The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of the Donner Party, A Review

The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of the Donner Party

by Daniel James Brown

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" It reminds us that are ordinary as we might be, we can, if we choose, take the harder road, walk forth bravely under the indifferent stars...We can choose to endure what seems unendurable, and thereby open up the possibility of prevailing." - Brown

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I very much enjoy studying the history of the United States of America. I enjoy all history, but this interest stems from my need to know the definitive beginning and end of something. It makes it easier for me to digest the story and timeline. The USA has an easy to establish start, and identifiable periods. Along with this, there are so many different subjects and aesthetics to discover. The Wild West, the boom of industry, the unique Native American tribes. Those are such interesting and almost childish topics. And America's copious amounts of tragedy, discrimination and cruelty is not to be discounted here. It's something that demands a dedicated space to discuss even in passing. It is a fascinating tapestry of history.

And while all topics within the 'Wild West' are fascinating, and often horrifying, I find the concept of Manifest Destiny speaks to me most. Those people, brave in some ways, who made their move across the continent. Bringing hope, desire, disease and travesty with them along the way. It's equal parts inspirational and, truth be told, almost shameful. It is an oft romanticised and criticised period. And I love it for that. And so, to delve into historical non-fiction outside of formal study, I chose to venture alongside those brave adventurers. The early settlers of the American West. And what better way to do that than to read about one of the most harrowing and terrifying journeys. History, with a little bit of horror injected into it.

Yet another recommendation from The Last Podcast on the Left, I was using Daniel James Brown's The Indifferent Stars Above as my entry point. The beginning of my reading more non-fiction that isn't centred around true crime. I would still say that this book could be described tenuously as 'horror' as it isn't a nice story about a walk in the woods. For those who have an interest in the early stages of the move West, the Donner Party is a well-recorded place to start. It is the story of a group of travellers, heading to California across the Sierra Nevada. Obviously, fraught with difficulties of the time, the travellers endure hardship after hardship. This culminates in plenty of death and, bringing the horror in, cannibalism.

This book, first of all, was entirely accessible. I found the novel-like way in which it was written to be compelling and easy to fall into. It centers itself around one character, while touching on the lives and stories of others. I had someone who I could follow on their journey. The effort the author has put into being accurate and factual also assists this feeling of "being right there". This is balanced by their sentimentality of the people they write about. I would say this is not the type of read for people who find it difficult to follow multiple plot lines. There are a lot of converging timelines and a lot of characters to keep track of, so it can get confusing if you're not good with names!

Many locations written about in the book were visited by the author, and his descriptions of the sights, sounds and scents along with his professional estimation of what they would have felt like historically add to this journey. I could feel the sense of home. The anticipation of leaving home. The excitement of finding a new home. And the wagon which was home on the way towards destiny.

This is a story I thought I knew so much about. But this book has been an eye-opener into the romantic idea of the West and the lengths to which emigrants went to manifest their destiny in a land that wasn't theirs, and knew as much.