ACROSS THE ENDLESS RIVER

ACROSS THE ENDLESS RIVER Author: Thad Carhart Copyright: 2009 Doubleday Hardcover ISBN:978-0-385-52977-8 $26.95 320 pages Historical Fiction
Sacagawea is definitely one of the first prominent women who greatly contributed to the success of this country. However, except for the original journals of Lewis and Clark, there are still many questions about what happened to all the people involved with the original expedition. Especially curious, is Sacagawea as she gave birth to a son while on the journey, translated for the explorers, and developed valued and trusted friendships with many of those on the Corps of Discovery.
ACROSS THE ENDLESS RIVER is the story of Sacagawea’s son, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau who is also known as Pompy. Being that his father was a French trapper and his mother from native tribes, besides learning many languages and cultures, he uniquely belonged to both cultures while also not feeling like he truly belonged in either.
After completing his basic schooling thanks to the generosity of William Clark, Baptiste met Duke Paul Wilhelm of Wurttemberg who offered Baptiste an opportunity to assist in his studies of natural history while living in Europe. This novel centers on what could have been his life while spending much of his time in Paris and other European cities. Also, a major focus is Baptiste’s concern about being a part of a culture, but never belonging to either due to his mixed heritage.For an author to write a historical fiction novel, I would expect the author to spend a tremendous amount of time to be historically accurate. Since I am not a historian, I researched some of the author’s visions in Baptiste’s life.
First, I was disturbed by the image Carhart created about Pompy’s father, Toussaint Charbonneau. I have always visualized him as a grumpy, self-centered, and egocentrical husband to a much younger wife. Supposedly, Sacagawea was around 13 when she married and Toussaint was close to 40. Carhart represented this man as a caring and helpful father. I am wondering where that image came from since even the original journals of Lewis and Clark do not put Charbonneau in a favorable view but rather as a drunken lout.
Also, it is documented that Sacagawea also had a daughter, Lisette, who was also sent to Clark for her schooling. Shouldn’t she also be in at least part of the story since she was really there?
This particular book is considered to be “deckle edge” which means that the pages are to have a handmade look to their edges rather than being cut by a machine.
Thad Carhart has also written THE PIANO SHOP ON THE LEFT BANK: DISCOVERING A FORGOTTEN PASSION IN A PARIS ATELIER.

Teri Davis November 14, 2009