Thireen Moons

I'm just about finished listening to the audio book of Charles Frazier's Thirteen Moons. I know it has best-seller status and has garnered so many great reviews. But I think that if I had been reading it, rather than listening to it, I would have put it aside after the first 200 pages. Yes, it tackles a fascinating piece of history and no one denies that Frazier can turn a lovely phrase. There's a sense that things are happening plot-wise. But at heart, the book strikes me as empty, in the same way that Cold Mountain did.
In Thirteen Moons, we hear the voice of the narrator for hundreds of pages, from his boyhood through old age, and still I feel as if I really don't know him. He's the same feisty, fine-phrase-turning individual throughout, with no character development, no arc to lead the reader along. Same for the portrayal of American Indians (The character Bear is wise and honest and story-telling, the way Indians are meant to be?). The main female character Claire? There's no real there there, except for her mysterious feminine ways and of course, a body lovingly described. Who is she really?
I listen to audiobooks as I take long walks in the hills or along the ocean. Ultimately, this was like strolling with a companion who goes on and on and on. I found myself frequently tuning out the repetative stories and just letting the soft North Carolina accent of the narrator (Will Patton) wash over me.