Reviews

Glass Beads by Dawn Dumont

jandi's review

5.0

What a beautiful book, blazed through it in a couple of days. The stunning cover art drew me first to it, as it was offered as part of One eRead Canada. It is described as a collection of short stories, but it seemed to me more of a novel with an unconventional structure - lots of vignettes and fast forward. It tells the story of a group of First Nation friends trying to navigate adulthood in a world they don't quite fit into, drifting in and out of each other's lives as time goes on. The characters are fully fleshed out, even with the discontinuous, choppy narration.

It is a darker, subtle read. Kind of reminded me of Milan Kundera's [b:The Unbearable Lightness of Being|9717|The Unbearable Lightness of Being|Milan Kundera|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1265401884i/9717._SY75_.jpg|4489585] or Paolo Giordano's [b:The Solitude of Prime Numbers|6613956|The Solitude of Prime Numbers|Paolo Giordano|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442465089i/6613956._SY75_.jpg|3873004] - loneliness is a universal theme.

jolynne's review

5.0

The life and loves of two Indigenous women.

rachelini's review

4.0

I read this as part of One eRead Canada, which was great, because it hadn't been on my radar before. It says stories, but I'd call it more vignettes - it was like popping in at important points in the lives of Nellie and Julie, who met at children on their reserve, and whose lives intertwine while going in different directions.

courtofchapters's review

4.0

This kept my attention the entire way through.

evenormandinc's review

emotional hopeful sad fast-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

4.5

ellenjoannecampbell's review

3.0

It's a good story about friends from childhood through adulthood and the challenges of transition from reserve life to urban living.

kelseyat's review

This was one of my favourite books of 2017. I personally wouldn't call it short stories though -- to me it was absolutely a novel in the way that it took us through several years in the lives of four friends.

chelsearm's review

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I absolutely loved this short story collection. Dawn Dumont has quickly become a favourite author, the way she personifies these characters almost makes me doubt that this isn’t just a described recording of people’s interactions, they feel so real. So many parts of these stories had my heart breaking, but other parts had me cackling aloud. 

eloiset's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

christinasbookworld's review

5.0

Excellent.  I could definitely reread this collection of interconnected short stories.