Question 1 / 13

Discussion Question #1 of 13

What is your favorite passage from Thirteen Moons? Why?


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Thirteen Moons - 2008 Gwinnett Reads Selection

The Gwinnett County Public Library is pleased to announce the 2008 Gwinnett Reads title:

Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier

Thirteen Moons is the story of one man’s remarkable life, spanning a century of relentless change. At the age of twelve, an orphan named Will Cooper is given a horse, a key, and a map and is sent on a journey through the wilderness to the edge of the Cherokee Nation, the uncharted white space on the map. Will is a bound boy, obliged to run a remote Indian trading post. As he fulfills his lonesome duty, Will finds a father in Bear, a Cherokee chief, and is adopted by him and his people, developing relationships that ultimately forge Will’s character. All the while, his love of Claire, the enigmatic and captivating charge of volatile and powerful Featherstone, will forever rule Will’s heart. In a distant voice filled with both humor and yearning, Will tells of a lifelong search for home, the hunger for fortune and adventure, the rebuilding of a trampled culture, and above all an enduring pursuit of passion. As he comes to realize, “When all else is lost and gone forever, there is yearning. One of the few welcome lessons age teaches is that only desire trumps time.”

Born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina, Charles Frazier graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1973. He went on to receive an M.A. from Appalachian State University and a Ph.D. in English from the University of South Carolina. After teaching in Colorado, he returned to North Carolina where he raises horses with his wife Catherine and their daughter Annie.

Cold Mountain, his highly acclaimed first novel, was an international bestseller and winner of the National Book Award in 1997. Critics have said that Frazier is an assured writer who knows how to bring history to life. He is also described as a master of landscape and language, both often fresh and surprising in his telling.

Mr. Frazier will be speaking at the Gwinnett Center on July 12th, 2008. He will be accompanied by a Cherokee language translator and a musician. We’ll eat. We’ll talk. We’ll listen.

Watch this blog and the Gwinnett Reads website for more information!

Gwinnett Reads

Gwinnett Reads invites Gwinnett County citizens to share the experience of reading the same book. Gwinnett County Public Library and local partners seek to engage the community in the joys of reading and to generate discussion throughout Gwinnett.

This blog was designed to facilitate that dialogue through interactive online discussions. Once a book has been selected, discussion questions will be posted weekly, and you are encouraged to leave your comments.

All Gwinnett Reads events will also be publicized here, as soon as details are available.

For more information on Gwinnett Reads programming, please call 770-978-5154 or visit http://www.gwinnettreads.org/.