READER ↠ DOC Well Traveled Gideon and Jedediah #1 ↠À JOHNSCYCLINGDIARY

EBOOK Well Traveled Gideon and Jedediah #1

READER ↠ DOC Well Traveled Gideon and Jedediah #1 ↠ À JOHNSCYCLINGDIARY í ❴BOOKS❵ ✪ Well Traveled Gideon and Jedediah #1 Author Margaret Mills – Johns-cycling-diary.co.uk Gideon Makepeace a young man of twenty knows who he is and what he likes decency men The plains Facing a majestic West they learn from each other about white folks and Indians alike Gideon’s interest in Jed is clear from the start but will Jed give up the life he knows for a young brash white man he has perhaps come to love Or will he push Gideon away in favor of the peace of nature and the personal freedom of having nothing to lose We first meet Gideon Makepeace when he’s getting ready to leave Livingston Montana where he had taken up a summer job training horses Gideon is bound for San Francisco to reunite with his folks who are members of a big traveling “Wild West” show Enter halfbreed Lakota Jedediah Buffalo Bird currently a fatally injured man who is bullied by a band of white Livingstonians who don’t want his kind in their town Without hesitating Gideon steps in to save the Indian takes him to the doctor’s and finally helps him find shelter in a friendly brothel With selfless care Gideon nurses Jed back to health using up the money that had been designed to pay his and his horse’s fare and of course missing his trainEven while caring for Jed Gideon feels very attracted to the good looking man He thinks that nothing can come of it of course – for one he can’t take advantage of a sick and possibly dying man and then it’s unlikely that the Indian would share Gideon’s leaning towards men But while talking to Jed during the man’s lucid moments Gideon discovers that the Indian appeals to him in that just one way and he realizes that they might get along well as traveling companions if nothing else Thus Gideon or less coaxes Jed into guiding him overland to San Francisco after he has recovered – and Jed agrees readily enough even though he mocks Gideon by calling him soft and pamperedTheir journey begins and soon Gideon finds out that he is indeed soft and pampered compared to Jed His admiration grows and so does the attraction It doesn’t take too long until their relationship turns sexual after all as Jed admits and acts on his own attraction to Gideon; and the dreaded long journey soon turns into the best time Gideon’s ever had Still even though Jed seems to develop feelings for Gideon he takes an effort in keeping the young white man on arm’s length because he obviously thinks their different races can never meet eye to eyeBeing friends with the Indians that travel with the show makes Gideon a lot understanding about Jed than his contemporaries usually are and since Gideon is a traveler himself he can even relate to many of Jed’s reservations On the other hand listening to Jed watching him and generally being with him changes Gideon’s point of view about many things He’s openminded enough to allow those changes and in no way above adopting some of Jed’s opinions and mannersPractically from the first moment of his life Jed has seen his people mistreated by white men and has experienced his share of mistreatment first hand Taken from his people at a young age and forced into a “civilized” education by Catholic nuns Jed harbors deeply ingrained distrust and prejudices against whites Since the entire story is told from Gideons third – person POV we get Jed only through Gideon’s eyes but even so we watch him change too as he spends time with the often naive and rash young white man opening first his body then his heart to GideonThe characterizations were incredibly good Gideon was every little bit the twenty – year old happy go lucky selfish adolescent often trampling on Jed’s and other people’s feelings out of sheer ignorance Just as often though he showed consideration and understanding far above his years which hinted at the innate goodness of his heart and also cast a very positive light at his upbringing In fact even though we don’t meet Gideon’s family in person they are mentioned often enough to become alive and they grew on me tooI was even impressed by the way Jed was drawn a powerful three – dimensional and fully fleshed character even though he doesn’t speak much and we don’t get into his head He had so many layers At first traditionally brought up as a Lakota he internalized his people’s ways and clung to them through the time he was forced to spend in the boarding school He is older better – educated and experienced than Gideon and even Gideon thinks him the smarter one but he is also wary out of habit and used to expect the worst from white men in general In a way Jed was the close minded of the two and I could only admire the author duo for resisting the urge to make Jed a “noble savage” or a larger than life saint in disguise giving him depth flaws and humanity insteadJed’s deeply ingrained misgivings are what keep him from truely committing to Gideon even though he has come to love the young white man to a point where leaving him almost tears Jed apart And this is what Gideon has over Jed Gideon has the kind of faith it takes to stand by his man unconditionally and at any cost Maybe just maybe Jed loves Gideon enough to learn trusting him completely heart body and soulThis book breathed authenticity in every little detail down to every word and gesture down to the way Gideon and Jed talk dress eat and have sex Every now and then the authors’ moralizing forefinger peeked up just the tiniest little bit as the journey brings them through wild and untamed land in contrast to small rural towns mining sites and big cities on the verge of industrialization It never turns to preaching though it just colors Gideon’s experience; in fact the growing awareness for the destruction of the land was part of Gideon’s growth processI know I’ve complained about the use of the word Indian in another book recently; curiously this didn’t bother me here For one Gideon saying it or even using the term “Injun” fit both the time and Gideon’s character – he IS thoughtless at times although willing to overcome his ignorance For another Jed used the various referrals to himself and his people in a very subtle way calling himself Lakota when he felt comfortable with Gideon and Sioux or Indian when he wanted to create distance It’s another part of Gideon’s character development that he became aware of those subtleties among Jed’s many other little peculiarities the attention he paid to Jed the he fell in love with him – and I loved the way I as the reader was included in this slow progress through Gideon’s eyesThis was a beautiful thought – provoking heartfelt story As I said above I recommend it wholeheartedlyRead the full review at reviewsbyjessewavecom