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rieviolet's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
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? No
3.5
This is the first Louise Erdrich's book I've read and, all in all, I liked it. It was not a bad reading experience and I'd like to try out some of her other books.
The chapters are quite short so you can get through them quickly and the book doesn't really feel as long as it is.
There are multiple point of views and it is interesting to experience so many different voices; still, inevitably, some characters were more captivating than others to me, and the overall narrative could feel a bit disjointed.
I really appreciated how the author constructed the characters, they were flashed out well and felt very vivid on the page.
Also, I've read very few stories about Native American communities, so I enjoyed getting a glimpse into their history and culture.
It took me a bit to tune into the writing style, and there were still some bits where I struggled a little with the language and I'm not sure I really understood what was being said (but I am not a native speaker) or what was going on.
At times it got a touch strange for my personal tastejust to name a few examples: dogs talking, chapters from a horse's POV, mention of a horse's vulva , or the story took quite dark and disturbing turns abruptly, leaving me a bit discombobulated.
I wasn't completely sold on the ending, I think that a lot was left unexplored and untold, which is comprehensible given that there were a lot of narrative threads, but it still left me feeling a bit unsatisfied.
The chapters are quite short so you can get through them quickly and the book doesn't really feel as long as it is.
There are multiple point of views and it is interesting to experience so many different voices; still, inevitably, some characters were more captivating than others to me, and the overall narrative could feel a bit disjointed.
I really appreciated how the author constructed the characters, they were flashed out well and felt very vivid on the page.
Also, I've read very few stories about Native American communities, so I enjoyed getting a glimpse into their history and culture.
It took me a bit to tune into the writing style, and there were still some bits where I struggled a little with the language and I'm not sure I really understood what was being said (but I am not a native speaker) or what was going on.
At times it got a touch strange for my personal taste
I wasn't completely sold on the ending, I think that a lot was left unexplored and untold, which is comprehensible given that there were a lot of narrative threads, but it still left me feeling a bit unsatisfied.
Graphic: Confinement, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Death, and Racism
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual content, Colonisation, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Medical content, Kidnapping, Violence, Gun violence, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic, Toxic friendship, Dementia, Animal death, Sexual harassment, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Addiction, and War
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