“Tobacco Wars” by Paul Seesequasis is a fictional book that traverses two dimensions. One dimension is the faux history of Pocahontas in relation to the famous crop, and the second dimension is told through Indian fairy-tales.
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“Tobacco Wars” by Paul Seesequasis is a short novella that follows the imaginary adventures of Powhatan princess Pocahontas with English playwright Ben Johnson. The story unfolds in America and later in London and back in the new world. The other story follows the ancient Indian tale of the Mother Bear who gives birth to the world and moves into modern times.
There were many adventures in the book, especially involving Pocahontas and Johnson, however, I’m not sure what the author was trying to convey in his story and the parallels between them. The parts with the Mother Bear were a bit vulgar, which is fine but it was a sharp disparity to the interesting story of Pocahontas – the contrast was really striking and maybe that was the point.
Maybe the author was trying to convey how the past, present, and future were all connected, again I’m not sure. I did ask author Paul Seesequasis these questions and he was kind enough to answer – see the Author Q&A he was kind enough to do.
The novella did get me thinking though, as an amateur student of history it is interesting the spin that we put on history in our schools. I’ve read some wonderful books which really put to shame the history books we get throughout our academic career which I highly recommend (“Lies My Teacher Told Me” by James Loewen comes to mind).
If anything, this novella made me want to read more about the characters involved and that is always a good thing. Even though it is a short book it is a fine selection for any book club because there is much to discuss.
So tell me, what do you think about fictional books reinventing history?
Following the adventures of Pocahontas and Ben Johnson in the early 17th Century the book traverses the world. From the New World, to London’s inns and seedy sections. As the world turns evolves due to a new commodity so does the Indian princes.
Buy Tobacco Wars from Amazon.com*
More Books by Paul Seesequasis*
TLC Book Tour for “Tobacco Wars”:
Wednesday, July 13: Reading Lark
Thursday, July 14: Chaotic Compendiums
Monday, July 18: Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and Books
Tuesday, July 19: Jenny Loves to Read
Tuesday, July 26: Lit and Life
Wednesday, July 27: Man of La Book
Thursday, July 28: My Two Blessings
Tuesday, August 2: Bibliosue
Wednesday, August 3: Scandalous Women
Thursday, August 4: Life In Review
Zohar – Man of la Book
Disclaimer: I got this book for free as part of the TLC Book Tours.
*Amazon links point to an affiliate account, the money is usually spent on books
Article first published as Book Review: Tobacco Wars by Paul Seesequasis on Blogcritics.
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I'm interested to see how the author answers your questions tomorrow!
Thanks for being a part of the tour.
I'm not sure what to make of this book yet -- I'm enjoying the narrative with Pocahontas but like you the legend story is crude.
Same here, I enjoyed the Pocahontas/Johnson sections.
I didn't get the story at all and couldn't get past all the crudeness. Tried 3 times to read it and just couldn't finish it.
Thanks for the comment Robin, check out my interview with Mr. Seesquasis tomorrow for his reasoning about the crudeness.
Not read this book or its writer, so cannot comment although its premise is interesting. As to the history question, can't remember who said it, but there is a saying that goes along the lines - that history is the most repeated lie, so have no problem with fictionalized accounts of historic events.
LOL, some say that history is based on a true story :)