Apache is a book that tells the story of a young girl called Siki, a member of one of the Apache Indian tribes in Central America. It is a tale which heavily sympathises with the Apache nation, and tries to draw attention to their struggles, in the busy modern world; it shows the injustice, shame, and cruelty shown to them by the ‘Mexicans’, the early settlers, later to become Americans as we know them today. The book is full of brilliant descriptions of the landscape, culture and their struggle for survival. The book is well researched and thought out, though everything is seen from the Apache’s point of view which may distort the truth slightly, as only their troubles are described.

The story starts when the Mexicans call for a ‘truce’, but when the Apache tribe come all the women and children are cut down mercilessly. Siki’s mother and father were killed summers ago, her father by the Mexicans ,and her mother through childbirth, and when the Mexicans kill her brother, Tazhi, the one truly precious thing to her, she is determined to avenge her brother’s death. She decides to take the path of the warrior, but this is fraught with danger. On the way she will make new friends and a lasting enemy, as she is pulled into the oblivion engulfing her world. As the story goes on she discovers a terrible secret about her own father.

My opinion of the story is that it is well researched and written, but for me the beginning is quite lame. It seems to me it tries to over-emphasise the struggles of the Apache nation, and it depicts the Americans as cold, brutal, mean and totally barbaric, which I am sure cannot be completely true. I think the book makes its point worse by portraying the Americans in this way; it has a very good point, but the argument is less valid because it is exaggerated. Also the way Siki talks about herself and her tribe: “to be of the Apache means you have to learn to live with pain and suffering” and “To be of the Apache, you have to never show fear” really makes the book seem like a James Bond novel, with one super-hero who is much larger than life, but this is how the Apache are portrayed here, which I think spoils it slightly. 

Having said that, the book does finish in a powerful and moving way, which, I think makes it a more worthwhile read. But right at the end in spoils it again by going back to this ‘The Apache are really amazing’ idea, which ruins a very nice ending.

Rating 6 out of 10