Manituana - Hardcover

Ming, Wu

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1844673421 ISBN 13: 9781844673421

Publisher: Verso, 2009

Synopsis

A bloody historical epic of exodus and return, torn loyalties and desperate battles, Manituana spans the Atlantic, from the forests of America’s northeast to the underworld of eighteenth-century London. The authors’ collective Wu Ming have created a genre-breaking reimagining of the American War of Independence. A story from the wrong side of history.

1775 – The conflict between the British Empire and the American colonies erupts in all-out war. Rebels and loyalists to the British Crown compete for the alliance with the Six Nations of the Iroquois, the most powerful Indian confederation, boasting a constitution hundreds of years old. In the Mohawk Valley, Native Americans and colonists have co-existed for generations. But as the thunder of war approaches and the nascent United States struggles violently to be born, old bonds are broken, friends and families are split by betrayal and this mixed community is riven by hatred and resentment. To save his threatened world, the Mohawk war chief Joseph Brantmakes a painful decision. Setting off with a group of warriors, he leaves the only land he has ever known in a restless journey that will take him from New York to the salons of Georgian London at the heart of the British Empire, knowing that the road back will be paved with war.

About this title

About the Author

Wu Ming is a collective of five Italian fiction writers, founded in Bologna in January 2000. They co-authored a number of books including 54 and the bestselling novel Q, under the previous pseudonym “Luther Blissett.”

Shaun Whiteside has translated from German works by Freud, Schnitzler, Musil and Nietzsche, and, most recently, The Weekend by Bernhard Schlink (2011). His translation of Magdalena the Sinner by Lilian Faschinger won the 1996 Schlegel-Tieck Award. He lives in London.

Reviews

After tackling the cold war via Cary Grant in '54, the Bologna, Italy, writing collaborative Wu Ming's third production is set amid radical conflict between the British Empire and American colonies in the late 18th century. After a string of duplicitous moves aimed at undermining and stealing from the Mohawk tribe, Mohawk war chief Joseph Brant must decide who to side with as the colonial militia marches through Massachusetts toward Canada to confront the British. As the escalating turmoil reverberates into the Mohawk River Valley, Brant, with his family, comrade/hunter Philip Lacroix and an immense convoy of warriors, sets out on a journey plagued by misfortune and bloody rebel attacks. From dry river beds at Fort Stanwix and the momentous capture of Ethan Allen in Montreal to the streets of London, dread eventually sets in by 1777 as the group disbands in an attempt to counteract its imminent defeat. Though this is a more cumbersome read than Wu Ming's previous (and more enthralling) works, the vivid scenery, well-developed characters and crisp translation are immensely satisfying. (The story is being continued on the group's Web site, with an open invitation for readers to contribute.) (Oct.)
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Edition details

• Publisher: Verso
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1844673421
• ISBN 13: 9781844673421
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 396