The Life Stone of Singing Bird

by Melody Henion Stevenson

The boundaries between love and hate, loyalty and betrayal, and cooperation and competition among Native Americans and white settlers are explored in this stunning novel, set against the unforgiving wilderness of frontier Kansas in the mid-nineteenth century.
Iris, India, and Singing Bird. Theirs is an uneasy alliance - a makeshift trinity of mother, daughter, and ambiguously holy spirit - that together forges a family of necessity. The fates of these women and their loved ones are inextricably linked by the powerful magic of the talisman known as the Life Stone. The adult eyes of India Baldoon Walker unfold the her mother's grinding journey west, including her murdered husband and stillborn baby, and the discovery of a Native American infant boy who becomes India's adopted brother, Boy Found. As the two children grow into adults, their individual heritages prove to be insurmountable and their harmonious co-existence is shattered.

175 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Allissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lyrical and told much like *I would tell a story… rambling at times and skipping around. It is a sad story ultimately. Native American spirit legends and how we are all connected in this life, however tragic those connections end up being.

[Rhonda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read The Life Stone of Singing Bird when it first came out, then again just recently and was charmed all over again by the fearlessness of Melody Stevenson's nimble imagination. She makes it so easy to step into the minds of madly disparate characters and cloak yourself in their points of view. I adore this book and wonder when we'll see more from this gifted storyteller.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 3 out of 5]

he pieces told by the narrartor were far more compelling than the half from Singing Bird's tribe/family. I must admit that near the end I skipped all the pieces that didn't deal directly with India or Iris.