Native American antiquity and the supernatural collide with 1920s racial politics in Margaret Verble’s 2021 novel “When Two Feathers Fell from the Sky.”
The book was announced Wednesday as Daniel Boone Regional Library’s community One Read for 2023.
The One Read program encourages community members to read and discuss a single book over the summer. In September, readers can participate in a talk with Verble and in art and writing competitions based on some aspect of the book.
One Read co-chair Lauren Williams said in a library news release that “When Two Feathers Fell from the Sky” concerns “ghost stories and horse-human relationships, to Native American history and amusement parks.”
The story is about strange occurrences at a Nashville zoo after Cherokee horse diver Two Feathers is injured and her horse killed. The zoo employees attempt to solve some of the mysteries related to ghosts and sudden animal illnesses there.
“The book presents an unusual, character-driven story exploring the conflicts of race and culture in the highly segregated society of the 1920s South,” according to the news release.
Selection of the One Read book is done through a voting process involving both the public and a panel of community members. One Read books are expected to be thought-provoking, to appeal to a diverse audience, to be accessible in many formats and able to be read in a timely manner.
To meet the demand for accessibility, Friends of the Columbia Public Library will buy copies of the book for readers to check out. Large print, downloadable copies, audiobooks and e-books will also be available.
Last year’s One Read selection was “The Big Door Prize” by M.O. Walsh. Other recent winners include: “Furious Hours” by Casey Sepp in 2021; “A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles in 2020; “Nomadland” by Jessica Bruder in 2019; and “Killers of the Flower Moon” by David Grann in 2018.
