The Anthropology of Turquoise: Reflections on Desert, Sea, Stone, and Sky

Book Description
In this invigorating mix of natural history and adventure, artist-naturalist Ellen Meloy uses turquoise—the color and the gem—to probe deeper into our profound human attachment to landscape.

From the Sierra Nevada, the Mojave Desert, the Yucatan Peninsula, and the Bahamas to her home ground on the high plateaus and deep canyons of the Southwest, we journey with Meloy through vistas of both great beauty and great desecration. Her keen vision makes us look anew at ancestral mountains, turquoise seas, and even motel swimming pools. She introduces us to Navajo “velvet grandmothers” whose attire and aesthetics absorb the vivid palette of their homeland, as well as to Persians who consider turquoise the life-saving equivalent of a bullet-proof vest. Throughout, Meloy invites us to appreciate along with her the endless surprises in all of life and celebrates the seduction to be found in our visual surroundings.


From the Back Cover
“Exquisitely rendered. . . . Meloy’s gem-studded collection calls us to be mindful of the physical world, to see it—really see it—with fresh eyes.” —Los Angeles Times

“Meloy’s vision of the world through turquoise-colored glasses is a unique, moving, self-effacing delight.” —The Washington Post

“By the time you lift your eyes from the last page, you’ll be longing to clasp a piece of stone, to be surrounded by blue water. . . . Powerful and transporting—and funny.” —The Times-Picayune

“Finely crafted, vigorously descriptive, dazzling in its insights into biology and culture.” —Booklist

“[Meloy] crafts potent meditations on the desert landscape. . . . The Anthropology of Turquoise explores Meloy’s beloved Southwest—a region she knows intimately and describes with her trademark sharp wit.” —Salt Lake Tribune

“Amusing and intelligent . . . the talented Meloy is a Southwestern voice to listen to.” —Santa Fe New Mexican

“Smart, evocative, and memorable: Nature-writing done right." —Kirkus (starred review)

“Combine[s] the best of travel writing with fascinating slices of history in an irresistible invitation to open our eyes and our minds, taking beauty where we find it.” —Kingston Springs Advocate

“Diverse, thoughtful, and humorous.” —Albuquerque Journal

“A book of great beauty under which lies a drumbeat of grief and passion for the desert. Meloy is a perfect, often hilarious guide. Trust her on any river. There are images in this book I will never forget.” —Nora Gallagher, author of Practicing Resurrection




About the Author
Ellen Meloy received a Whiting Foundation Award in 1997. Her book Raven’s Exile: A Season on the Green River won a 1995 Western Writers of America Spur Award for contemporary nonfiction. She is also the author of The Last Cheater’s Waltz: Beauty and Violence in the Desert Southwest. Her essays have appeared in Orion and Northern Lights, among other publications, and have been widely anthologized. She lives in southern Utah.


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This is an unusual collection of essays by a Utah woman who casts an observant eye over the American Southwest. She includes her experiences of relationships and family, the happenings of everyday life, and the natural science and history of her area. Her background of scientific knowledge and philosophical thinking draws the reader into improbable experiences. Most significant is her love of the desert. Her writing fairly throbs with color and feeling as she tells of trips: Meloy takes a solo vindication trip to make up for all the times her family did not stop at motels with swimming pools when she was a child. She ponders ancient Indian-made mazes still visible among the disturbances wrought by "civilization." She fishes for barracuda with her husband in Mexico and gazes at the birds on a mangrove island. She forays with female friends. During a trip to the Bahamas, Meloy explores the roots of her family, and tries to make peace with the fact that her ancestors were slaveholders. Several essays are highly palatable reviews, for the nonscientist, of the flora and fauna of the desert. So what about the turquoise of the title? She sees shadings of this color wherever she looks; it resonates with her powerfully. In one essay, she covers the ways, past and present, in which the world views and uses the beautiful stone that exemplifies the color The titles of the essays say little of their content (e.g., "The Silk That Hurls Us Down Its Spine"), and the construction of the essays is bewildering at first. Meloy grabs hold of some event at the beginning of each (like accidentally nailing her hair to the shingles), then wanders off in what this reviewer sometimes perceived as a literaryexpression of chaos theory. Transitions would have been helpful to understanding. The cover says this book was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and it does grow on the reader. One comes away, despite the randomness, feeling that one has had contact with a thoughtful, original mind. KLIATT Codes: A-Recommended for advanced students and adults. 2002, Random House, Vintage, 322p., Ages 17 to adult.


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