A Wounded Thing Must Hide - Hardcover

Poolman, Jeremy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0747549494 ISBN 13: 9780747549499

Publisher: Bloomsbury, 2002

Synopsis

Haunted by the death of his own wife, Karen, the author follows Libbie Custer, wife of General Custer, through her life in search of he knows now what.

About this title

Review

Surviving a legend can be hard work. Consider Libbie Custer, widowed after her husband's death at [Little Big Horn], and who spent the next 60 years arguing against Ulysses S. Grant's judgment that "It was Custer who was responsible--and Custer alone--for the deaths of so many."

English writer Jeremy Poolman follows a looping, sometimes loopy path across the world on Libbie Custer's trail, celebrating the life of a decidedly modern, self-assured, even driven woman who lived in a time when women were too often voiceless. Poolman's approach is, well, idiosyncratic: he communes with Custer's ghost, argues the Georgia-born Libbie's case for having married the Yankee Custer at her graveside against a group of unimpressed Southern ladies, and invokes his hard-drinking father, who harbored a scholar's passion for Custeriana, an obsession that "was like a virus (one for which, I know now, there is no cure)." Throughout it all, though, Poolman keeps Libbie Custer well in his sights, telling her tale even as he spins plenty of his own. And quite a tale it is.

It's far from the usual biography, far from the usual journey--but it works, and fans of Western history will enjoy Poolman's wild ride. --Gregory McNamee

From the Publisher

"Highly readable...Poolman follows a zigzag path across continents, seeking Libbie Custer, but, more, seeking himself through all kinds of lenses, including the blurry vision of his often drunk, Custer-obsessed father; in the end, while meditative, this is not without its humorous moments, and reminiscent of Ross McElwee's curious documentary film Sherman's March (1986)-and just as brilliant...an intriguing addition to the Custer literature."-Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"An engaging narrative."-Publishers Weekly
"A beguiling oddity...Though scene for scene the book is written with precision and clarity, the overall effect is something of a subconscious fugue state, in which the mind is flooded with bits and pieces of narrative, memory and thoughts...The mix is illogical and daring in the most precipitous ways, yet like many unlikely creations, it works."-San Francisco Chronicle
"A writer of considerable verbal dexterity and razor-sharp insight...Poolman clearly brings extensive research and a keen intellect to the Libbie Custer story. ...Those who want to know about the heart's capacity for love and grief will find much to admire."-Washington Post Book World
"Strong writing and emotional depth make Jeremy Poolman's book A Wounded Thing Must Hide a fascinating story. The author's fiercely original style sends readers reeling with thundering images and constant surprises...A Wounded Thing is refreshingly perceptive, universal and wise. Powerfully written, it leaves a reader exhilarated."-Rocky Mountain News
"Jeremy Poolman eschews straight biography in favor of his fascinating and increasingly bizarre journey in the footsteps of Libbie Custer, wife of the General George Armstrong Custer... The narrative recreates the author's disoriented state of mind: Lines and passages from the Custer story thrust themselves into his first-person tales and vice versa, a technique that artfully keeps the reader off balance...The unusual - almost literally incredible - facts of his experiences and the ones he chooses to tell us about Libbie make the book a page turner. As his story and the Custers' both march toward the Last Stand, the two plot lines coalesce in a final, astounding occurance of coincidence or synchronicity or fate - by this time, you're not sure what forces are in command. Neither is Poolman, but he has marshaled them into a great read."-Time Out New York

Edition details

• Publisher: Bloomsbury
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0747549494
• ISBN 13: 9780747549499
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320