Bones Beneath Our Feet: A Historical Novel of Puget Sound
Bones Beneath Our Feet (July 1, 2011)
Along beautiful Puget Sound, there are bones beneath our feet . . .
BONES BENEATH OUR FEET is the moving historical epic of the conquest of Puget Sound by the “Boston” tribe. This is lyrical fiction deeply rooted in the people and events that made our history. BONES BENEATH OUR FEET resonates with political intrigue, tenderness and betrayal, misunderstanding and fear, greed and sacrifice – all the richness and grit of life. The gravestone of Chief Leschi, leader of the Native cause, reads: “LESCHI – Judicially Murdered Feb. 19, 1858.” Behind these few words lies an essential story for all who are passionate about tolerance, dignity and liberty.
“Michael Schein’s novel, Bones Beneath Our Feet, does for the Pacific Northwest what Nathaniel Philbrick did for the East Coast in Mayflower.” -Sheila Deeth, Gather.com Review
Please CLICK HERE to read several excerpts.
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Early praise for BONES BENEATH OUR FEET:
“Bones Beneath Our Feet is a complex, nuanced, revisionist epic with a massive cast of characters, pitched battles, reversals, small acts of human tenderness, and a climactic court scene. Characters seem both larger-than-life and humanely familiar. Schein excels at returning the Historical . . . to the human. While Bennett & Hastings has put out a story of regional importance to Washington State, this novel seems ready for a small screen adaptation. (It deserves a multi-season treatment on par with Deadwood or Boardwalk Empire.) While this review has avoided the specificities of plot, this reviewer highly recommends this novel with the reader discovering the twists and turns of the narrative.
- Karl Wolff, Driftless Area Review
“One of the best historical novels I’ve read yet. The characters engaged me from the beginning. I learned so much about this area of the country. You must read this book. I still see the boy trying to keep his disturbed mother from jumping out her bedroom window. Excellent book.”
- Ann Hite, Goodreads.com
“If you live in the Puget Sound area this is a must read. . . . The characters and scenery are so well written that I just wanted to go back to the forests, the rivers and see the hills as they were then and as Schein wrote them. Real people make up this story and we can easily relate to them.”
- Nancy, Cheryl’s Book Nook Blog
“Michael Schein’s novel, Bones Beneath Our Feet, does for the Pacific Northwest what Nathaniel Philbrick did for the East Coast in Mayflower. The history of First People and Boston tribes in the Puget Sound is meticulously researched and brought to life with sensitive depictions and dialog that reads itself from the page. Chief Leschi’s dignified acceptance of change is contrasted with other tribes’ unwillingness to compromise, and with the Boston tribe’s blind following of law and politics. Honest dealings prove, as they so often do, insufficient to change minds or save lives, while the beautiful landscape and well-crafted relationships fall prey to war.
“The author claims some poetic license in the ordering and telling of events, and uses it well, building a story on true facts and bringing those facts to life. Huge numbers of characters people the pages yet somehow are never confusing, all seeming like old friends when they reappear. Each voice is convincingly given its say with multiple points of view building up to a well-rounded depiction of trust betrayed, communication found wanting, and hope misplaced. But the deepest hopes are reserved for a land that is never truly owned. Their bones still lie beneath our feet, and forest and stream will never belong to us; they’re just on loan.
“Chief Leschi bent to the wind of change, was wounded by the guns of betrayal, and was judicially murdered in 1858 by the political machinations of American law. His story may be history, but this story reminds us real people lived that history, and real history continues to be lived today.”
~ Book Review by Sheila Deeth
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“Bones Beneath Our Feet by Michael Schein is a powerful and deeply moving historical novel about the conquest of the Puget Sound area by the “Bostons” as white people were known in the mid-nineteenth century. Based on research of the actual historical record, the story brings alive the struggles for justice by Chief Leschi and the Nisqually tribe who were being cheated out of their land by the infamous Governor Isaac Stevens. This story is a gripping one and beautifully written with vivid descriptions of the landscape that we all love. The characters, both historical and created, come alive as they fight and love throughout this big book. I especially loved his descriptions of the culture of the indigenous people, much of which may be lost today. We need the wisdom of the native peoples more than ever to balance the degradation of the landscape. I highly recommend Bones Beneath Our Feet to all who love the land and its history as well as those who love a damn good story with fine writing. And it has all the elements needed for a powerful movie. Having read Michael Schein’s first book, Just Deceits, I anticipated that his second book would be one that I would want to purchase and Bones Beneath Our Feet has my highest recommendation!”
- J. Glenn Evans, author of Broker Jim and Zeke’s Revenge
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“That was a great book. Congratulations on such a fine endeavor. It’s a complex story, and will be well worth another read. The scene that made me cry was when Leschi was being taken care of on Tolmie’s couch.”
- Mary Crane, author of What I Can Hold in my Hands, and First Light.
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A “lyrical work of fiction . . .. Schein tells his story with passion and feeling.”
- Auburn Reporter