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The Coming

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The Coming

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Overview

Winner of the 2018 Spur Award for Historical Novel

A sweeping historical novel of the American West that follows the dramatic life of Daytime Smoke, Nez Perce son of explorer William Clark.

The Coming is an epic novel of native-white relations in North America, intimately told through the life of Daytime Smoke--the real-life red-haired son of William Clark and a Nez Perce woman. In 1805, Lewis and Clark stumble out of the Rockies on the edge of starvation. The Nez Perce help the explorers build canoes and navigate the rapids of the Columbia, then spend two months hosting them the following spring before leading them back across the snowbound mountains. Daytime Smoke is born not long after, and the tribe of his youth continues a deep friendship with white Americans, from fur trappers to missionaries, even aiding the United States government in wars with neighboring tribes. But when gold is discovered on Nez Perce land in 1860, it sets an inevitable tragedy in motion.

Daytime Smoke's life spanned the seven decades between first contact and the last great Indian war. Capturing the trajectory experienced by so many native peoples--from friendship and cooperation to betrayal, war, and genocide--this sweeping novel, with its large cast of characters and vast geography, braids historical events with the drama of one man's remarkable life. Rigorously researched and cinematically rendered, The Coming is a page-turning, heart-stopping American novel in a classic mode.

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ISBN-13:	9781632863867
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	02/07/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	528
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

David Osborne is the author or co-author of five nonfiction books: Laboratories of Democracy; Reinventing Government, a New York Times bestseller; Banishing Bureaucracy; The Reinventor's Fieldbook; and The Price of Government. He has written for the Atlantic, the New York Times Magazine, Harper's, and many other publications. Osborne is currently a senior fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute, directing the Reinventing America's Schools Project. He lives in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

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Editorial Reviews

01/02/2017
The destruction of the Nez Perce, who were obliterated like other Native American tribes all across the American frontier during the 19th and early 20th centuries, makes harrowing history. Osborne, author of several non-fiction books on government and bureaucracy, has attempted to contain this history in novel form, from “the coming” of Lewis and Clark in 1805 to Chief Joseph’s War in 1877. Daytime Smoke, historical son of William Clark and a Nez Perce woman, leads us through this history at gallop speed—chapters skip years at a time—from the Nez Perce people’s initial hospitality to the explorers, through the betrayal of the tribe, first by Protestant missionaries and then by the American government. Over the span of seven decades, the red-headed Smoke seeks enlightenment. Respectful of old ways, a proven provider, warrior, and leader among the Nez Perce, he also longs to gain wisdom and knowledge from his father’s people. He advocates cooperation with the white settlers, learns their religion and their agricultural ways—and ultimately is betrayed. He is a full-blooded character, as is his wife, Darting Swallow, and, in the beginning chapters, Clark. But Osborne cannot keep up with his huge cast of real-life characters. So much time must pass to tell this story, and so many seminal historical figures are necessary to move the story along, that few of the natives, and virtually none of the whites (with the exception of the flawed and violent missionary Henry Spalding), are any more than passing mentions in the more than 500 pages. Though it is too much to fit in one novel, this work of fiction reaches a level of truth that history cannot in depicting the collision between these two civilizations. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"[Osborne] brings deep understanding to the dynamics of the white-Indian conflict, and his novel makes fascinating and informative reading." - Booklist

"An epic story sure to be a hit with readers interested in the American western expansion." - Kirkus Reviews

"This debut novel imagines the life of Smoke and accurately chronicles the relationship between the U.S. government and the Native peoples of the Northwest, particularly the Nez Perce. Osborne says the novel was ten years in the making, and the deep level of his research is obvious in this richly detailed story. Biographical information about Smoke is almost nonexistent, but the author weaves his imagined life effortlessly into the lives of the other characters, almost all of whom are real-life figures, to create an exciting and engrossing story. . . This novel is a must-read for those interested in Native American history." - Historical Novel Review

"I would make “The Coming” by David Osborne required reading for everyone who lives in the area if I could. . . I recognized most of the story’s names and historical events and locations — pieces you collect by growing up and living here — so there was a familiarity to the story. And yet, the way it was presented made me feel I like I was hearing it for the first time . . . it was the best book I read this year, and I’d love to see it become a movie." - Best Regionally-Based Book, Staff Picks, Lewiston Tribune

"The destruction of the Nez Perce, who were obliterated like other Native American tribes all across the American frontier during the 19th and early 20th centuries, makes harrowing history. . . this work of fiction reaches a level of truth that history cannot in depicting the collision between two civilizations." - Publishers Weekly

"Osborne, who has written non-fiction books, steps into the realm of historical fiction in 'The Coming,' in which he weaves a tale of friendship, betrayal and, ultimately, war during the time of America’s western expansion." - The Salem News

From the Publisher

2016-12-27
Nonfiction author Osborne (The Price of Government, 2004, etc.) has written a historical novel beginning with the Lewis and Clark expedition and ending with the decimation of the Nez Perce tribe.As the company crosses the Rockies and encounters the Nez Perce, William Clark is the focus. The Nez Perce welcomed and aided the white Americans, and Clark was especially popular. He admired the tribe; Lewis thought them "savages." Clark became fascinated with a woman named Swan Lighting who bore him a son, Daytime Smoke, after he left her behind, and Daytime Smoke becomes the focus of the story as white incursion into Native American territory increases. Osborne shows a considered empathy as he describes tribal life. At first, as the tribe meets white trappers and mountain men, there's minimal conflict. Wanting to learn more from whites, the tribe welcomes missionaries—Sent Ones—but soon they find whites rigid and rapacious. Coexistence becomes impossible. Osborne brings historical characters to life and superbly individualizes numerous Nez Perce, some resisting white incursions, some wanting peace. The early narrative has a Garden of Eden innocence, but the latter portion—equally well-researched and rich in historical detail—becomes a depressing litany of white aggression and dark betrayal, especially as the Nez Perce are driven from their lands and attempt to link up with Sitting Bull in Canada. The pace never slackens as the Nez Perce succumb to the avarice and racial prejudice that stained the early industrial age. An epic story sure to be a hit with readers interested in the American western expansion.

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