THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 2019 // 19
BOOKMONGER
Johnny Appleseed reborn in harsh retelling
This version of
American folk
hero not suitable
for youngsters.
THIS WEEK’S
BOOK
“Fresh News Straight
from Heaven”
By Gregg Sapp
Evolved Publishing
382 pp
$18.95
diet. His self-assigned mis-
sion was to plant apple trees
throughout the wilderness,
ahead of the tide of settlers.
Thus the lore around Johnny
Appleseed was born.
Early in this novel, a cir-
cuit-riding preacher who
meets Johnny for the first
time asks if he is “the one
they call Appleseed?”
In reply, Johnny pokes
fun at his own reputation: “I
me-self would prefer to be
called the Apple-Proclaimer,
the Pomaceous Prophet, or
the Fructifier of the Wilder-
ness. But I can accept being
called Appleseed.”
However, the quirky
spirit and blithe heart of this
vagabond are put to the test
as he roams through a ter-
ritory that is becoming host
to an increasing number of
machinations and power
plays between U.S. troops
and tribal warriors. Read-
ers will recognize historical
names such as Aaron Burr,
William Henry Harrison,
Tecumseh and Tippecanoe.
The book also addresses
— sometimes graphi-
cally — the secondary sta-
tus of women in the wilder-
ness, and suggests possible
responses to sexual violence
two centuries before the rise
of the #MeToo movement.
Let’s be clear: This ver-
sion of the Johnny Apple-
seed story is not appropri-
ate for youngsters. There
are scenes of brutality and
depravity that are tough to
bear.
But there is much to rec-
ommend this tale for mature
readers. While the storyline
does meander, “Fresh News
Straight from Heaven” con-
tains humor, pathos, pungent
detail and interesting rumi-
nations on love and convic-
tion and historical what-ifs,
with a few totally gratuitous
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This review column
focuses on books that have
a Pacific Northwest con-
nection, but the selec-
tion we’re looking at this
week stretches “North-
west” beyond our customary
definition.
Granted, “Fresh News
Straight from Heaven”
was written by an Olym-
pia-based author, but this
novel is set in the old North-
west Territory, the one
established by the U.S. Con-
gress in the 1780s when
Ohio was considered the
western frontier.
Author Gregg Sapp res-
urrects, reexamines and
embroiders upon the real-
life story of John Chap-
man, a barefoot ascetic
who, thanks to his unique
activities throughout that
Northwest wilderness,
achieved legendary status.
Chapman claimed to hear
angelic voices. He prac-
ticed peace in a violent time
and adopted a vegetarian
scalawags, cultists, politi-
cians, misanthropes, drunk-
ards, preachers, prophets,
witches and the military.
Johnny, motivated by an
intensely personal relation-
ship with his Maker and
by an influential text writ-
ten by the Swedish theolo-
gian Swedenborg, believes
that he can promote peace
by planting apple trees. But
he is not the only one with
religious convictions. Other
characters engage in differ-
ent practices and expres-
sions of faith — and not all
are copacetic.
Some figures in this story
are governed less by creed
and more by ambition. An
array of soldiers and politi-
cians connive to build their
reputations through con-
quest of the wilderness.
But the indigenous peo-
ple who have lived there for
untold generations are deter-
mined to push back.
Occasionally Sapp strays
from Johnny Appleseed’s
story to focus instead on the
(but amusing) 20th cen-
tury pop-culture references
thrown in for good measure.
This is an engrossing tale.
The Bookmonger is Bar-
bara Lloyd McMichael,
who writes this weekly col-
umn focusing on the books,
authors and publishers of
the Pacific Northwest. Con-
tact her at bkmonger@
nwlink.com.
Crossword Answers
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