"Canaan" is a bleak, beautiful look at our darkest period of history

Have you ever heard of Donald McCaig? He raises sheep and trains sheepdogs in rural Highland County, Virginia.  At long intervals, five or six years apart, he will turn out a finely crafted historical novel.  The critics will say, hey, that was really good. But most people are still unaware that McCaig exists.

I wish I could change that. I just finished reading his new book, "Canaan".  The title alludes to the sadness that permeates the story- as the real Canaan was the land of Israel before the Israelites arrived. Students of the Old Testament may be aware of what happened to the Canaanites. This is a bleak tale of the so called Reconstruction years that followed our Civil War, when the people of Virginia fiercely resisted the idea of welcoming the freed slave into society, and some traveled west from their ruined plantations to join the conquest of the Plains. There are many losers in this tale, and few winners.

One character really steals the show. He is Edward Ratcliff, a former slave who gained a Medal of Honor in battle with the USCT, the United States Colored Troops. By an odd tide of destiny, Ratcliff ends up adopted by the Sioux Nation, marrying a woman and taking the name "Plenty Cuts" because of the bullwhip scars the Sioux see on his back. This character is so authentic and deep that he just about leaps off the page and into your heart.

Yes indeed, there is a great deal of pain portrayed here. But somehow McCaig can put you through sorrow and make you want to thank him for it.  I have to say that though he covers some of the same territory covered in the movies "Little Big Man" and "Dances with Wolves", his touch is more deft than either.  Have you read the Big Sky novels of A.B. Guthrie? It's that good.

It is ironic that the Virginia General Assembly just a few weeks ago became the first state legislature to publicly make a statement of regret regarding the treatment of Slaves and Native Americans in our long history. McCaig says the same thing, but instead of dry legal language, he pierces your soul with lively characters and  well constructed scenes that bring out every nuance of history and human nature. I could never hope to write historical fiction this good. All I can do is tell you to read it.

If you actually are interested, try his equally underappreciated civil war novel first, "Jacob's Ladder".  The characters of that book continue into "Canaan".  I challenge you to read these two books and tell me that McCaig is not as good as Charles Frazier, the author of "Cold Mountain". Instead of the description of nature and evocation of dreamlike atmosphere and inner life that Frazier uses, McCaig uses wonderful dialog and construction of scenes to make his points.  You will think you are there. Come on, really, give it a try.