It's been a long time since I read a novel by Noah Gordon. After reading The Physician, I was sure I would read many more but time has passed and other titles have snuck in. Shaman is a continuation of the story from The Physician but not a sequel. It is the story of the Cole family in the period around the Civil War. Since I am reading books set in the 19th century this month, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to get back to Gordon.

The story begins with a man named Shaman on train heading home because his father (Pa) has died. It's April 22 1864. We find out that Shaman is not an Indian in spite of the name, he is deaf, and he is a doctor. Shortly after his arrival home the reader is taken into the back story about Pa (Rob J Cole) and his family starting in March 1839. It is a fascinating story and as I finished the book I was amazed at how much of those lives we had covered. There are wonderful characters, white, native, Jews, Christians, Quakers, pioneers, good guys and bad ones. There's considerable history, some adventure, and a mystery that haunts Rob J through most of the story.

The book was published in 1992 but has lost none of its timeliness. In fact, the factionalism seems to mirror these times to some extent!

I have to say I'm quite disappointed with the book. I expected much more after having read "The Physician" and having heard that the second book of the trilogy is even better. What I loved about the first book was that it absolutely captured me and pulled me into the story, with a plot thrilling and educating, yet realistic and credible. This time the story is credible too, no doubt, but it isn't half as thrilling or even interesting. Is it, because I am European and thus don't feel as linked to Shaman's story as a North American reader? I had the feeling that the story and everything that happened was so shallow, even some of the characters (Rachel, for instance). And the plot about the killers of Makwa-Ikwa, which was somehow woven into the general story, just seemed like an attempt to spicing up the whole thing. When I was about three quarters through the book, I just hoped for it to finish soon or that something unforeseeable would happen. Good things are the well-researched descriptions of the details of the villages, the war, the medical stuff, that's typical of Noah Gordon and I really like and appreciate that.
To me, Shaman is clearly overshadowed by its prequel, but even in itself I couldn't enjoy the reading so much. The plot appeared a bit "aimless".

Oooo! This, the second book in Gordon's Cole Trilogy is even better than the first, "The Physician." There is an 800-year time lapse between the two books; so you don't need to read the first book in order to appreciate "Shaman." Maybe I enjoyed "Shaman" so much because it covers a period of U.S. history that I'm familiar with. Shaman is the son of Rob J. Cole, who immigrated from Scotland. When he dies we learn of his life through diaries which Shaman finds. There is much interesting data about early medicine and frontier life. Rob befriends some Sauk Indians and works along side their Shaman, Makwa- Ikwa, a woman. When Rob's son is born, he spends much time with Makwa- Ikwa, and earns the name "Little Shaman." Shaman becomes deaf due to a childhood disease, but he perseveres and achieves his dream of following his father's profession. The latter part of the book covers Shaman's life. The book is very informative not only in the area of medical history, but also details of the Civil War and what a terrible experience it was for the men involved. I've read some reviews that say the third book of the trilogy isn't very good. But I will give it a try. Gordon has an easy style of writing and develops characters that the readers take to heart.

It offers a new vision of the American Civil War which was strange to me. Now, thanks to this book I have researched a little about the topic and know something new by the time I have finished the book.
It is very similar to the first book of the Cole family, yet... the story is quite less interesting and much more "domestic".

Todavía estoy dudando entre darle el 2'5 o el 3.

Aunque el libro sigue la dinámica de el primero, ambos son más costumbristas que referentes a la medicina, en el sentido de que, aunque la vida de los protagonistas gira alrededor de la medicina, en ambos libros te describen más su día a día (incluyendo tratar pacientes) que las novedades médicas en sí (que también salen).

El problema del libro, a mi parecer, es que ha perdido la esencia de novedad del primero. Me refiero a que en el primero estamos en los albores de la medicina moderna (más o menos) y en este ya se han asentado las bases y, aunque, obviamente, se siguen haciendo descubrimientos (me gusta especialmente lo de la asepsia y antisepsia), para mí, no tienen lo novedoso del primer libro (y su enfermedad del costado, por ejemplo).

Por otro lado, este libro está situado en los años de la guerra de Secesión y, siendo sincera, las guerras y la historia de España me interesan, las de América, no. Y la verdad es que todos los capítulos que versaban alrededor de la política y de la propia guerra en sí, se me hicieron muy pesados (excepto, quizás, en algunos momentos que te hablaban de cosas más médicas).

Mención a parte merecen las mujeres y su protagonismo (nulo), así como el trato que Noah Gordon hace de ellas. La violación era totalmente innecesaria y no aporta absolutamente nada. Además a este señor no parece quedarle claro que las mujeres (incluso en esa época) pueden ser fuertes e independientes y no solamente sumisas y actuando al ritmo de sus maridos. Y las pocas que aparecen un poco independientes y fuertes cambian más que una veleta.
Y por favor, no hablemos de las escenas romántico/sexuales del libro, a cada cuál más patética (y por supuesto, donde solo importa el placer del hombre). Me huele a rancio.

A pesar de todas las cosas negativas, y que me hicieron bajarle la puntuación casi desde el principio, el libro en general me ha entretenido. Las partes que tratan la medicina y su avances son lo que más me gusta, así como las escaramuzas que hacían algunos de los (mal) llamados médicos y que ambos protagonistas (padre e hijo) miraban con verdadero pavor.
Y, siendo realista, las partes que iban sobre el hijo (Chamán) son, también, de las que me han gustado bastante, especialmente, los últimos capítulos (quitando la parte amorosa) y son lo que me hacen dudar en esa media estrella.

Está aí uma história muito bem contada, que te pega e te mantém entretida. A gente entra nas aventuras do Dr. Cole e depois do Xamã e vai desbravando os Estados Unidos. Luta na guerra da secessão. Sofre com os sauks. Amei e recomendo. Sugestão para presente.

I liked this book very much, a historical fiction set in the american civil war, a family of doctors.

Spannend und fesselnd

I couldn't put this book down! I loved the characters; I love the fusion of history, medicine, and religion in Gordon's novels. I can't recommend them more highly.

Reading the reviews though, make me think it's best not to read the third one. I just can't deal with the let down of a weak ending to two perfect books in a trilogy.

There's something weird about Gordon's novels, they sit on the shelf, looking hefty and imposing. It takes me forever to start one, but once I do, I steam through, luxuriating in every page.

I loved The Physician with a passion, and this is another great book by the same author. At times events seem similar to those in the first book, but this novel holds its own as well. I found the small moments of humor very good indeed, and also loved the pioneer elements, as that's one of my favorite things to read about.

The scope of this novel is less than The Physician, but then, it doesn't span continents and decades as great as the first novel. I liked watching Shaman discover the secrets of his father, and was appalled at Rob. J's end. Makawa's (hope I'm spelling that right) fate was shocking, as was that of Comes Singing - I didn't see it coming at it was handled beautifully, with the utmost drama.

The book also gets points for surprising me with the word 'poontang'. Always nice to learn a little something about language.

I would have liked perhaps a little more in the way of fight in the protagonist (Shaman), he doesn't have to fight very hard for his happiness at the end of the novel, and I thought there should have been a more definite ending to the conspiracy storyline - though I understand why it ends as it does.

It's a great novel, and I think I even like it more that 'The Last Jew' though I know I'll be reading both again, as well as the rest of the series.

This book is the Sequel to The Physician. As I'm sure you know by now, The Physician was set in 11th Century England and Shaman is set in 1840s through 1860s frontier America, so this is not a sequel in the traditional sense. Indeed, aside from a few anecdontes about a Cole dynasty of physicians in Scotland and the inheritence of the "gift" of sensing when patients are about to die, The Shaman is a free standing novel.

The Shaman is about Dr. Rob J. Cole, who is forced to immigrate to America after becoming involved in political protests in his native Scotland that resulted in the hanging death of a friend. He first arrives in Boston and is taken under the wing of Oliver Wendell Holmes, a famous Boston doctor who is the father of the even more famous Supreme Court Justice. While in Boston, Rob J. lives in a boarding house and lives a hand to mouth existence as a doctor to the poor. Ultimately, he decides that Boston is not for him and decides to move west. He travels and works his way to Illinois, where he settles in the small town of Holden's Crossing, in the Quad Cities area. While there, the reader meets members of the local Indian tribe - particularly a shaman named Makwa-Ikwa, whom Rob J. befriends and with whom he develops a close working relationship. We also see the developments of the xenophobic Know Nothing Party and the underground railroad in Illinois, and the civil war through Rob J.'s eyes, as the bulk of the novel is narrated through Rob J.'s journal.

The second central character in the novel is Rob J.'s only natural son, also named Rob J., but who is called "Shaman." Shaman became deaf due to a boyhood illness and adeptly learns to navigate his world as a deaf child and later as a deaf physician.

This novel is a fascinating look at the development of America. The reality of the civil war and the racial tensions that infected American politics in the era leading up to the war are told in detail, without white-washing. Indeed, the sections on the civil war are at times long and dull, but at other times are shocking in their detail. Gordon is a gifted writer with a talent for creating a complex understanding of a period in history. While Shaman was less interesting at times than The Physician, the characters were no less developed and the ability to create a 'historical mood' no less compelling. I rate this novel 4.5 stars.

Sjajan Noah Gordon, meni - kao i uvijek. Doduše, čini mi se da (iako ne volim baš uspoređivati različite knjige) ništa neće dostići veličinu njegovog "Iscjelitelja". "Šaman" je nešto kao nastavak, ali samo utoliko što je glavni lik, također Rob J., iz iste obitelji, iste loze. Ova je priča smještena u 1850-e, 60-e godine, kad je bio Američki građanski rat, dakle, gotovo 700 godina nakon Roba Iscjelitelja.
Jedino što mi je malo išlo na živce je previše opisivanja tadašnje političke situacije, iako je, naravno, važno što se tada događalo, ali detalji me zbilja ne zanimaju (poput nabrajanja imena različitih tadašnjih političara, vođa stranaka i slično), pa sam to sada preskakala (oh, zaboravila sam reći - ovo mi je drugo čitanje "Šamana"; prvi put sam je čitala prije dosta godina).
U svakom slučaju, preporuka velika, jer sve ostalo je divno i sočno i duboko, baš kako volim. Noah Gordon to zna. :)