Even As We Breathe

by Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle

Even As We Breathe introduces the reader to twenty-year-old Cowney Sequoyah and the mountains of western North Carolina during the summer of 1942. Cowney is spending the season as an undervalued member of the Grove Park Inn’s grounds crew. The inn is currently home to Axis diplomats and their families being held as prisoners of war. Cowney struggles to balance the often conflicting worlds of life at home on the Qualla Boundary (Cherokee Indian Reservation), where a Capuchin monkey roams the woods at will and mysterious forest fires loom, with life at the inn where foreign diplomats quietly negotiate backdoor deals and a secret room provides the rare opportunity for Cowney and Essie (his enigmatic carpool companion) to construct their own world views. Bud, Cowney’s uncle, offers the only true glimpse into Cowney’s past before his parents died, but Bud’s own demons threaten to upend Cowney’s peace with the past and compromise any hope for a future free from the consequences of his family’s choices. When a diplomat’s young daughter goes missing at the inn, Cowney finds himself in the center of suspicion and betrayal.

Cowney’s experience is an examination of race and class tangled in a microcosm of the secluded inn. His story asks the reader to consider the tropes of American imprisonment and our role as both prisoners and imprisoners. Cowney finally comes to reason that all three natural elements that cause so many problems in life (bones, blood, and skin color) will not be what remain of humankind in the end. Only the human spirit can be passed on wholly to the next generation.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Indigenous, Native American, Mystery, Historical, Audiobook

240 pages, Hardcover

First published September 8, 2020

Reviews

[Melissa (Vacation Mode) · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars, rounded up.

This was my book club read for March.

It is set in North Carolina during the summer of 1942. Cowney Sequoyah lives in Cherokee and is at a crossroads in his life--he's tried junior college and it didn't work for him, now he's trying to decide what the future holds. A birth defect with his foot means he can't join up, so he accepts a job as part of the grounds crew at the Grove Park Inn, which is serving as an internment center for foreign diplomats and their families. Throughout the course of the summer Cowney and his fellow Cherokee companion (and object of his desire) Essie learn more about themselves and each other.

This is a very short book and doesn't even begin to touch on the deeper issues that it could have explored. The inner jacket blurb refers to a missing child being central to their time at the Inn, but it really only slightly factors into the story and is quickly resolved without much turmoil.

I guess I can say that this is a coming of age story, but I never really warmed to Cowney who was stubborn and willfully blind to the truth around him. I suppose he was a victim of his circumstances, but he didn't want to hear the truth and reality of his father, and refused to listen to the voices of reason around him. He frustrated me.

I also never got a real sense for the time and place of this story. The racism that obviously existed during this time never really came into play here, and because we're in Cowney's head we only get his emotions and reactions to things rather than the reality.

Overall, this was a fair read, but I didn't come away with any sense of learning or satisfaction with the events in the story. I have read other books centering on indigenous people that were much more impactful.

[Toni · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is another case of wanting to like the book more than I actually did in the end. There were some beautifully rendered moments in this book, and the last pages are especially heartfelt and affecting. However, as whole, the story just felt a bit flat, never quite bringing me into its grasp.

Cowney Sequoyah, the central character, leaves his home on the Cherokee Reservation in North Carolina to take a job at a nearby inn where diplomats and their families are being held for a time during WWII. Amongst other things, Cowney becomes inadvertently drawn into an incident that could cause deep consequences.

The initial difficulty I have with the story is how passive Cowney is throughout - the drama of book lands on him in such a distant manner, even though the impact of what unfolds is so potentially life-altering. Equally, I never really felt the depth of Cowney's feelings toward the people around him. The story is set around a mystery (that doesn't quite take shape until the later half of the book) but is really the story of Cowney's history and family and the stories that are told during the shape of a life. Without really feeling Cowney's connections with the other characters, the impact of the uncovering of Cowney's life history just doesn't pack the punch that it should.

There is a good story in here, but the characters are a little thin and I wish the author had foregone some of the action to let the reader into the head and the heart of the main character a little more.

[Kasa Cotugno · Rating 4 out of 5]

I became aware of Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle's debut through a zoom interview with Louise Erdrich in which she said she was a Native American writer to watch. What makes this story stand out is its location -- Cherokee, a town in western North Carolina where a tribe exists even today. It is 1942, and Cowney Sequoyah has lived all his 19 years in these mountains. When he lands a job at a luxury resort two hours away in Asheville, circumstances awaken him to the bigger world. I did not know until this book that Axis diplomats were housed in such surroundings, along with their families. There was a little drag in the center, but it did deliver in the end.

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots of historical anachronisms (the story takes place in 1942) . Unconvincing character voices, and no clear conflict. Very little sense of place, which was surprising and disappointing. I had such high hopes for this book: I was looking forward to the setting in place and time, the cultural background of the characters and the author. But first and last rule of writing: give the reader a reason to turn the page.

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Cinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in Cherokee, NC and Asheville NC during World War II. Provides a rare glimpse into this history through the eyes of a young Cherokee man hired to work at the Grove Park Inn when it was used to house foreign nationals from allies of Germany and Japan.

[Jenny (Reading Envy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cowney Sequoyah lives in Cherokee during the second World War, and since he has a bad foot is unable to fight. He finds work at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC, which has been pulled into house foreign diplomats who are really more prisoners of war, from Japan and Germany. He drives with a woman named Essie, who also shares in his Cherokee background. He works around the property and she works as a maid.

The author, Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, is a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and she weaves in pieces of local history in subtle ways, as well as capturing the life of 20th century rural Appalachia in a region that is not a reservation but a span of land called the Qualla Boundary, purchased by the Cherokee from the government in the 1800s. In the 1930s, some of this same land was being imposed on once again with the building of the Blue Ridge Parkway, which happened before, during, and after the time period of this novel. There is a character that sets fires on purpose to taunt the NPS, and much of Cowney's time at home with his grandmother (who he calls Lishie) is filled with smoke and fire.

Some of the plot is a bit spotty, but the author really captures the realities of navigating as an indigenous person during this time, and really portrays the presence of the time and place. I've been to the Grove Park Inn several times and had no idea of its war history!

Thanks to Kendra for bringing this book for discussion on episode 218 of the Reading Envy Podcast, and I enjoyed reading and discussing it with an Instagram buddy.

[Carly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure how I feel about this book. The story was unique, and the historical angle along with a Native main character sounded promising. However the whole book just never felt finished to me. Too many storylines pushed together, and not enough of a focus on any of them (aside from the Essie love story which really sounded damned from the start and then, of course, it was). All the storylines felt so surface without real depth and description. Lots and lots of descriptions of what is going on in Cowney's mind, but even that tended to wander without a focus. And just when you think you've figured out a storyline, a new one would pop up and derail the plot. The murder/abduction plot that is such a big focus of the blurb?? Yeah that lasts all of maybe two chapters and it's wrapped up in 2 pages. Then all of a sudden the author is old and he's written this book looking back as an older man? Maybe my focus was off (possible), but I just couldn't get into the book and couldn't wait to finish it so I could move on. Clapsaddle is a good writer (lots of great lines and descriptions throughout), but I felt this book needed more streamlining and focus.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading it for the second time. I enjoyed it so much on this second reading. And students are really enjoying it, too.

This totally lived up to the hype—especially the ending. What a moving ending!

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aiee. I really wanted to like this book. I wanted to learn more about the Cherokee during WW2, wanted to learn more about the odd internment camp in tony North Carolina, and wanted to read more about dealing with race and indigenous cultures at that time. And I love a good coming-of-age story. I got some of that and there were good parts-- Cowney and Essie seem real some of the time, I loved their secret retreat despite its unrealistic nature, and the specifics about Cowney's life in Cherokee were wonderful. But the characters were inconsistent, the storyline was labored and full of holes and all over the place, and the framing of the whole story was confusing and lacked meaning. I still don't understand the title. I still don't understand how Essie and Cowney maintained any sort of relationship after that summer. The "guests" at the hotel were shadows of characters, and the resolution of the climax was incredibly rushed and simple, relying on a really weird deus ex machina. I think this book could have used some editing because there were themes and ideas that I enjoyed a ton, some beautiful and poetic passages, but the plotting was so inconsistent. Sigh. I was frustrated after I finished it. It felt stuck between a murder mystery and a poetic rendering of a specific time and place.

[Kathy Randall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Umm.

First this is #ownvoices set in Cherokee, NC and there are places where the writing sings. There are beautiful moments, poetic reflections, and clear writing throughout.

However. I’m going to need to sit on this one... I’m not sure if it was satisfying...

Much of the action takes place very late in the book, and there are often elements that feel like they should be metaphors: wildfire, weeks of rain, death, bears, waterfalls...

And Cowley continually feels like all the action is happening to him, even as the protagonist he still is acted upon, rather than driving the story.

I’m not really into passive protagonists.

There were one too many deus ex machina actions in the end for me, and secrets that didn’t feel like they actually changed our characters.

And, CW: Bud, the uncle, continually verbally abused the MC through his childhood, and he’s just... he “made room for me” and everything’s better?!? It was very wrong.

[Dawn Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I am looking for a good novel to read, I want to care about the characters, discover something I did not know prior, enjoy the plot, and delight in the careful word construction. In her debut novel, Even As We Breathe, Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle hit every mark of a good novel for me. I especially appreciated such a compelling read as we were into our 6th month of isolation and I was recovering from major surgery. I wanted to read on, which helped me escape for a bit and imagine myself in another place and time with a character who drew me forward into the story.

Cowney Sequoyah is easy to love, a young man who has had his share of hardships, who has been taught love by his grandmother, who works hard, and tries to live in peace in his natural and human surroundings. As Cherokee from a small town in North Carolina in the midst of World War 2, his path is not an easy one. He cannot fight due to a birth defect that hampers his mobility, so he goes to work at a resort in the big city, Asheville, which has been turned into an upscale detention center for elite types stranded in the USA but from the land of our wartime enemies. Soldiers patrol the grounds. Cowney, and his friend and love-interest Essie, also from his home town are in the lowest echelon of this strange community of workers and residents. As the summer heats up with fires that threaten their hometown, illness and deaths that must be endured, and a mystery surrounding a bone and a missing child, Cowney will find his courage and sense of self. The novel is ultimately one of redemption, which is sorely needed at this time, maybe always. I never knew what might happen, but I was willing to keep turning the pages. I had to find out if the characters I cared about would survive the threats of their world, just as I hope we survive ours. While much of the subject matter is serious, there are also good laughs and moments of lightness. The end is especially satisfying.

I learned a great deal as I read this novel. I had no idea about such resort detention centers. I also learned more about life in Cherokee, North Carolina. When I can learn while being completely caught up in a story and its characters, it is a rich delight. If you too need a book that will absorb you and transport you, I highly recommend Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle’s Even As We Breathe. I look forward to more work from this author.

[Elizabeth☮ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clowney is nineteen and about to spend his summer working in a hotel. This is set in North Carolina during WWII. The residents of the hotel are diplomats being held by the U.S. government as prisoners of war. It is in this climate that Clowney find himself trying to navigate his feelings for Essie and his aspirations to attend college.

This addresses a time period we see a lot in literature, but taught me another element I didn't know about.

I like the native nations voice also.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I am bits and pieces of the people I meet, my teacher once told me, though, more accurately, I am of the people and places and creatures." p.3
"No one would miss me if I didn't show up to work. For once in their lives, those Japanese Americans must have wished they were just Japanese in America, like the diplomats and nationals that I'd be serving at the inn. Being American had somehow made being Japanese harder. Citizenship by choice complicated an identity assumed at birth." p24

I probably would not have picked up this novel if not for a book club selection. I have read and enjoyed the works of Erdrich and Alexie, and will now keep my eyes open for this author's future writings.
The story takes place during the latter years of World War II. Nineteen-year-old Cowney Sequoyah yearns to escape his life in Cherokee, NC in the heart of the Smoky Mountains. He yearns to see more of the world outside of Cherokee, hoping to discover his place in the world. A summer job at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville provides him with an opportunity to escape and experience life outside of the hills while earning some money.
The author does a nice job blending fiction and history in this novel. The Grove Park resort serves as temporary housing for foreign diplomats and their children as prisoners of war. They are referred to and treated like guests even though they live behind a barbed wire fence as military guards are present on both the grounds and in the resort. Even here, Cowney is not able to escape prejudice and ethnic biases toward Native Americans. He endures verbal insults and accusations of abduction (and possible murder) when the daughter of one of the diplomats goes missing.
The plot has many elements (i.e. love, barriers to achieving goals/dreams, betrayal, secrets, losses, etc.) that help keep the reader engaged, reading on to discover how the story will progress and what will come of Cowney. I feel the author does a nice job building a story that weaves together many themes (i.e. cultural values, ethnic and social differences, etc.) and symbols (i.e. the screaming mother bear, the freedom or imprisonment represented by the barbed wire that surrounds the resort) that I felt enriched this story.
I enjoyed this story and look forward to reading this author's future works.

[Kristin Stitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I was too mad to cry, so the tears pooled inside me until I almost drowned from the inside out." (203)

Clapsaddle writes of grief, love, family, and identity in a way that illuminates the spiritual nature of the human experience. I highly recommend this book and only wish that it was longer, with more of the historical context fleshed out. I will be watching this author for her next novel!

[Raven · Rating 3 out of 5]

“We have a true friendship, a kind of love that can’t really be named … I think that’s the best thing two people can have.”

I finished reading this yesterday, and yet the thoughts are still churning. I think that Annette Saunooke Clappsaddle’s prose is beautiful, but mostly I cannot stop thinking about how the publisher and the editor(s) did Annette dirty.

The dust jacket hypes this novel up as some sort of thriller/mystery. This ain’t that. This is a slow-moving novel about a young man coming of age and dealing with a plethora of loss. I genuinely like the novel for what it actually is, but because I thought it was going to be a murder mystery, I just kept thinking: “Cut the monkey business, Annette. Where's the damn murder?”

The monkey business I’m referring to isn’t just an expression. There is literally a subplot about a monkey roaming the woods and leading a Jack Kerouac-esque lifestyle. Again, the editors did Clapsaddle dirty. That entire subplot could’ve been cut.

Also, my friend Kirstie is so right when she says that “death is used a lot to progress the plot.” Nearly every event that takes place is a direct reaction to a death; nothing goes down and no decisions are made without someone dying first.

That aside, I did like this book. I most loved the moments shared between Cowney and Essie and their friendship. I like that the story is told in Cowney’s voice from his perspective, Clapsaddle did a beautiful job crafting him. I love that he is sensitive and kind (and loves Cheerwine, because same). At its core this is a novel about the consequences of misunderstanding, freeing oneself, and the many forms of friendship and family that exist.

The parts of the story that aren’t about Cowney’s inner life though? Those pieces just didn’t resonate with me much. Still, there is much to be admired from the strong sense of place to the subtle humor that runs throughout the novel, to the fact that this is a historical fiction set in the 1940's centered on the experiences of a young Cherokee man. It's worth the time for those reasons.

[David Dowdy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hesitated to buy Even As We Breathe when the owner of Adventure Bound Books in Morganton recommended it as historical fiction. What could an Indian story teach me about WWII? I'm glad I picked it up.

As HF, it brushes World War II in a personal and less war-accounting way that I found refreshing. As Native American fiction, it was eye-opening the way the author gently and realistically portrayed the Cherokee protagonist. I really felt Cowney and his family to be fully developed, sympathetic, and relatable as characters.

I didn't cringe as the author treated the Native American community in North Carolina. Her Cherokee heritage carries through in a genuine depiction of reservation life and backstory with enough interaction with natural settings to get an honest sense of how a Native feels.

You're in for a real story treat. Not overly literary, the book contains some gems as the following example depicts: "I was too mad to cry, so the tears pooled inside me until I almost drowned from the inside out."

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

A stunning debut novel by Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, Even As We Breathe offers a unique perspective on growing up as a disabled and orphaned Cherokee teenager during WWII.

In an attempt to escape the monotony of life on the reservation and save up a little money for college tuition, Cowney Sequoyah takes up a job as a maintenance worker for an inn that's been converted into a prisoner of war camp. His plans to keep his head down and avert unwanted attention goes ary when he and fellow Cherokee friend Essie find themselves pulled into an investigation surrounding a foriegn diplomat's missing daughter.

Long buried bones, unchecked fires, unspoken family histories, and the secrets hidden within room 447 all push our characters towards an incredibly unexpected ending.

Come for the compelling prose, stay for the breathtaking scenery and storytelling.

It's really a great time for indigenous writers and their stories, isn't it?

[Tuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

debut novel set in Asheville and Cherokee nc. 1942 and Grove Inn turned into an "internment" for axis diplomats and such. a Cherokee young man gets a job there for summer, death and mayhem ensue. ah but not really much death or mayhem. pretty tame and kind of uneven novel, ranging back and forth from lyrical, sort of spiritual, soap opera ish, and hill Billy ish. but important book for author.

[Sandra McCarver · Rating 2 out of 5]

I expected to have a more intense story about racial discrimination. It also disappointed in regard to descriptions of the setting, the Grove Park Inn and Cherokee.

[Tatyana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had high expectations for this book as it's set in a beautiful and grand Grove Park Inn, in such critical time in history, but got no sense of place or time in the story. Cowney's age didn't match the year war was ending too: in the story he was 19 years old in 1942, but his mother was pregnant before WW1 ended, which had to be 1918 since his father was still deployed when she was pregnant.

The bone part of the story bothered me. There was so much emphasis on the bone in the beginning; Cowney's speculations and theories, but author made it an object no one cared about at the end. How can authorities dismiss a possibly human bone from just a few months ago, found on the grounds of such populated place? It didn't spark any additional investigation or research, and none of the characters in the book entertained any possibility of a crime that would result in a bone buried there.

[Lacie DeGough · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing. I enjoyed reading it a lot more than I expected to! The story is so simple and yet so impactful.

The ending was my favorite part. The character arcs are remarkable (especially Uncle Bud's character arc), and the ending is bittersweet (which I love).

I highly recommend this book!

(Also, I can't wait to get to hear Clapsaddle speak at my college next week!)

- Lacie

[Tutankhamun18 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Felt a little flat as a story, had a good plot and good characters but they all felt a little lacking - a little underdeveloped. I think the book needed to be a little longer and to describe the characters and their everyday motivations and goings on a little more in order for the potential of this story to be fully realised.

[Jeanette (Ms. Feisty)]

DNF'd at 18%. I didn't hate it. I mostly felt neutral about it. Trying to read it was taking time away from much more compelling books I wanted to read, so I let it go.

[Carol Tilley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth your time to read: the setting and characters are vibrant.

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

This well-told story centers around Cowney Sequoyah, whose home is in the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. It takes place during the beginning of WWII. Cowney is unable to enlist due to a club foot, but has a job doing outdoor maintenance at The Grove Park Inn when foreign diplomats were housed during there during the war. I have been to the Grove Park Inn several times, and knew that Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald had stayed there during the 1920s; however, I was unaware of the history surrounding the foreign diplomats with a military presence during WWII.

Cowney is enamored with Essie, another Cherokee resident working at the Grove Park Inn. They form a friendship that lasts a lifetime. Cowney's family history is explored with some surprises. This is an intriguing novel about Cowney's coming of age at a shameful time in American history when Indians were the brunt of racism.

[JG (Introverted Reader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even As We Breathe caught my eye because it's set in my part of the world (Asheville, NC) and it's written by a Cherokee woman. I wanted to add some diversity to my Southern Lit challenge so I picked it up.

This was a beautifully-written coming-of-age story. Cowney (rhymes with county) is struggling to find his place in the world. He knows there isn't much for him back home in Cherokee but he doesn't know if he even wants to go to college, much less how he would afford it. To get a little pocket money and change of scenery, he decides to work in Asheville at the Grove Park Inn over the summer. Another Cherokee teen, Essie, also goes to work there and they bond as they work that strange summer, when foreign diplomats are housed at the inn under Army supervision.

Cowney is a thoughtful, insightful young man, who goes through a lot over the summer. He falls in love, learns secrets about his family, and experiences grief and betrayal. I could feel his love for his mountain home but also his yearning for something more.

There is one glaring inconsistency that moves my internal rating back to 3.5 stars, though I'm leaving my GR rating at 4. I've double checked myself and don't believe I'm misunderstanding anything.

Kaipo Schwab's narration was wonderful but I sometimes wished that I had a print copy in front of me so I could linger over the descriptive language.

I also loved that the book addresses a facet of local history that I was completely unfamiliar with. I'm aware that the US had internment camps in World War II. I've even visited one in Manzanar, CA and hope to visit another in Wyoming soon. I had no idea that diplomats from Axis countries were essentially held hostage at the Grove Park Inn, which is in my figurative backyard. You can read more about it in Asheville's free newspaper, the Mountain Xpress.

For a lovely, thoughtful book centered around a little-known piece of US history, give this a try.

[Camille McCarthy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was prepared to like this book, because I live in Asheville and I was excited to read something that takes place in Western North Carolina, but unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book.
The book reads better as a draft than as a finished book. I can see the author had some good ideas, but there was way too much going on and I was not able to connect or relate to the main character much at all. The wording was awkward, I didn't find his actions to be believable, and a lot of scenes felt melodramatic.
The plot didn't make much sense at times, especially the most important parts - the whole thing with the bone was really a stretch, the mystery of the missing girl didn't have any emotional impact on me and the explanation was ridiculous, and I felt no interest in the romantic relationship between Essie and Cowney. I just didn't care - Essie was a typical Mary Jane character and Cowney was a typical spurned "nice guy," only we were supposed to sympathize with him for the fact that Essie liked someone else.
I thought the author could have done a lot more with the historic background of the setting and the events of the time the book took place. I also thought the reveal about Cowney's father could have been done better - again, it came across as melodramatic.
I was pretty disappointed by this book and hope the author's next book is edited a bit better.

[Lana Hasper · Rating 3 out of 5]

A somewhat uneven read for me. The dialogue between Cowney and Essie comes off as juvenile and the plot seems contrived but the passages where Cowney reflects back on his life and loved ones are quite lovely.

The Grove Park Inn was used as an internment center for Axis diplomats during WWII and is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ugh good but a bit repetitive like I get it ok maybe 3.5