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vaporization's review against another edition
2.0
This book is so hard to read. I read this for an out-of-class, extra-credit assignment, so there was no class discussion, which I feel I would have greatly greatly benefited from. This is one of the books that needs careful attention paid to the details to understand.
aranafyre's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of my favorite books. The interweaving of ceremony and ritual and stories. The struggle of Tayo who is a WWII veteran with PTSD. It is brilliant.
That being said I struggle with this reread. I wanted to read it while still in the west. Instead I read most of it while traveling to Europe. I was exhausted and couldn't get into the disjointed flow of the narrative.
That being said I struggle with this reread. I wanted to read it while still in the west. Instead I read most of it while traveling to Europe. I was exhausted and couldn't get into the disjointed flow of the narrative.
orangepeaches's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book is really informative in the native ways of thought and theory. I'm reading it for a native American Literature class and it really is a decolonized lens through the whole book. Everything is cyclical and the timeline is jumbled but in a way the story makes sense and shows growth, place, and time as cyclical. Most of the book I would say is also dedicated to the place, the setting, in that there is strong connections to the land and the place the story occupies. It is a story of resistance healing and love at the end of it all.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Grief, and War
Minor: Death, Racism, Torture, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abandonment, and Colonisation
whatsmomreading's review against another edition
4.0
Ceremony tells the story of Tayo, a young American Indian who returns to the reservation after being held in a Japanese war camp during World War 2. He suffers from PTSD, survivor’s guilt and severe depression upon returning to his aunts home where he was raised after being abandoned by his mother. He struggles to find himself amongst his fellow veterans who have started to turn to drinking to cope with their struggles. It’s finally decided that he needs to seek help through their medicine man in order to come back into himself.
I found this book at my library’s little book store & I’m so glad I gave it a chance! It’s so outside of what I normally read & one of my goals this year was to try more classics. Silko’s writing was so beautiful, the story was broken up by pieces of prose and poetry inspired by Indigenous folklore that served as great transitions in the story & gave some beautiful insight.
For me this was a beautiful reminder to branch out into other genres & stories, you’ll never know what you’ll enjoy!
I found this book at my library’s little book store & I’m so glad I gave it a chance! It’s so outside of what I normally read & one of my goals this year was to try more classics. Silko’s writing was so beautiful, the story was broken up by pieces of prose and poetry inspired by Indigenous folklore that served as great transitions in the story & gave some beautiful insight.
For me this was a beautiful reminder to branch out into other genres & stories, you’ll never know what you’ll enjoy!
juliloops's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Genocide, Racism, Medical trauma, and War
radikaliseradgroda's review against another edition
3.0
It took me a while to get into the writing style (it didn't help that the audiobook didn't indicate which parts were stories/songs and which were the plot). But the last half was brilliant. I bet the first half will make more sense to me on a reread, now that I know what to expect.
jess_789's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
christinajcraig's review against another edition
A hauntingly beautiful story, a story of purification and healing. To be read slowly.
"Things which don't shift and grow are dead things. They are things the witchery people want. Witchery works to scare people, to make them fear growth. But it has always been necessary, and more than ever now, it is." (126)
"Yet at that moment in the sunrise, it was all so beautiful, everything, from all directions, evenly, perfectly, balancing day with night, summer months with winter. The valley was enclosing this totality, like the mind holding all thoughts together in a single moment." (237)
"Things which don't shift and grow are dead things. They are things the witchery people want. Witchery works to scare people, to make them fear growth. But it has always been necessary, and more than ever now, it is." (126)
"Yet at that moment in the sunrise, it was all so beautiful, everything, from all directions, evenly, perfectly, balancing day with night, summer months with winter. The valley was enclosing this totality, like the mind holding all thoughts together in a single moment." (237)
stb_14's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0