the novel. Gripping.
March 2, 2016
Started out interesting, but by page 45 I gave it up. Life is too short to read a bad book !
June 8, 2020
This is the second novel of Simpson Smith that I've read and it's just as lyrically beautiful and wonder-full as I remember the first one. She takes a strange, little known historical violent crime and subsequent retribution, muddied by inconsistent contemporary tellings and (now) centuries of racism, and re-imagines it from a deeply human grounding. The four main characters come from different cultures and ethnicities with sharply divergent personal histories and find themselves converging in the humid southeastern forests of what-is-now the United States in the continued socio-political turmoil of the late 1700's. That turmoil seems to reflect in the discordant emotions and thoughts of the main characters and despite it all, three of them come together as companions. How that could happen only writers like Simpson Smith can explain.
August 2, 2024
I liked it because it took place in Alabama. I didn't like it because it took place in Alabama. I liked it for the beautiful language. I didn't like it because the beautiful language got in the way for me following what was happening.
September 23, 2015
VOICE on September 22, 2015
Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )
'Free men' is an elegant and beautifully written novel, filled with depth, complexity of characterization and philosophical questions. While most likely it would be classified as a historical novel, the themes it deals with and the questions it asks are as timeless as civilization itself.
On the surface, the novel deals with the lives of four men, each of whom carries dark and painful issues from their pasts. Three of the men are running away towards their freedom and the fourth man is hunting them down. Each one is a protagonist in their own right and the book is divided up into sections about each of them from their perspectives.
The novel takes place in 1788, primarily in Florida. Bob is a black man who has not known any life outside of slavery. He has seen his idolized brother, Primus, take his own life rather than live the life of a slave. Bob is able to see the circularity of life and knows that the life he lives as a slave is the same life that awaits his two daughters. He realizes that he must escape. He had heard Primus talk about land in the west, land that can be farmed and owned by freed slaves. Bob talks to his wife, Winna, and tells her that he must leave her and their two daughters to seek his fortune. He doesn't see any way that he can take them with him.
Cat is a white man who has grown up never knowing a woman's touch. He has been brought up by a cold and cruel father who has used the whip unsparingly. Eventually he ends up in an orphanage where, though not treated poorly, he never develops a true sense of family. He meets Anne, who becomes the love of his life, and they start farming in a small community that is rapidly deteriorating and wasting away. Soon, he and Anne will be the only residents left. Anne dies during childbirth and Cat carries his guilt within him in a place where words cannot reach. It is deep down and buried but always there.
Istillicha is a Creek Indian who once had hopes of being the Mica (chief) of his tribe. This dream has been stolen from him and his rage and despair carry him along as he tries to find a way towards accomplishing a successful revenge to get back what he believes is rightfully his. He leaves his tribe knowing that one day he will return and take over as chief.
These three men meet up while on their journeys and somehow connect with one another. Passing them on the road, they see a group of men carrying bags filled with silver and, in the dark of night, commit a heinous crime in order to steal the silver. They are more deeply connected through their participation in this crime as well as by their shared anguish and pain.
LeClerc is the hunter that is sent to find these men and bring them to justice. He is not what one would picture as a typical hunter and executioner. He is more like an anthropologist, trying to find out the whys and wherefores of the crime, what binds these men together, and how they manage to share their lives despite their disparate cultural backgrounds. He plans to kill them, but not before understanding them first.
Each section of the book is written in a different style that reflects the inner life of the character that it is about. Istillicha is described in strong language wrought with anger and rage. Cat is poignantly lost and perhaps mentally ill. He is living in the past and perseverating on a choice he did not make. He uses words so sparingly that one might think he was mute. Bob is focused on the life he knows he would have had to live if he didn't escape the plantation, a life of beatings, stolen options, and continuous cruelty without relief. He loves to talk and, through his words, we hear the story of his life and the mythologies of his ancestors. Each man hopes for a better life, one that will make them better men, more of who they truly are. LeClerc is trying to understand America, this new land rife with individualism, opportunity, and violence. What could hold men together in a place like this where war is rampant and loyalty is rare.
Smith writes with a beautiful sense of place and a clear understanding of her characters. She tends towards magical realism in the best sense and her ability to intertwine the rational with the otherworldly is chilling and beautiful. I enthusiastically recommend this wonderful book to everyone. It is a gem that I hope gets the wide readership it deserves.
Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )
'Free men' is an elegant and beautifully written novel, filled with depth, complexity of characterization and philosophical questions. While most likely it would be classified as a historical novel, the themes it deals with and the questions it asks are as timeless as civilization itself.
On the surface, the novel deals with the lives of four men, each of whom carries dark and painful issues from their pasts. Three of the men are running away towards their freedom and the fourth man is hunting them down. Each one is a protagonist in their own right and the book is divided up into sections about each of them from their perspectives.
The novel takes place in 1788, primarily in Florida. Bob is a black man who has not known any life outside of slavery. He has seen his idolized brother, Primus, take his own life rather than live the life of a slave. Bob is able to see the circularity of life and knows that the life he lives as a slave is the same life that awaits his two daughters. He realizes that he must escape. He had heard Primus talk about land in the west, land that can be farmed and owned by freed slaves. Bob talks to his wife, Winna, and tells her that he must leave her and their two daughters to seek his fortune. He doesn't see any way that he can take them with him.
Cat is a white man who has grown up never knowing a woman's touch. He has been brought up by a cold and cruel father who has used the whip unsparingly. Eventually he ends up in an orphanage where, though not treated poorly, he never develops a true sense of family. He meets Anne, who becomes the love of his life, and they start farming in a small community that is rapidly deteriorating and wasting away. Soon, he and Anne will be the only residents left. Anne dies during childbirth and Cat carries his guilt within him in a place where words cannot reach. It is deep down and buried but always there.
Istillicha is a Creek Indian who once had hopes of being the Mica (chief) of his tribe. This dream has been stolen from him and his rage and despair carry him along as he tries to find a way towards accomplishing a successful revenge to get back what he believes is rightfully his. He leaves his tribe knowing that one day he will return and take over as chief.
These three men meet up while on their journeys and somehow connect with one another. Passing them on the road, they see a group of men carrying bags filled with silver and, in the dark of night, commit a heinous crime in order to steal the silver. They are more deeply connected through their participation in this crime as well as by their shared anguish and pain.
LeClerc is the hunter that is sent to find these men and bring them to justice. He is not what one would picture as a typical hunter and executioner. He is more like an anthropologist, trying to find out the whys and wherefores of the crime, what binds these men together, and how they manage to share their lives despite their disparate cultural backgrounds. He plans to kill them, but not before understanding them first.
Each section of the book is written in a different style that reflects the inner life of the character that it is about. Istillicha is described in strong language wrought with anger and rage. Cat is poignantly lost and perhaps mentally ill. He is living in the past and perseverating on a choice he did not make. He uses words so sparingly that one might think he was mute. Bob is focused on the life he knows he would have had to live if he didn't escape the plantation, a life of beatings, stolen options, and continuous cruelty without relief. He loves to talk and, through his words, we hear the story of his life and the mythologies of his ancestors. Each man hopes for a better life, one that will make them better men, more of who they truly are. LeClerc is trying to understand America, this new land rife with individualism, opportunity, and violence. What could hold men together in a place like this where war is rampant and loyalty is rare.
Smith writes with a beautiful sense of place and a clear understanding of her characters. She tends towards magical realism in the best sense and her ability to intertwine the rational with the otherworldly is chilling and beautiful. I enthusiastically recommend this wonderful book to everyone. It is a gem that I hope gets the wide readership it deserves.
February 26, 2016
Men have been murdered for the silver they carry in 1788 Alabama. Frenchman Le Clerc is on the trail of the murderers, an unlikely trio of an escaped African American slave named Bob, a Native American named Istillicha, and an escaped white murderer on the run, Cat. What has made these three very different men bond together and commit this crime?
Free Men tells the tale of each of three men interspersed with the tale of the manhunt and Le Clerc’s past. The story of these characters is the story of America. Le Clerc was raised as a wealthy man with little love from his mother in France. He decides he wants to explore the wider world and leaves his wife in France for America. He travels around America taking different Native American wives and doing tracking work for different tribes.
Bob is a slave who is split up from his family in Virginia and sent to a plantation in Florida. He grows to manhood working sugarcane fields and falls in love. He is not allowed to follow his love and she is sold. It is arranged that he will take a new slave, Winna as his wife. They have two daughters, but Bob continually feels the call for freedom.
Cat grew up dirt poor with a moonshiner father and no mother. After his father’s death, he lived a vagrant existence at an orphanage, a surgeon, and then a pastor’s house. He falls in love and carves out an existence for him and his wife, but then tragedy visits the young family which sets Cat on a path of desperation.
Istillicha was the nephew of a great chief, but growing up he saw an enemy kill his Uncle, his brother who was next in line to be chief, and then takes over the tribe. Istillicha spends his growing years plotting vengeance, but then he falls for his enemy’s niece and works on saving up enough money to marry her. When he returns home one day to find both Polly and his money gone, he sets off on a path of revenge.
Free Men is both a thriller tale of tracking down the murderers as well as a deep look into what caused the murder and theft. I loved the background of each character and what brought them to this place. I also loved how it was a slice of America in 1788. The Revolutionary War was brought up in the story as the characters grew up, but it seemed to exist around the characters who were not a part of the fight. Each man had a different experience, but it was not an easy life or world to live in. I felt sorry for all of them in their own way. I can’t imagine being Bob and to not even have the freedom to marry who you loved, but to be basically breed with another human being that your master bought for that specific reason. Cat lived a completely lonely life without much affection and when he finally found it, he couldn’t keep it. Istillicha focused his life on his vengeance and when he started to take a different path to love, it didn’t work out. Le Clerc was very self-important, but leaving his wife and life behind in France, he was a lonely individual as well.
Overall, Free Men is an intriguing historical fiction novel with an interesting mystery and fascinating portrayals of characters living in America in 1788. It takes a deep look into the meaning of freedom. What are you free from? I would highly recommend it.
Some of my favorite quotes:
Le Clerc writing in his journal, “My singular obsession with the anthropology of men, my ability to predict their movements with ease, led me to the enemy, the errant wife, the fugitive slave.”
Another Le Clerc gem, “Each of them has some sin in his heart which he wouldn’t wish me finding.”
Bob, “I tell you, you just think of all of my people, all of your people, who’ve been cut down for nothing, not even so men can be better so they can be richer, and richness just twists their hearts so after all, they're worse men they were.”
Le Clerc, “There is something of America in all this . . . . There is a desperation about these men that suggests they do not reside on the rung of the criminal but, like all men here, are pursuing what might be called advancement or hope.”
Cat, “I don’t think being free means being alone.”
Book Source: I received this book for review as part of the TLC book tour.
This review was first posted on my blog at: http://lauragerold.blogspot.com/2016/...
Free Men tells the tale of each of three men interspersed with the tale of the manhunt and Le Clerc’s past. The story of these characters is the story of America. Le Clerc was raised as a wealthy man with little love from his mother in France. He decides he wants to explore the wider world and leaves his wife in France for America. He travels around America taking different Native American wives and doing tracking work for different tribes.
Bob is a slave who is split up from his family in Virginia and sent to a plantation in Florida. He grows to manhood working sugarcane fields and falls in love. He is not allowed to follow his love and she is sold. It is arranged that he will take a new slave, Winna as his wife. They have two daughters, but Bob continually feels the call for freedom.
Cat grew up dirt poor with a moonshiner father and no mother. After his father’s death, he lived a vagrant existence at an orphanage, a surgeon, and then a pastor’s house. He falls in love and carves out an existence for him and his wife, but then tragedy visits the young family which sets Cat on a path of desperation.
Istillicha was the nephew of a great chief, but growing up he saw an enemy kill his Uncle, his brother who was next in line to be chief, and then takes over the tribe. Istillicha spends his growing years plotting vengeance, but then he falls for his enemy’s niece and works on saving up enough money to marry her. When he returns home one day to find both Polly and his money gone, he sets off on a path of revenge.
Free Men is both a thriller tale of tracking down the murderers as well as a deep look into what caused the murder and theft. I loved the background of each character and what brought them to this place. I also loved how it was a slice of America in 1788. The Revolutionary War was brought up in the story as the characters grew up, but it seemed to exist around the characters who were not a part of the fight. Each man had a different experience, but it was not an easy life or world to live in. I felt sorry for all of them in their own way. I can’t imagine being Bob and to not even have the freedom to marry who you loved, but to be basically breed with another human being that your master bought for that specific reason. Cat lived a completely lonely life without much affection and when he finally found it, he couldn’t keep it. Istillicha focused his life on his vengeance and when he started to take a different path to love, it didn’t work out. Le Clerc was very self-important, but leaving his wife and life behind in France, he was a lonely individual as well.
Overall, Free Men is an intriguing historical fiction novel with an interesting mystery and fascinating portrayals of characters living in America in 1788. It takes a deep look into the meaning of freedom. What are you free from? I would highly recommend it.
Some of my favorite quotes:
Le Clerc writing in his journal, “My singular obsession with the anthropology of men, my ability to predict their movements with ease, led me to the enemy, the errant wife, the fugitive slave.”
Another Le Clerc gem, “Each of them has some sin in his heart which he wouldn’t wish me finding.”
Bob, “I tell you, you just think of all of my people, all of your people, who’ve been cut down for nothing, not even so men can be better so they can be richer, and richness just twists their hearts so after all, they're worse men they were.”
Le Clerc, “There is something of America in all this . . . . There is a desperation about these men that suggests they do not reside on the rung of the criminal but, like all men here, are pursuing what might be called advancement or hope.”
Cat, “I don’t think being free means being alone.”
Book Source: I received this book for review as part of the TLC book tour.
This review was first posted on my blog at: http://lauragerold.blogspot.com/2016/...
February 8, 2017
From the richness of the character’s stories, to the lingering sadness and emptiness revealed through clever recalls of fleeting memories, the author has created a phenomenal tale of four (seemingly) different men, socially, culturally, economically, and religiously in a world that was still building itself. The further the reader gets into the book, the more you realize that these four men from different worlds are actually not at all that different or that far removed from one another.
This book is probably the most lyrical and poetic historical fiction book I have read in a really, really long time. There were so many passages and sentences I found myself going back to re-read them for their beauty, sadness and philosophical truth.
While I do not want to give too much away, I feel I should comment on the intricate design, characters structure and pacing Ms. Smith has built for this book. From Cat, the forever burdened martyr, who has never fully been able to out grow his stunted, child-like mind or behavior.
To Bob, the naïve wanderer, forever searching for his own dream, sense of direction and purpose, with a desperation you can understand but also be worry of.
And Istillicha, the loose feather in the wind, ghosting seemingly day by day, clinging to the hope of one day achieving his goal of taking back his home, striked me as being clear minded and the most inquisitive of the trio even with Le Clerc flush on their trail.
With Le Clerc, the forever curious science/social behavior philosopher whose own like bore no excitement or clear purpose as a nobleman in Paris, sets out as a sort of bounty hunter in America. On a quest for justice to locate Bob, Cat and Istillicha, he discovers that his thirst to understand the men behind the crime and their connection to one another to be greater than his desire to capture them.
Besides the clear and obvious message of freedom this book explores, it simultaneously presents the message of togetherness and a bond of these bloodless ‘creeping’ brothers forging onward in search of a better future for themselves.
It was so wonderful how Bob, Cat and Istillicha subconsciously and unknowingly gravitated toward and looked out for each other even before the incident on the creek and how their time together seemed to linger with them after they split apart. The ending was a little mixed; kind of open ended, with a bittersweet level of closure for everyone. It is definitely a book I would enjoy re-reading. :-)
Originally posted on my blog here.
This book is probably the most lyrical and poetic historical fiction book I have read in a really, really long time. There were so many passages and sentences I found myself going back to re-read them for their beauty, sadness and philosophical truth.
While I do not want to give too much away, I feel I should comment on the intricate design, characters structure and pacing Ms. Smith has built for this book. From Cat, the forever burdened martyr, who has never fully been able to out grow his stunted, child-like mind or behavior.
“I could not tell if we were damned or saved. They did not make that clear. If what my body did mattered. Forgiveness, though, was like a wheel going around. My body moved out into darkness, my body moved back in. As long as it got on the wheel in time. In time being before my body died.” –Cat
To Bob, the naïve wanderer, forever searching for his own dream, sense of direction and purpose, with a desperation you can understand but also be worry of.
“The people I have loved aren’t taking this walk—my mother, stolen from me; my brother, who stole himself; my children, who don’t know what it means to steal”—Bob
And Istillicha, the loose feather in the wind, ghosting seemingly day by day, clinging to the hope of one day achieving his goal of taking back his home, striked me as being clear minded and the most inquisitive of the trio even with Le Clerc flush on their trail.
“I have nothing to do with these men. I met them two nights ago, and I’m not even sure that the white man’s name is his name. But my skin flinches at the thought of parting, as though they’re the blanker between my body and the ghosts. They’re the sticks that need arranging…If I leave them who will understand me? And where will they go without me?”—Istillicha
With Le Clerc, the forever curious science/social behavior philosopher whose own like bore no excitement or clear purpose as a nobleman in Paris, sets out as a sort of bounty hunter in America. On a quest for justice to locate Bob, Cat and Istillicha, he discovers that his thirst to understand the men behind the crime and their connection to one another to be greater than his desire to capture them.
“There is a desperation about these men that suggests they do not reside on the rung of the criminal but, like all men here, are pursuing what might be called advancement, or hope. Their success or failure will, I can’t help but believe, be a reflection on the project of this country. And yet I am the only man on their trail, the only man who may behold their fates. This strikes me as peculiarly lonely.” –Le Clerc
Besides the clear and obvious message of freedom this book explores, it simultaneously presents the message of togetherness and a bond of these bloodless ‘creeping’ brothers forging onward in search of a better future for themselves.
It was so wonderful how Bob, Cat and Istillicha subconsciously and unknowingly gravitated toward and looked out for each other even before the incident on the creek and how their time together seemed to linger with them after they split apart. The ending was a little mixed; kind of open ended, with a bittersweet level of closure for everyone. It is definitely a book I would enjoy re-reading. :-)
Originally posted on my blog here.
May 6, 2016
Three men come together in 1788 in the rural country of what would become the state of Alabama. Bob is a slave who has decided in his thirties that there must be something more and has decided to run away and make another life out in the Western territories. Istillicha, a Creek Indian, has been ousted from his tribe and what everyone expected would be his place of leadership. His woman and his silver have both been stolen from him. Cat is a young white man who seems lost most days. He has spent his life trying to fit in and find someone to love him to little avail.
Brought together by chance, the three men travel together to help each other. Everything changes when they encounter a group of men on the roadway. The three are worried that the men might take back tales of seeing them; each of them wanted elsewhere for various reasons. Even more damning, the men have sacks full of silver coins that clatter and clang and give their location away. That night, the three men creep into the camping place of the group and start to steal the money. When the men awake and give fight, things escalate until all are dead and the three men are now wanted for murder.
Le Clere is a tracker. He has come to America from France to learn about what makes men do the things they do. He is hired by the Creek chief of Istillicha's tribe to find him. He quickly picks up the men's trail and finds himself following them rather than capturing them. He is fascinated by the makeshift friendships and commonality that seems to bind the three men, unknown to each other a week ago, together in common purpose.
Katy Simpson Smith has a PhD in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her devotion to research and to portraying the average individuals that settled America is on full display in this novel as she explores the nature of freedom, friendship and hope in desperate situations. This book is recommended for readers of historical and literary fiction.
Brought together by chance, the three men travel together to help each other. Everything changes when they encounter a group of men on the roadway. The three are worried that the men might take back tales of seeing them; each of them wanted elsewhere for various reasons. Even more damning, the men have sacks full of silver coins that clatter and clang and give their location away. That night, the three men creep into the camping place of the group and start to steal the money. When the men awake and give fight, things escalate until all are dead and the three men are now wanted for murder.
Le Clere is a tracker. He has come to America from France to learn about what makes men do the things they do. He is hired by the Creek chief of Istillicha's tribe to find him. He quickly picks up the men's trail and finds himself following them rather than capturing them. He is fascinated by the makeshift friendships and commonality that seems to bind the three men, unknown to each other a week ago, together in common purpose.
Katy Simpson Smith has a PhD in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her devotion to research and to portraying the average individuals that settled America is on full display in this novel as she explores the nature of freedom, friendship and hope in desperate situations. This book is recommended for readers of historical and literary fiction.
June 25, 2016
I really, really, really wanted to love this book. The story of an unlikely trio - an escaped slave, a vulnerable white man, and a Creek Indian who has been banished from his tribe - on the run for murder, Katy Simpson Smith's educational background in American History helps her to delicately recreate the American South of the late eighteenth century in an entirely convincing manner. She tells each man's story one at a time, starting with Bob (the escaped slave), moving on to Cat (the orphaned and tragic white man), and concluding with Istillicha (the Creek). In between these stories is that of LeClerc, the Frenchman who is chasing them all.
Bob's story is lyrical and moving and I breezed through it, but by the time I was halfway through Cat's sad tale I was falling asleep every couple of pages, and I trudged through Istillicha's story. Ultimately I did not care about what happened to any of the characters. I was glad to finish it and move on to something else. Part of this is due to poor timing, this just was not a good book for me to be reading during a period of intense life and work craziness; but some of it is also due to Smith's story just losing steam halfway through. Maybe she should try short stories instead of novels.
2.5 stars, based entirely on the strength of the first 100 pages.
Bob's story is lyrical and moving and I breezed through it, but by the time I was halfway through Cat's sad tale I was falling asleep every couple of pages, and I trudged through Istillicha's story. Ultimately I did not care about what happened to any of the characters. I was glad to finish it and move on to something else. Part of this is due to poor timing, this just was not a good book for me to be reading during a period of intense life and work craziness; but some of it is also due to Smith's story just losing steam halfway through. Maybe she should try short stories instead of novels.
2.5 stars, based entirely on the strength of the first 100 pages.
February 17, 2016
‘Free Men,” the new novel by Katy Simpson Smith, takes place in that forest primeval of the American South a few years after the Revolutionary War. In 1788, the United States is still a fragile, new realm, as much claim as country. The British are being sore losers, the Spanish are controlling West Florida, and various Indian tribes are shifting their alliances in a fight for survival. But beyond those complicated geopolitical conflicts, the philosophical climate is even stormier, and that’s where Smith’s strange, ruminative story develops.
At the heart of the novel lies a backwoods massacre: Traders following Muskogee guides to Pensacola have been robbed and murdered while they slept. One of the party who barely escaped with his life brings word back to his chief that the killers were “a white man, a negro, and an. . . .
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entert...
At the heart of the novel lies a backwoods massacre: Traders following Muskogee guides to Pensacola have been robbed and murdered while they slept. One of the party who barely escaped with his life brings word back to his chief that the killers were “a white man, a negro, and an. . . .
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entert...
March 9, 2016
This is my second novel by Katy Simpson Smith and I think it might be my last.
In 2014 when I read her debut The Story of Land and Sea I was captivated by several elements of the tale, but particularly by her bewitching writing style, but I couldn't get past the technical issues and conviluded pacing. All of the magic from that first novel (little though it may have been) is gone.
I got to the 40% mark and skimmed the rest.
It was tedious. Boring. Woefully poetic for such simple minded characters. And utterly lacking of emotions. I couldn't connect with the story, characters, or drama of the piece.
In 2014 when I read her debut The Story of Land and Sea I was captivated by several elements of the tale, but particularly by her bewitching writing style, but I couldn't get past the technical issues and conviluded pacing. All of the magic from that first novel (little though it may have been) is gone.
I got to the 40% mark and skimmed the rest.
It was tedious. Boring. Woefully poetic for such simple minded characters. And utterly lacking of emotions. I couldn't connect with the story, characters, or drama of the piece.
June 11, 2016
I loved Katy Smith's second historical novel! Don't think romance here; Smith's book is a literary gem. I enjoyed her debut novel, too--The Story of Land and Sea--but Free Men is a more mature work. In it Smith weaves the first-person narratives of four men--three fugitives (a former slave, a disturbed white man, and an Indian) and the Frenchman who goes after them. Smith deftly captures the voices of these characters. I must admit that I struggled a bit to get through the first chapter, told in the voice of LeClerc, the Frenchman, but once I got past that, I was totally immersed in the voices and the story. Smith's prose is exceptional, at times poetic. She has taken a snippet of real history (as she did in The Story of Land and Sea) and created an intricate story that lives and breathes.
October 16, 2016
Free Men is set in the panhandle of Florida and in Alabama right after the Revolutionary War. The plot centers around four men—three soon to become fugitives and the other the fugitive "chaser." Based on a true story, the book keeps you guessing until almost the very end.
If you read this book, try to carve out time to read big parts in chunks. I really didn't become engaged in the book until I spent an afternoon finishing it. At once, it seemed to come all together, unlike the times I had read only 10-15 pages in a sitting . Had I rated it before I spent this much time with the book, the rating most likely would have been lower.
Interestingly, the book answered a lingering question I had when I crossed over "Murder Creek" on the way to Mobile or the beach. Perhaps that will entice you to read it?
If you read this book, try to carve out time to read big parts in chunks. I really didn't become engaged in the book until I spent an afternoon finishing it. At once, it seemed to come all together, unlike the times I had read only 10-15 pages in a sitting . Had I rated it before I spent this much time with the book, the rating most likely would have been lower.
Interestingly, the book answered a lingering question I had when I crossed over "Murder Creek" on the way to Mobile or the beach. Perhaps that will entice you to read it?
October 13, 2016
I highly recommend Free Men by Katy Simpson Smith. It is historical fiction (late 1700s) about three men who run away together from a killing and a theft. Smith was doing research for a short story and read about a place called Murder Creek. The research turned into this novel. The three men couldn't be more different: a runaway slave, a Creek Indian and a small sad white man. They are hunted by a French tracker named Le Clerc. The characters are extremely well-drawn and the writing is beautiful.
February 23, 2016
I am sorry to say I could not even get through the first chapter. I see that this book gets rave reviews, particularly for the writing style. The writing style is precisely what puts me off of it. I am a simple woman with simple tastes and there is just too much to think about that distracts me from what I presume would be an otherwise wonderful story. It just seemed like the path to the prize was cluttered.
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