Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
3 stars - It was good.
While it is a worthy read, it was also a disappointment after first reading [b:The Orenda|18339647|The Orenda|Joseph Boyden|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1393218865s/18339647.jpg|24652514], as this one was not nearly as compelling or polished.
I really enjoyed the Native American/First Nations cultural references, but could have done without the whole perspective of Annie and the drama around her, her sister and their modeling world. It would have been a stronger novel, even if cut in half page wise, if it had strictly dealt with the Uncle and his inner circle.
-------------------------------------------
Favorite Quote: Experience is the most difficult of teachers because it gives the exam first, and the lessons second.
First Sentence: When there was no Pepsi left for my rye whiskey, nieces, there was always ginger ale.
While it is a worthy read, it was also a disappointment after first reading [b:The Orenda|18339647|The Orenda|Joseph Boyden|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1393218865s/18339647.jpg|24652514], as this one was not nearly as compelling or polished.
I really enjoyed the Native American/First Nations cultural references, but could have done without the whole perspective of Annie and the drama around her, her sister and their modeling world. It would have been a stronger novel, even if cut in half page wise, if it had strictly dealt with the Uncle and his inner circle.
-------------------------------------------
Favorite Quote: Experience is the most difficult of teachers because it gives the exam first, and the lessons second.
First Sentence: When there was no Pepsi left for my rye whiskey, nieces, there was always ginger ale.
Actual rating: 4.5 stars
My thoughts aren't very coherent right now but this was really good
My thoughts aren't very coherent right now but this was really good
This is the second instalment in a loosely connected trilogy of books. I read the first (Three Day Road) and loved it and I was eager to see what Boyden would churn out next.
In a way, he didn't disappoint. The book is marked by his deft storytelling, interweaving two different POVs and non-linear narrative, with Boyden's lovely evocative sense of place (the story is partly set in a remote Cree community of Northern Canada and partly in New York, and both locations come alive) his knack for building engrossing family stories and talent at creating fully-realised characters with strong voices.
As usual, the best moments in the book where Boyden writes about the northern landscape and the human (native) relationship to it.
I would have given this book 4 or even 5 stars...if it didn't have such a rushed, half-baked ending that doesn't do the rest of the novel justice. Still, it is a gorgeous book and well-worth reading. I can't wait to read the newest book.
In a way, he didn't disappoint. The book is marked by his deft storytelling, interweaving two different POVs and non-linear narrative, with Boyden's lovely evocative sense of place (the story is partly set in a remote Cree community of Northern Canada and partly in New York, and both locations come alive) his knack for building engrossing family stories and talent at creating fully-realised characters with strong voices.
As usual, the best moments in the book where Boyden writes about the northern landscape and the human (native) relationship to it.
I would have given this book 4 or even 5 stars...if it didn't have such a rushed, half-baked ending that doesn't do the rest of the novel justice. Still, it is a gorgeous book and well-worth reading. I can't wait to read the newest book.
Will is a genuine character & though I couldn't relate to him in most ways, I grew to appreciate him & everything that went on in his life. He felt like an important part of the story; his dialogue was relevant, it developed & we as the reader grew to see the bigger picture of his home, his family & himself as the book progressed.
On the other hand, Annie was a character whom I struggled to care about. I wanted to empathize with how she must have felt to lose her sister but, every time her dialogue came around I felt that we were revisiting the same places over & over again. There wasn't much depth to her & I suppose, in contrast to Will, who sacrificed so much for the safety of those he loved & who lived with immense guilt for the greater portion of his adult life, it might be hard to create an equally heavyweight character.
Annie spent so much time in the environments in which her sister was last seen & nothing ever came of any of it. She experienced some of her sister's lifestyle & instead of viewing these things as troublesome, sought to immerse herself in them. I felt bad for her because she seemed like such a lost soul who knew that Moosonee was where she belonged.
When the novel begins to wrap up the plot, I didn't quite grasp how Suzanne was able to safely make her way back home. There is a brief conversation between Will & Suzanne's mom in which she hints at knowing more than what is ever revealed to the reader. I didn't understand why we never revisited that. I think it would have helped to smoothen out the ending if some of the details of Suzanne's whereabouts had been shared with Annie which would have encouraged her to make her way back. Instead, we have a quick phone conversation & then things begin to slow towards the end.
I do enjoy Boyden's writing so will read other works by him but, this one simply wasn't my cup of tea.
Beautifully written!
I would have given it 5 stars if I had found out where or what happened to Suzanne!!
I would have given it 5 stars if I had found out where or what happened to Suzanne!!
3.75/5
I read and loved Joseph Boyden’s The Orenda when I read it a few years ago and I still think of it as quite a masterpiece of Canadian literature. While that was set in 1600’s in Canada, Through Black Spruce is much more of a contemporary novel. It is a slow burn mystery that gradually unravels as a dual narrative moving both forwards and backwards in time.
In one, we follow Will Bird, a retired Cree bush pilot and in alternating chapters, we follow Annie, Will’s niece as she sits by his hospital bedside where he lay paralysed and in a coma. Both narratives weave to slowly reveal the circumstances that have led to that point. Annie’s sister Suzanne has been missing for months when she fell into bad company during her modelling career in Toronto. Annie goes in search of her and in the present, is narrating that too Will. In Will’s chapters, you learn more about his life and the tragedies of his life in Moosenee, a small northern port town in Ontario.
Boyden beautifully brings to life the Native Indian life and beliefs and its juxtaposition against western ideas. In the small town of Moosenee, rivalry runs deep and the vengeance with which certain townsfolk threaten Will’s life reminded me of the two major Native Indian clan rivalries you see in The Orenda. The setting seamlessly moves from rural Canadian landscape in Will's chapters to the urban cities of Toronto, Montreal and New York in Annie’s.
The risk of a dual narrative is in ensuring both voices hold an equal interest in the reader. I think that was the only place this novel slightly let me down. I loved Will’s chapters way more than Annie’s and I found myself rushing through hers just to get to his. In the middle sections that Annie spends searching for Suzanne in Toronto and New York started to feel slightly repetitive. I think if the novel had been 100 pages shorter, with mainly sections cut from Annie’s perspective, it would have undoubtedly been a 5 star read for me. Nonetheless, it’s one I’d highly recommend, especially to read during the colder months.
I read and loved Joseph Boyden’s The Orenda when I read it a few years ago and I still think of it as quite a masterpiece of Canadian literature. While that was set in 1600’s in Canada, Through Black Spruce is much more of a contemporary novel. It is a slow burn mystery that gradually unravels as a dual narrative moving both forwards and backwards in time.
In one, we follow Will Bird, a retired Cree bush pilot and in alternating chapters, we follow Annie, Will’s niece as she sits by his hospital bedside where he lay paralysed and in a coma. Both narratives weave to slowly reveal the circumstances that have led to that point. Annie’s sister Suzanne has been missing for months when she fell into bad company during her modelling career in Toronto. Annie goes in search of her and in the present, is narrating that too Will. In Will’s chapters, you learn more about his life and the tragedies of his life in Moosenee, a small northern port town in Ontario.
Boyden beautifully brings to life the Native Indian life and beliefs and its juxtaposition against western ideas. In the small town of Moosenee, rivalry runs deep and the vengeance with which certain townsfolk threaten Will’s life reminded me of the two major Native Indian clan rivalries you see in The Orenda. The setting seamlessly moves from rural Canadian landscape in Will's chapters to the urban cities of Toronto, Montreal and New York in Annie’s.
The risk of a dual narrative is in ensuring both voices hold an equal interest in the reader. I think that was the only place this novel slightly let me down. I loved Will’s chapters way more than Annie’s and I found myself rushing through hers just to get to his. In the middle sections that Annie spends searching for Suzanne in Toronto and New York started to feel slightly repetitive. I think if the novel had been 100 pages shorter, with mainly sections cut from Annie’s perspective, it would have undoubtedly been a 5 star read for me. Nonetheless, it’s one I’d highly recommend, especially to read during the colder months.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Mixed feelings abound after finishing this book. I've waited a week to review it because I'm still not sure how to describe my feelings. The storyline set on James Bay offered a glimpse into a world generally glimpsed only through stereotypes. It was complicated, sad and still a story worth telling. As the story moved to Montreal & NY, I became impatient to return North.
Compelling story in which an uncle and his niece gradually tell each other of their adventures and deepest regrets, he in a coma, she at his bedside.