Black Sun Rising / La Corazonada: A novel / una novela

by Barry Gifford, Laura Emilia Pacheco (Translator)

The first Western noir by Barry Gifford, "a killer fuckin' writer." (David Lynch)Based on historical events in 1851, this Western noir novella traces the struggle of the first integrated Native American tribe to establish themselves on the North American continent. After escaping the Oklahoma relocation camps they had been placed in following their forced evacuation from Florida, the Seminole Indians banded with fugitive slaves from the American South to fulfill the vision of their leader, Coyote, to establish their land in Mexico's Nacimiento. The Mexican government allowed them initially to settle in Mexico near the Texas-Mexico border, in exchange for guarding nearby villages from bands of raiding Comanches and Apaches.      On the Texas side of the border, a romance begins between Teresa, daughter of former Texas Ranger and slavehunter Cass Dupuy, and Sunny, son of the great Seminole chief Osceola. Teresa's father, a violent man, has heard about the fugitive slaves settled on the other side of the border and plans to profit from them. As the story progresses, multiple actors come into play, forming alliances or declaring each other enemy, as the Seminoles struggle to fulfill captain Coyote's corazonada to find their own land. Black Sun Rising is a poetic story which brings to light a little-known but important chapter in American and Mexican history and will be simultaneously published in Mexico by Almadía. One of America's greatest novelists and a tireless innovator whose oeuvre spans fiction, autobiography, oral history, and short fiction, Barry Gifford is now venturing into the genre of Western, breaking new ground by infusing it with his signature noir style.

Genres: Westerns

256 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 10, 2020

About the author

Barry Gifford is an American author, poet, and screenwriter known for his distinctive mix of American landscapes and film noir- and Beat Generation-influenced literary madness.

He is described by Patrick Beach as being "like if John Updike had an evil twin that grew up on the wrong side of the tracks and wrote funny..."He is best known for his series of novels about Sailor and Lula, two sex-driven, star-crossed protagonists on the road. The first of the series, Wild at Heart, was adapted by director David Lynch for the 1990 film of the same title. Gifford went on to write the screenplay for Lost Highway with Lynch. Much of Gifford's work is nonfiction.

Reviews

[Chrisl · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't recommend!!
If you want to read about the factual history of the Black Seminole migration to Mexico, 'South to Freedom' is informative.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
***
Initial perceptions - would not expect to see book physically survive much borrowing -
Found Library of Congress cataloging woeful. Only two subjects assigned
1. Kickapoo Indians - Fiction
2. Mexican-American Border Region - Fiction
***
from the introduction, I expect this could be a skimmer rather than a keeper. (Couldn't continue to even skim.)

"Black Sun Rising takes place on the Mexico-Texas border in 1851. Historical fiction written in style that could be describes as western 'noir', it is a recounting of the Seminole Indian migration from Florida to Oklahoma and Texas to Nacimiento in the Mexican state of Coahuila and also the story of the fugitive slaves from the American South who came to be known as Black Seminoles ... At the heart of the novel is the romance ... a son of the great Seminole chief Osceola ... a wild and rebellious daughter of the rancher ... a former Texas Ranger and slavehunter ... the German warlord ... Comanches and Apaches ... "

[M. Sarki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very short novella written basically as a synopsis of a film script. No fleshing out of the characters, the action pretty much explaining the story. Interesting and compelling, this western would make a fine movie. However, there is nothing really literary or of lasting merit in the writing. Just a good story and one I was glad to have read.

[Andy Weston · Rating 1 out of 5]

It’s a screenplay rather than a novel, and a pretty dated one at that.
Also, it’s 100 pages, not 200, as there is the Spanish version included as well.
It’s not long ago had a reissue, which is something of a surprise, but how it caught my attention.
Even as a screenplay, neither the characters nor the plot convince me to maintain interest.
Looking at it more closely now, most of the few decent reviews it has got are from people who will directly benefit from sales.

[Keren · Rating 1 out of 5]

There may be someone out there who would like this, but I feel like they'd be hard to find. This is just terrible. Precious little character development out plot development and no transitioning from scene to scene. Lots of telling rather showing. Just awful. Skimmed the last 40 pages just to see what would happen because I was interested in the historical events and people that inspired the story.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly, I'd probably only give this 4 stars, but the rating is absurdly low & the review are almost uniformly hostile & blinkered. Apparently, you should have a taste for Barry Gifford novellas before you read *Black Sun Rising*. *Wild at Heart* is probably the best place to begin w/ his work. Anyway, *Black Sun Rising* is a lovely western about Seminoles in Mexico, highly recommend it if you like westerns or are interested in the Seminoles or the idea of them as an integrated tribe

[Rita · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is very short. The introduction indicates the author intended this as a potential movie, and is written one scene at a time. The result is it skips around, and seems to end abruptly. I was hoping for something with more background and detail about the origins of the story-- such as how the Seminoles and escaped slaves banded together and made it to Mexico.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

As others have said this is really more of a film script and not a fully fleshed out novel or short story. Still, I read about a part of American history with which I was totally unfamiliar and will make an effort to learn more about the Seminoles and the Texas border.

[Discount Compost · Rating 5 out of 5]

Folks this is not "a historical novel". This is the screen story for a 60s Western that Barry Gifford published. Five stars here because jeeeesus this would have been a hell of a film. If you don't like Barry Gifford or western movies, this isn't for you.

[Rob Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a read, it's pretty great; as the blueprint for a film, it's solid!

[Steve Ollove · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty simplistic. I did learn about the black Seminoles (Mascogos) but that’s about it.

[Justin Cipparrone · Rating 3 out of 5]

An alright read, feels more like a screenplay at times with some very short chapters/sections. An interesting tale of resistance to colonial imperialism with a colourful cast of characters.