An Undisturbed Peace

by Mary Glickman

A Jewish immigrant, a Cherokee woman, and a black slave find love, friendship, and redemption in the midst of the tragedy of the Trail of Tears 

Abrahan Bento Sassaporta Naggar has traveled to America from the filthy, Jew-hating streets of East London in search of a better life. But Abe’s visions of a privileged apprenticeship in the Sassaporta Brothers’ empire based in Savannah, Georgia, are soon replaced with the grim reality of indentured servitude in his uncle Isadore’s camp town near Greensborough, North Carolina.
 
Some 50 miles west, a woman named Dark Water of the Mountains leads a life of irreverent solitude. The daughter of a powerful Cherokee chief, it has been nearly 20 years since she renounced her family’s plans for her to marry a wealthy white man.
 
Far away in Georgia, a black slave named Jacob has resigned himself to a life of loss and injustice in a city of refuge for criminals.
 
A trio of outsiders linked by unrequited and rekindled love, Abe, Dark Water, and Jacob find themselves surrounded by the escalating horrors of President Jackson’s Indian Removal Act. As the US government implements the appalling logistics of transporting the Native American tribes of the South to the western side of the Mississippi River, Abe tries desperately to intervene—and Jacob and Dark Water fight for their lives.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, American History, Native American, 19th Century, Jewish, American

371 pages, Paperback

First published January 19, 2016

About the author

Born Mary Kowalski on the south shore of Boston, Massachusetts, Mary Glickman grew up the fourth of seven children in a traditional Irish-Polish Catholic family. Her father had been a pilot in the Army Air Force and later flew for Delta Air Lines. From an early age, Mary was fascinated by faith. Though she attended Catholic school and as a child wanted to become a nun, her attention eventually turned to the Old Testament and she began what would become a lifelong relationship with Jewish culture. “Joseph Campbell said that religion is the poetry that speaks to a man’s soul,” Mary has said, “and Judaism was my soul’s symphony.”

In her twenties, Mary traveled in Europe and explored her passion for writing, composing short stories and poetry. Returning to the United States, she met her future husband, Stephen, a lawyer, and with his encouragement began to consider writing as a career. She enrolled in the Masters in Creative Writing program at Boston University, under the poet George Starbuck, who encouraged her to focus on fiction writing. While taking an MFA class with the late Ivan Gold, Mary completed her first novel, Drones, which received a finalist award from the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities but was never published.

Mary also began a career as a freelance writer working with nonprofit organizations on projects ranging from a fund-raising campaign for the Hebrew Rehabilitation Center to an instructional video for the National Scoliosis Foundation’s screening project. Mary and Stephen married in 1978. Mary made a full conversion to Judaism and later worked as treasurer/secretary for her synagogue.

The origins of her love for all things Southern arose from a sabbatical year. In 1987, Mary and Stephen first traveled to the south of Spain, soaking in the life of a fishing village called La Cala. After seven months abroad and, hoping to extend their time away, they sought a warm—and more affordable—locale. The romance of Charleston, South Carolina, its Spanish moss, antebellum architecture, and rich cultural life beckoned.

Settling into a rented house on Seabrook Island, Mary fell in love with the people, language, and rural beauty of her new home. Following a lifelong desire to ride horses, Mary took a position mucking the stalls at the local equestrian center and embraced riding, finding her match in an Appaloosa named King of Harts. The sabbatical ended and the couple returned to life in Boston, but the passion for Southern culture remained with them. They were able to return permanently to Seabrook Island in 2008, where they currently reside with their cats and an elderly King of Harts.

Reviews

[Angela M · Rating 3 out of 5]

A shameful time in American history depicting the horrible treatment of native Americans is told here in the story of an immigrant Jew from London , a Native American woman and a black slave whose paths cross in the late 1820 's and early 1830's in North Carolina .

Abrahan's character is skillfully developed as we see him evolve from a naive, love struck young man to man of honor who would do what it took to help Marian ( Dark Water ) and Jacob. But something was missing for me and I'm almost at a loss to explain what it was . The thing affected me most was "The Trail of Tears , what was happening to the Native Americans as a result of the Indian Removal Act under President Andrew Jackson, when Native Americans were forced to leave their land and in the south and settle west. Yet it felt to me at times to be the side story that we get to eventually. Getting there was a bit slow . None the less , it seems to be well researched and certainly a revelation for anyone not familiar with this awful part of our history.

Thanks to Open Road Integrated Media and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advance copy .

[Donna Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

The blurb for this novel reads, “A Jewish immigrant, a Cherokee woman, and a black slave find love, friendship, and redemption in the midst of the tragedy of the Trail of Tears”. I thought it sounded interesting, and it might have been, but really, not so much. Just as a truly great writer can take the dullest of topics and make it shiny and fascinating, so may an interesting concept leave the reader squirming and thinking of other things she might want to do or read, if the narrative doesn’t flow well. And although I usually have tremendous sympathy for writers since I write a little now and then, I just couldn’t find any redemptive quality in Glickman’s novel. It feels as if someone has gone to a lot of trouble to research the topic, and the whole story is going to be strung together around that research, come what may. In other words, instead of assisting the writer with the story, the story appears to be there as a forum to present research. And so thank you just the same, Net Galley, and thank you also, Open Road Integrated Media, but I can’t recommend this book to anyone. And if I felt this way after slogging through a galley I received free of charge, how might I have felt if I had paid for it?

The story starts out with sex, which rather startled me, and it didn’t seem to fit the rest of the story in overall tone, but hey, they say sex sells, so maybe the editors wanted her to open the story with sex. Fine, fine. I got through the first chapter and set the book aside so I could start fresh once my irritation had ebbed.

But the start of the story is only the start of the book’s problems. The figurative language is often trite—“buxom beauties”, and a Cherokee whose face is—what else?—“chiseled”. Description should drive the story forward, but it doesn’t happen here. There are huge stretches of nothing but narrative, and then impossibly long monologues in other places. There is an occasional interesting description of setting, but it comes undone as soon as we go back, as we must, to characters and plot.

It’s kind of a mess.

I found myself wondering whether the author might not find greater success in writing narrative nonfiction, where she could focus on her information, but spin it out in the format of a story, but I just didn’t see anything here that showed promise.

Could be this will be the next National Book or Pulitzer winner and I will have been the one that said the book was hopeless; stranger things have happened. But I have to call them as I see them, and although no doubt a lot of worthwhile research has been conducted, the story itself fails to flow. It feels cobbled together, forced, and contrived. If I felt a little editing here and there would be useful, I’d say so, but it’s pretty much the same from start to merciful end.

Not this time.

[Melissa Crytzer Fry · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was much to admire about this book – in particular the author’s portrayal of Dark Water, a Cherokee woman who embodied the strength and will of a nation (and who accurately depicted the revered status of women in Native American culture).

The story – of a Jewish immigrant peddler (Abe), Dark Water, and an African American slave (Jacob) – is incredibly intriguing and unique. The parallels between each character’s battle for acceptance and the overall historic struggles of these displaced groups does not go unnoticed; it is subtly and effectively woven into a cohesive novel. The historical accuracy of this book is significant as well; the author did her homework, shedding light on the horrific Trail of Tears, one of America’s most shameful legacies.

The writing is frequently beautiful and sensory, but for me, was, unfortunately, lost in the overall narrative structure of the novel. While the book (which is essentially Dark Water's story) is told through Abe’s point of view, he often learns of Dark Water’s life through stories passed down by others: by his not-yet-wife; by farmers; by a slave boy; by narrative recollection of Dark Water, herself; by Jacob; by an Irish character named O’Hanlon and others. This third-party telling, for me, didn’t allow a deep emotional connection with Dark Water or Jacob and their tender and excruciating story. I felt, always, at arm’s length and as if the story were being recited to me, rather than me being a part of it. This style, at times, made me feel as though the story were rushed.

I DO think this is a worthy read for anyone interested in the topic of equality and displacement (and European guilt), and for those interested in learning more about the horrific Trail of Tears. In fact, it may be the perfect read for someone who is reading on a treadmill (the pacing of the book fits the pacing on a treadmill; this is where I read).

This is a book, in fact, that I hope will be made into a movie, as it would come to life and be so, so powerful on the screen where actors could portray the deepest emotions of the characters.

Finally, I found the Author’s Note most enjoyable, as it shared her historic research and her accidental stumbling upon certain events in history (the rubber craze at that time period blew me away) that informed the telling of this story. The author’s goal of presenting Native American culture accurately is admirable and indicative of what the best historical fiction offers to readers.

[Katherine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Although I like the uncommon mixture of a Jewish man, a Black slave and a Native American woman in this story, and really liked Marian's strength, I couldn't finish this book. I tried to give it a chance, and got to 40% before I quit.

My biggest problem with it was the writing style - I found it extremely purple and florid, and the use of the word "equine" when a simple "horse" would do was jarring and unnatural: "Next thing he knew, they were marching off to a dirt paddock where a fearsome equine was engaged in a vigorous effort at liberation, pulling against the rope that tied him to a fencepost."

Another problem, for me, was that the form of the book consists largely of lengthy monologues in which the main characters recount their stories to the Jewish peddler, who has a minor role. While that format has worked wonderfully in books like Wuthering Heights, it doesn't fit here, and it takes away all the thrill and danger that could come from the descriptions of battle and war. It became tedious to have the action recounted instead of letting the reader immerse themselves in it. When they're even just chatting, the dialogue is unrealistic and ineffective; I think maybe the author's attempts at making the setting seem "older" may have backfired, as the characters blog at each other instead of conversing.

It also became repetitive as Abe becomes a messenger between Marian and Jacob, and then has to repeat what A said to B, and back and forth.

It's a good effort, but this book was definitely not for me.

[Davida Chazan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whether you know about the black mark on American history known as the "Trail of Tears" or not, this fascinating historical fiction novel will be an excellent way to learn about it (or learn more about it). Read why in my review here. https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2016/01/1...

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glickman’s Undisturbed Peace is an interesting book. In many ways, it is what good historical fiction should be. Well researched, well written, nicely painted time and pictures. Yet, despite the believability of the story and the grounding in fact that the novel contains, the characters are pretty much unsympathetic.
Perhaps this lack of sympathy is part of the historical accuracy. No one is sympathetic. Whites won’t be for killing the Native Americans and taking the land. Native Americans for simply killing innocents. Yet, it is something more than this.
The book does inspire curiosity. It isn’t one of those books that don’t interest the reader. However, it is more for historical curiosity than anything else. It’s a book more for a plot arc and description than for character.

[N.N. Heaven · Rating 5 out of 5]

A heartbreaking story every single person much read. Historically accurate, too. Highly recommend!

My Rating: 5+stars

Reviewed by: Mrs. N

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as a Goodreads Firstread. It is a wonderful historical saga of three very different characters trying to survive in the south in the early 1820's. Abe is a Jewish merchant, Dark Waters a Cherokee princess, and Jacob, a slave owned by Dark Water 's father. The story revolves around the harsh lives, the complexities of different ethnic migrations into the south, and the events leading to one of the great tragedies of our country, the Trail of Tears forced relocation of tens of thousands of Native Americans from their homes. It is a love story, and a story of the complexities of family lives and emerging towns. The resilience the Native Americans and settlers of that era is amazing. Underlying many events that shaped our current states is also that ever present greed that was hidden under the guise of development or religion or what was necessary for progress. This is not a quick read. It starts slow but as the characters and events develop, it becomes more intriguing. Recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical novels and who are unfamiliar with the background of the relocation of Native Americans. It is an eye opener.

[Debra Pawlak · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is author Mary Glickman at her best. Set against the devastating times when Native Americans were forced along the ‘Trail of Tears’, Glickman spins the story of three uniquely different characters: a black slave, an Indian princess and a Jewish peddler whose lives are intertwined when a chance meeting between the peddler and the princess shapes their futures. Abrahan ‘Abe’ Bento Sassaporta Naggar travels to America from England. Sent by his widowed mother to live with his merchant uncle in North Carolina, Naggar is a reluctant salesman—until he meets the mesmerizing Marian Redhand, or Dark Water, as she is known to her people, the Cherokee. The inexperienced Abe finds the Indian princess bewitching and when he learns of her forbidden love for Jacob, formerly her mother’s black slave, he must act. As the story progresses, along with the damaging relocation of the Native Americans, we travel the journey of these three people who are, at times, misfits themselves. Dark Water is not accepted by her own people because of her feelings for Jacob who is terribly disfigured from war and chooses to hide from the woman he loves. Abe, himself, is scorned by his customers after innocently selling them bad product, which jeopardizes his livelihood and family. Glickman’s strong point is her character development. She makes us care about each one—despite their flaws. And as their story unravels, Glickman takes us on an unforgettable journey. My only complaint? I wish the story hadn’t ended!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Abrahan Sassaporta is a young Jewish man who arrived in the US from lower-class London to work for his uncle Isadore. Known as Abe in the US, he peddles goods door to door in rural North Carolina. No matter how much he sells, though, he cannot seem to pay off his debts to his uncle. These debts only grow when Isadore sends for Abe's mother. Now Abe has to pay back that debt on top of his own.

Around that time, Abe meets a stunning native American named Dark Water who also goes by the Anglican name of Marian. She also spent time in England, where her father sent her to learn the ways of the white man so she would be primed to marry one upon her return. She had different ideas, however, and fell deep in love with a slave named Jacob.

Abe's, Jacob's, and Marian's paths cross and their stories intertwine as Abe's family places pressure on him to marry. Although Jews were outsiders in 1830s North Carolina, they didn't tolerate intermarriage.

The story is gripping and tragic and Mary Glickman at her best. She's a fabulous historical novelist, as she's proven in her previous books. But what really makes them special are the love triangles and unrequited love stories. An Undisturbed Peace is just that and so much more.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is historical fiction, an "accurate portrayal of the everyday details and social habits" of Jewish people, American Indians, and black people, beginning in 1828 North Carolina. The main character is a traveling peddler, so the areas covered extend beyond North Carolina and, through his eyes, the reader witnesses the injustices of the Indian Removal Act.

While this novel deserves high marks for its obviously careful research, the depiction of the Jewish peddler's life on the road is often silly enough that I suspected while I was reading that Mary Glickman, the author, was being sarcastic. I was never sure whether this was deliberate or my misunderstanding. I would like to have cared more for him and the other characters, but only their historical details interested me, not their personal stories.

Before you read AN UNDISTURBED PEACE, read the "Author's Note." Although this is at the end of the book, I wish I had read it first.

[John Findlay · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were aspects of this book that I really liked, but it fell short of being everything it could have been. Initially the concept of historical fiction about the "Trail of Tears" drew me to read it. I hoped to learn much more about this devastating event in the history of our country and our mistreatment of Native Americans. But, surprisingly, it played a relatively secondary role in the story, and did not emerge as a major part of the plot until later in the book. Glickman did educate me about that period in several way: the existence of Jewish peddlers in the South, the attempts by some Cherokees to assimilate with the whites, African American slaves owned by Cherokees, Andrew Jackson's disdain for Supreme Court rulings, and the rubber fiasco. The protagonist was a Jewish peddler, his love interest was a Cherokee woman, and she had a relationship with a slave belonging to her father. Much of the story was told by various people relating their history to the peddler, a device that worked to some extent at first but became tiresome. Some of the language was overdone, as if it was important to substitute a less common word for a simple one. But the story intrigued me and held my interest, and it was also educational. I would read other books by Glickman, and also other books, preferably nonfictional, about the "Trail of Tears".

[Glen Stott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel is based upon the “Trail of Tears” when the Cherokee Indians we removed from their homelands and driven across the Mississippi to Oklahoma. Glickman weaves the story around the inequalities Indians, slaves, Jews, and women endured in the 1830s in America. The Cherokee Indians had adopted the white man’s ways, built prosperous towns and successful farms. Then the white men decided they wanted those farms, and under Pres. Jackson, the Cherokees were forced leave everything behind and move to the Indian reservations in Oklahoma. The story revolves around Miriam, an Indian maiden, Abrahan, a Jewish shopkeeper, and Jacob, a black slave.

It is a good storyline with strong characters. It focuses on historical aspects that are primarily negative against America. However, the story is true and the kinds of things that happen in it did happen and, in many ways, continued to. I would prefer a more balanced picture, but I still give it five stars.
Started 2019.03.12 – finished 2019.03.29

[Susie Fenwick · Rating 3 out of 5]

The subject matter of this novel was interesting and filled with details bringing the tragedy of the Indian Removal Act to life. The interwoven lives of the white men, native Americans, (both full blooded and mixed heritage) and slaves shed new light on American History. The Jewish merchant who was the novels protagonists was not a favorite character and seemed to weaken the part of the beloved Cherokee woman, Dark Water. The development and portrayal of the male protagonist led to my 3 star rating.

[Paula Singleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Historical Fiction

An Undisturbed Peace took place during the time of the removal of the Choctaw and Cherokee Indians in what is known as the "trail of tears". It also covered discrimination of a Jewish shop keeper and included slavery. A very good book that isn't a light read. Will be reading more books by this author.

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful, and sobering tale of the Native American forced relocation policies of the 1800's.

Abe is a Jew from the Old World who comes to the New World to apprenctice with his uncle in his trade. He meets a Cherokee woman and becomes a part of her life and saga.

Well researched and well written.

[Lily P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I selected this book to read because it was set in the 1820's and 1830's in NC and the Cherokee Trail of Tears. I didn't know a lot about this shameful period in our nation's history and wanted to better understand it.

I have some ambivalence about the novel. My star rating would more accurately be a 3.5.

The author tells the story through the eyes of an immigrant Jew from London and his interactions with a Native American woman and a black slave whose lives keep crossing paths.

Abrahan is our narrator, and his journey in the book. The novel is filled with his trials and tribulations, struggles with prejudice, poverty and entrepreneurial risk, failure and reward, as well as the growth his own marriage and family, however it is ultimately a story about Dark Water and her lover/husband Jacob. The core that drives the story is Abrahan's unrequited love for Dark Water and his quest to be with her, understand her life story, and ultimately to loyally try and help her survive the Trail of Tears, even if it means helping her find her lover/husband Jacob.

Each character is pretty well defined and the research done on this period seems substantial.

All of the characters evolve as the story progresses and that's rewarding for the reader. There seems some logic in their moral compasses which guide their decision making. Navigating the social ranking and status of a peddler, a Jew, an immigrant, a woman, an Indian, a slave...it was an educational journey that felt authentic but one that failed to bring me emotionally into the story.

High marks for characterization, research, plot development, but there was still something missing for me. I'm not sure what the author could have done differently, maybe I just couldn't connect with the narrator. The main story is about Dark Water, but we only learn her story through Abrahan's eyes and voice--maybe that's where the distance is. He kept filtering her story through his own expectations and unrequited love. I didn't connect with her emotionally, though she was a fascinating and strong woman. Sometimes her story is told through letters, through a slave child's information and through town gossip. But you never really felt you knew her.

Even Abrahan's wife could have been more fleshed out. Her actions indicate a pretty strong and interesting character, but he takes her for granted and we don't really learn that much about her.

Clearly, I have ambivalence about the novel.

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vividly written, accurately detailed, the novel added quite a lot to my understanding of the Cherokee during the time of Andrew Jackson and Chief John Ross. No wonder the Indians are protesting the Dakota pipeline now -- another example of the "white man's" perfidy. I'm very happy that my Great great grandmother remained in Georgia, instead of walking to Oklahoma.

[Denice Barker · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Undisturbed Peace by Mary Glickman

Wow. This is the kind of book I really love. The layers of story between Abrahan Bento Sassaporta Naggar, a Jew from the squalor of London who comes to America indentured to his uncle in Georgia, Dark Water of the Mountains, also known as Marian, and Jacob a slave all set within President Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Act makes for a sit up late at night read.
The whites are moving in and they want land. Land that the Native Americans cared for, lived on and respected for centuries. As the Natives try to stem the tide through resistance and then giving in and trying to appease the whites by living in houses, dressing in grand clothes and hoping not to be so noticeable, like a child sitting quietly in a corner in a room filled with adults, hoping to listen in before being chased off. But President Jackson is also a white man and so goes the ruling. The Natives must go.
Abrahan is not quite allowed yet to be a part of his uncle’s emporium but must take to the road as a salesman to the settlers. He finds Marian and falls in hopeless love with her. But Marian does not want to be found. She lives her life in solitude running from the whites and her own demons of the past.
Jacob is in hiding, protected by the Native Americans because of events in his past.
As Abe trades with the settlers and Native Americans he sees and learns a lot, forms his own judgements which are not the common ones of whites, and tries to protect both Marian and Jacob as their stories play out. The Indian Removal Act is nothing to be proud of and Jacob can see many parallels in his own life as a Jew.
This is a really, really good book.

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received An Undisturbed Peace, by Mary Glickman from Open Road Integrated Media, Inc. via NetGalley. This is an ARC - Kindle Edition.

Now that I have finished this remarkable novel, I have been pondering the title. During the course of this story, as with history, many have their lives ripped from them. Individuals, families and Nations suffered in terrible and violent ways.

"Who, who I want to cry, comes through this story with an undisturbed peace?" Are the new settlers at peace? Is President Jackson who orders and carries out the removal unruffled? What of those who profited when the Choctaw, and Cherokee move into Oklahoma territories.

Is it the Jewish peddler, our main protagonist Abraham, who keeps his peace as he wants?

Before he takes wife Hannah, he carries on finding his way in this new nation. He gets what he wants. He faces some anxiety, and stabs of guilty conscience. Maybe it is Abe that the title speaks to.

I enjoyed dialogue between Marian (Dark Water) and Abraham Bento Sassaporta Naggar. It was if Abe could not stop his honest thoughts from popping out of his mouth.

The horrors about the Trail of Tears can easier find delivery through the vehicle of fiction.

Mrs. Glickman's research is extensive. The story teems with accuracy.

If you enjoy early American historical fiction, this is an excellent book to read.

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a well-researched and illuminating work of historical fiction that explores the relationship between three separate communities in the south of the US in the early part of the 19th century. Glickman chooses three main protagonists to do this – a Jewish peddler, a Native American woman, and a black slave. Their three lives become inextricably linked and it’s their stories that drive the narrative. Abe Sassaporta starts off as a lowly travelling peddler and gradually works his way up into being a prosperous shopkeeper, an experience that mirrors that of many early Jewish immigrants. The great love of his life is Dark Water, a Native American woman, but her great love is an African-American man. By using these three, Glickman shows her readers how badly the Native Americans in particular were treated by the white settlers and the government of the day, and the displacement of the Cherokee nation and the infamous Trail of Tears is a key event in the novel. The book ticks most of the right boxes for effective and convincing historical fiction, but I still somehow didn’t manage to connect with the characters. I was as horrified by the treatment of the Native Americans as I always am when reading of this period, and some of the scenes Glickman graphically portrays are certainly not for the faint-hearted. But still there was something lacking for me. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the period detail and learnt much about life in the southern states at this turbulent time, and for that alone I recommend the book.

[Lisa Cermak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mary Glickman's newest novel, An Undisturbed Peace, is a compelling book. A love story of complex relationships, a mystery, adventures galore, Glickman's book has so many facets to enjoy. Her extensive research has led to an engaging description of life among the Cherokees as well as the conflicts new immigrants faced trying to adapt to this country in the 1820s. Her contrast of the lives of Abrahan Sassaporta, a young Jewish immigrant struggling to overcome exhausting challenges, and Dark Water, a beautiful and enchanting Cherokee princess, is forceful in its detail. Even Hart, Abrahan's noble steed who warns him of impending danger, road right into my heart!

Glickman's use of language is consummate. She is able to capture the thoughts, feelings and nuances of her characters and she speaks authentically through them. Her descriptions of the towns and villages of the era create a sense of place that enhances the story. Her plot lines are realistic and compelling.

This is a novel to read carefully, slowly, to savor its richness. In my opinion, it is Glickman's best book yet. (less

[Carolyn Richbart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mary Glickman's fourth novel, "An Undisturbed Peace" is the best yet. She has moved to a new locale, North Carolina, and explores injustice done to a different minority group, Native Americans.

The novel concerns events leading up to the Trail of Tears. The guiding link in the story is Abraham Bento Sassaporta Naggar who travelled the frontier of North Carolina as a peddler for his uncle. In his travels he encounters the fiercely independent Dark Water who has separated herself from her family and Cherokee tribe to live life on her own terms. She had married a black man which was forbidden in the Cherokee culture. Abe fell hopelessly in love with her but a continued relationship was impossible for him with her. He in turn married a gentile girl which was initially unacceptable by his Jewish culture.

Abe and Dark Water come across each other more than once with Abe needing to rescue her even to the point of risking his marriage.

Much research has obviously gone into the background of this novel and has given me much more insight into the horrors of the Trail of Tears.

[Tom Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written, seemingly carefully researched, interesting story. I reserved the book from my library as soon as I saw that it dealt with "trail of tears." Generally familiar with that tragic story, I thought a novel about it would be good. It was, but it wasn't so much a story of the Indian Removal Act and the trek of the Choctaw and the Cherokees as it was a story of the times preceding the Removal Act. The book flap tells you it deals with three people, a Cherokee woman who lives alone disaffected from her people, a Jewish immigrant from London, and a black man enslaved by the Cherokee (yes, the Cherokees enslaved blacks) and how their lives intersect to paint a picture of the culture of the Cherokee, with some trying to emulate the white man and others striving to maintain their own culture. The cruelty of the Removal Act is vividly depicted as the inexorable appetite for the white man for land and gold results in the most callous attitude and treatment of people deemed uncivilized.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advanced reader copy of this book by the publisher for an honest review.

I enjoyed this historical fiction novel of how a Jew, a Native American, and a black slave's lives intertwine and culminate in the Trail of Tears. Each of the three is burdened with prejudice and racial hatred in what was purported to be the "land of the free". There was wonderful character development which enabled the reader to see the flaws and gifts each person brought to the story. It's a shameful period of American history, and one everyone should know about. It doesn't disguise the fact that the Indian Removal Act was brought about by President Jackson. Glickman writes wonderfully and engages the reader quickly!

[Paula Mccallum · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read several pieces of historical fiction from the Carolinas (my chosen home) that have endeared me even more to the region & its rich history. Like Frasier's "Thirteen Moons", "An Undisturbed Peace" provides a glimpse of the relationships between the Cherokee & various "whites". I recommend a visit to Oconoluftee Village in Cherokee, NC to gain further insight to these people, learn about their desire to live their heritage more fully & experience how they lived in the 19th century. The people behind the Cherokee Heritage movement are an inspiration to Americans, to embrace our perspective native heritages and appreciate each other more fully today, despite past wrongs by our forefathers. We cannot undo the past, but we can learn from it & move forward.

[Phyllis Cartmel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the kind of book that wakes you up at night while you are reading it and stays with you after you finish reading. The story was heartfelt. At first I was put off by Abraham. I thought he was too self centered. But in spite of his faults he turns into the hero in this story. Maybe it is more realistic that he is an imperfect hero. Even though I knew the story of the Indian relocation acts, this story touched me. Especially given everything that is happening in today's world this story reminded me that greed and fear drive some people to make poor choices and to carry out crimes against their fellow man. However, there is always the hope that one person with a loving heart and sense of justice can make a difference.

[Deb Merriam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant! I have been an avid reader my entire life but never have I had the opportunity to read such an engrossing novel. I am so impressed by the ability of the author to have so diligently researched the subject matter and time in history in which the story takes place, as well as her ability to weave her research into an intriguing story of the people of the time and how they experienced profound love and loss. The reader feels the intimacy of the characters as if present with them in the setting. It's an extraordinary story for all readers of any generation, especially those interested in the history of America and the families that made our country as it is today.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mary Glickman is a remarkable historian immersing her readers in a specific period of time in each of her novels. Her current topic, a sad event in American history, is carefully documented providing little known details in an authentic way. Her characters are uniquely diverse but they give the reader an opportunity to understand the different points of view of that time. Lastly, I appreciate Ms. Glickman's use of the English language, a true wordsmith whose descriptions flow beautifully in a poetic way.

[Polly Krize · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The traveling of the Trail of Tears by the Cheyenne people was the hideous sham of the American government, ostensibly re-locating a native population of America. Ms. Glickman brings this tragedy directly to the reader through the eyes of three characters, including a Cheyenne woman, a Jewish peddler and a black slave. Historically accurate and well-researched, I would recommend this book. The only question I have is the relevance of the title: Who actually experienced An Undisturbed Peace?