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setaian's review against another edition
5.0
If I'm being totally honest this collection of stories does not transition well into audio. It was occasionally confusing and I think that confusion would have been cleared up on the page.
So with that single caveat, the voices of women and the voices of Native American women are not heard nearly enough. Taking it a step further to include Australia, New Zealand, Canada and any nation with an indigenous people, we all need to hear their voices.
But it's challenging. They are a minority in a minority in a minority. As readers it's incumbent on us to do more than just stumble on these books. We need to search them out.
So with that single caveat, the voices of women and the voices of Native American women are not heard nearly enough. Taking it a step further to include Australia, New Zealand, Canada and any nation with an indigenous people, we all need to hear their voices.
But it's challenging. They are a minority in a minority in a minority. As readers it's incumbent on us to do more than just stumble on these books. We need to search them out.
careinthelibrary's review against another edition
4.0
An invaluable memoir portion, some really memorable short stories, and poetry that was good, just not my preferred style.
The memoir was of childhood, boarding school, and after graduation/college. Some harrowing passages of the trauma of separation and cultural loss that were made all the more sad because of the beauty of the passages about her childhood. Her relationship with her mother was so tender.
The short stories were a nice surprise! They had twists I didn't expect. I would revisit these portions of this book again. Somehow I was surprised by these. I think after the excellent memoir, I expected the rest to be a hodge-podge of other writings that were added on. But these stand on their own two feet!
The poetry was great I'm sure, it just wasn't a style I enjoy, no fault of Zitkála-Šá. In the fashion of the era, it was very restrained in its technique and style.
Absolutely worth checking out if you're interested in a primary source/memoir of indigenous life in the late 1800s/early 1900s and some really engrossing short stories centring indigenous characters. Also that foreward was fantastic and makes me want to check out Layli Long Soldier as well.
The memoir was of childhood, boarding school, and after graduation/college. Some harrowing passages of the trauma of separation and cultural loss that were made all the more sad because of the beauty of the passages about her childhood. Her relationship with her mother was so tender.
The short stories were a nice surprise! They had twists I didn't expect. I would revisit these portions of this book again. Somehow I was surprised by these. I think after the excellent memoir, I expected the rest to be a hodge-podge of other writings that were added on. But these stand on their own two feet!
The poetry was great I'm sure, it just wasn't a style I enjoy, no fault of Zitkála-Šá. In the fashion of the era, it was very restrained in its technique and style.
Absolutely worth checking out if you're interested in a primary source/memoir of indigenous life in the late 1800s/early 1900s and some really engrossing short stories centring indigenous characters. Also that foreward was fantastic and makes me want to check out Layli Long Soldier as well.
elliemazzze's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
3.0
bookwyrmknits's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
slow-paced
4.0
This is a very moving collection of autobiographical stories and pieces that could be fictional or passed along from others. The beginning section of the book tells the author's story, and then it shifts into stories featuring others. There was no explanation for the change that I saw, so I'm not sure if these are stories that are biographical in nature, or more along the lines of fable. Regardless, the collection was a very enjoyable (and often poignant) read, with some eye-opening glimpses into what life was like in the Indian Schools.
lsmith36's review against another edition
3.0
I thought there would be more stories, but the end of this version had an essay that didn't really fit with the rest of the novel. I think this would have been a better read for me if it had been a class read with discussion.