Reviews tagging 'Cultural appropriation'

The Sentence by Louise Erdrich

63 reviews

mariebrunelm's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative reflective 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

5.0

An Indigenous bookshop ghost story, what more could you ask for?

In The Sentence, Louise Erdrich weaves the ordinary (as mundane or heart-wrenching as it can be) and the supernatural to create a rich tapestry of contemporary life as an Indigenous person in the USA, with a strong emphasis on community and a balance between darkness and light.

Tookie is a very grounded person, an ex-convict now working in a bookshop owned by… a certain Louise. They have their regulars, each one with their habits and particular tastes in books. One of them, Flora, dies at the beginning of the story, but she doesn’t seem ready to leave the bookshop.

Once the situation is set, the author sets out to detail the daily life of the bookshop and its daily haunting, through the eyes of a gruff but very endearing character, Tookie, who is very flawed but very loveable. I loved the balance of her prose that walked the line between prosaic and spiritual. In short chapters, she captured vivid scenes and interactions that made this book highly entertaining even though not a lot was happening. The touch of the supernatural was very welcome to add another dimension to the book. It was also very informational about Indigenous people living in Minneapolis and its surrounding area, without feeling like you were taught a lesson.

On the whole, this book felt very intentional, and forced me to slow down to savour every bite, which is very rare for me. I was in no rush to see what was happening next, and it brought me a lot of peace even though some parts were harrowing. I highly recommend this nuanced and multi-facetted book that holds a lot in a very readable format.

Rep: Indigenous characters, bi MC.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Pandemic/Epidemic, Police brutality, and Cultural appropriation

mouseyhare's review against another edition

funny hopeful reflective sad fast-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

5.0

I don't know how to describe this book. Even though it took me 3 whole weeks to read, every time I picked it up it felt easy. Even though it's about COVID and George Floyd and people dying, it's still funny? It's weird.  It's not a happy book but it's not sad either. I recommend it.

I am bad at adding content warnings because I'm not sure how to describe them or how graphic they are but I tried to cover the ones I remembered. There is a pretty detailed description of the main character smuggling a dead body and her incarceration afterwards which I don't think is an option to mark in Storygraph. Oy.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Racism, Cultural appropriation, and Police brutality

eyreickson's review

dark emotional hopeful reflective 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Drug use

Moderate: Colonisation and Cultural appropriation

katharina90's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Started off strong but lost a bit of steam shortly after. The pace was too slow for my liking but I enjoyed the many themes that are explored in this novel.

It was also interesting to relive the events of 2020 from the perspective of an indigenous formerly incarcerated woman working at a small bookstore in Minneapolis. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Medical content, Racism, Police brutality, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation

Minor: Death and Addiction

ajamwelch's review

adventurous emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-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

4.75

I think this is one of my first dips into, what I would consider, magical realism. I loved the bookstore setting and the influence of books in so many of the characters lives. Did not realize this was going to take place primarily during the pandemic, so definitely a warning for those who do not wish to revisit that. Overall, an absolutely wonderful read. Great characters, great writing style, and great atmosphere. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation and Pandemic/Epidemic

jennieliv's review

emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-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

4.25

Took a while to get into but loved the way it ended 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Pandemic/Epidemic, Genocide, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Colonisation, Medical content, Slavery, Death, Hate crime, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, and Racism

danimcthomas's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? No

4.25

A wild swath of a book that covers so many issues in such a beautiful and nuanced way. Erdrich is a master.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Death, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Racial slurs, Mental illness, Racism, Police brutality, Violence, and Homophobia

Very embedded in the 2020 timeframe - so if that time (COVID & the civil unrest re: racism) is still painful to recall, I would avoid this book.

booksandteatime's review

challenging emotional reflective sad tense 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

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Police brutality, Death, Colonisation, Grief, Drug use, Cultural appropriation, Violence, Suicide attempt, Medical trauma, Racism, and Panic attacks/disorders

jesstaurant's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Animal death, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Police brutality, Abandonment, Addiction, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, and Drug abuse

sydneyjn's review

challenging dark emotional 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

3.0

I struggled with this book.  Set in Minneapolis during the George Floyd riots and the pandemic, this is HEAVY.  This is also heavy because of the decisions the characters make, though I have the admit that the combination of making decisions that are good for you and ones that are self-destructive was very real.  

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic and Police brutality

Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Racism, Abandonment, Drug use, and Forced institutionalization