Komantcia

by Harold Keith

Author: Harold Keith. From the back cover: Pedro Pavon, a young Spanish nobleman is captured by the Comanches. Despite his resistence, Pedro absorbs the folkways and mores of the tribe. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0690477449
• ISBN13: 9780690477443
• Release Date: June 1965
• Publisher: Thomas Crowell
• Length: 299 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

a thinking kid's adventure story

I read this book several times when I was a kid but I haven't seen it in used book stores or libraries since I grew up and moved away from my hometown. Keith did his homework and while he gets some things wrong (by the time of the novel's setting the "writing was on the wall" as far as the impending end of the non-reservation way of life, and the novel seems to gloss that over) overall he succeeds. He succeeds in portraying a surprisingly "Other" culture in deep transition yet right at home in the economy of the turbulent Southwest. There are some bits that may remind us of more user-friendly "Dances With Wolves" Plains Indian philosopher/shaman/ecologist portrayals, but overall I think this is a good exercise in realism (or maybe even naturalism). Thanks to this book I developed an interest in the history of the Southwest and Native cultures/issues/languages in general. I can imagine librarians flinching at the following non-standard juvenile fiction ingredients: warfare and massacre, kidnapping, looting, cruelty to animals, butchering animals for food, thievery, slavery, torture, polygamy, wife-beating, infanticide, and purchasing a bride. If I remember correctly Keith omits mass death by smallpox but the lack of modern sanitation and medicine are duly noted. Out of such forbidding raw material Keith creates sympathetic characters: the downtrodden woman who helps Pedro survive his early captivity; the old man who teaches Pedro the arts of hunting and war; a girl who plays the role of a boy; an old woman who appreciates Pedro's musical gifts; Pedro's comrades in raiding and horse-stealing, and Pedro's lovely and intelligent (and clean!) romantic interest. Certain characters appear and disappear without preamble or explanation, and Pedro's relationship with his younger brother could have been better filled out. But overall this is a fine adventure tale with interesting looks at a society with different mores than our own.

I still love this book

The book is nothing if not passionate. I can still feel Pedro Pavon's magical, sensual relationship with his guitar and with his music. As a child of 9 or 10, I was stirred by his anger, Catholic righteousness, and fraternal love when, after being kidnapped by a raiding Comanche war party, he encountered his younger brother Roberto, who had also been kidnapped, rapidly adapting to Comanche life and ideals. But, of course, it was a beautiful woman that inspired Pedro to risk his own notion of self and fully enter into Comanche life. In doing so, he not only won the woman, he found personal liberty and the new, open world in which to exercise his humanity. Quite a read for a 10 year old! To this day I'm an aficionado of Spanish music and culture - and I've spent a fair share of my life exploring Native American cultures and languages. I would recommend this book to anyone.

Gripping

I read this book as a girl in 5th or 6th Grade. It kept me up until 2 AM the first time I read it. I can't believe it's been allowed to go out of print. It tells the story of a pampered boy, who, while visiting his uncle's ranch, is abducted and enslaved by a Native American raiding party (it's been a long time since I got my hands on a copy so I can't remember which tribe, I think it was Cherokee). He survives, adapts and grows to love their harsh life, becomes an accomplished horseback warrior and horse thief, and eventually earns his freedom and becomes a respected member of the tribe. There is a lot about horses in it, which gripped me at the time. It is pretty gruesome in parts ("Black Robe" rather than "Dances With Wolves"), so I wouldn't rush out and let my kids read it until they were about 10. I suppose if some of the gorier descriptions of Native American life weren't accurate there would be a case for letting it disappear into obscurity; however, I don't remember anything which wasn't also described in National Geographic and American Heritage-level books on Native American culture and history, and it was a right riveting read. Bring it back!

Ageless Adventure Story

I read this book 30 years ago. All I remember is that I insisted on eating my dinner with my fingers for a couple of weeks afterwards so impressed was I with the way of the Comanche. Last month, my 12-year old son was casting around for something to read, so I went out to Abe's used books and grabbed a copy of Komantcia. My son tore through this book. LOVED it. He's begging me for the sequel, despite the tepid review we saw elsewhere on the Web. This is a riveting adventure book.

Komantcia

A fine adventure story for boys - survival, combat, heroism etc. A non-PC tale of warring Comanches of the mid 1800s. Worth seeking out.