My Name Is a Knife
by Alix Hawley
Why read it
This novel completes the rich, revisionist portrait of frontiersman Daniel Boone started in 'All True Not a Lie in It'. It strips away romantic frontier mythology to explore a deeply conflicted figure caught between his adopted Shawnee ties and the violent march of colonial settlement. Hawley delivers an intimate, hauntingly poetic reexamination of history, family fractures, and the human costs of early North American expansion.
Where to get it
Available across the Netherlands as an English import via major online booksellers like Bol.com and Amazon.nl, or orderable through independent bookshops with English-language sections such as Athenaeum Boekhandel, the American Book Center (ABC), or Waterstones in Amsterdam. Ebook editions are available on Kobo and Kindle, and audio versions can be found on Audible. English fiction holdings can also be requested through the Dutch public library network (de Bibliotheek) via interlibrary loan.
What to expect
Lyrical, introspective, and gritty. The pacing moves deliberately, prioritizing character psychology and atmospheric sensory details over traditional Hollywood-style frontier action. It is moderately demanding due to its stylized, voice-driven prose and stream-of-consciousness elements. Content notes include graphic frontier violence, depictions of warfare, death of family members, and the brutal realities of settler colonialism.
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