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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
I was absolutely certain I was going to give this book 3 stars, but the ending was so spectacularly good that I'm feeling very affectionate about the whole book now and that is making me more generous.
I was surprised while reading this that it didn't really grab me the way "Three Day Road" or "The Orenda" did, and I think the comparison and previous awesome Joseph Boyden experiences maybe made me enjoy this book less. I think I just prefer him as a historical fiction writer. When reading about Annie's experiences in Toronto and New York, I just didn't care about her at all, and normally the characters Boyden writes about are beautiful and compelling. When she talks about her life back home though, she's much better, and I really enjoyed her narration.
Interestingly, the one character who couldn't speak was my favourite: Gordon is fantastically written, despite never having any dialogue. I really got attached to him, and spent a huge portion of the book worrying that he was going to be killed off.
Overall, not as amazing as previous Boyden reads, but still definitely worthwhile and enjoyable, even if only for the magnificent ending.
I was surprised while reading this that it didn't really grab me the way "Three Day Road" or "The Orenda" did, and I think the comparison and previous awesome Joseph Boyden experiences maybe made me enjoy this book less. I think I just prefer him as a historical fiction writer. When reading about Annie's experiences in Toronto and New York, I just didn't care about her at all, and normally the characters Boyden writes about are beautiful and compelling. When she talks about her life back home though, she's much better, and I really enjoyed her narration.
Interestingly, the one character who couldn't speak was my favourite: Gordon is fantastically written, despite never having any dialogue. I really got attached to him, and spent a huge portion of the book worrying that he was going to be killed off.
Overall, not as amazing as previous Boyden reads, but still definitely worthwhile and enjoyable, even if only for the magnificent ending.
I read the first four pages and thought, "Damn. That's how you start a book." The rest of the story lived up to it. The feuds are as devastating as anything in Shakespeare or your own family history. The characters are credible and engaging. Native traditionalists, Catholic conservatives, drug dealers, street people, and fashion models improbably mingle in the near-arctic northern wilds, small town Canada, and New York City, but somehow Boyden makes these unlikely travels seem completely natural.
Absolutely loved this book! The two narrators provide equally intriguing stories making it almost impossible to put the book down. A must read!
Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden is told through two primary characters: a middle-aged man who has been left in a coma and his twenty-something niece who comes to visit him in hospital. Boyden takes us through terrain that most of us will not encounter—the northern woods that are only accessible by bush plane or canoe, life on a reservation, photo shoots in Montreal and celebrity life in New York City. It’s a story that explores the glamour and the grief associated with the cross border traffic in drugs. If you have read Orenda, Through Black Spruce is a very different, but equally compelling book.
(Bonnie Lendrum is the author of Autumn’s Grace, a story of how one family manages the experience of palliative care with hope and humour despite sibling conflicts, generational pulls and career demands. Autumn’s Grace is a powerful commentary on the need for well-organized and well-funded palliative care in private homes and in residential hospices.)
(Bonnie Lendrum is the author of Autumn’s Grace, a story of how one family manages the experience of palliative care with hope and humour despite sibling conflicts, generational pulls and career demands. Autumn’s Grace is a powerful commentary on the need for well-organized and well-funded palliative care in private homes and in residential hospices.)
This is the third book in the Bird family series by Joseph Boyden. I read The Orenda last year and then read the second book in the series Three Day Road last fall. That was my favorite book in the series, but this book is also excellent. I really enjoyed it and I'd say Boyden has now earned his spot as one of my favorite Canadian authors.
Through Black Spruce is set in northern Ontario in Moose Factory. At the beginning of the novel, Will Bird is in a coma and his family believes he will not survive his injuries. His niece Annie has just returned from a dangerous journey to Toronto, Montreal and New York in search of her missing sister Suzanne before returning home to be by her uncle's side.
The novel works backwards as we learn the stories of Will Bird's career as a Cree bush pilot and the things that have happened to him in his lifetime. Annie begins sitting by his bedside and relaying her own stories of her search for Suzanne, and in turn we learn about this remarkable family.
Boyden is exceptional at weaving themes of loss, tragedy, and identity through his novels and he hits almost every topic I can think of that affects Native Americans today. He has a beautiful style of descriptive writing and knows how to paint pictures with his words. I enjoyed the references to his last novel Three Day Road and how it tied it into the next generation in the Bird family. I wish these stories wouldn't end! I recommend all his books, although if you are a reader that doesn't like a lot of violence, I would take caution with The Orenda.
Favorite Takeaway Quotes
“Your grandfather was a hero in a war, girls. He wasn't a bad man or a weak man. Maybe he was too old to have a second family, a second wife and your mother and me, so many years after he lost his first. Maybe he was too old to fight anymore, and that's why he let me be taken away. I've thought about this for years and years. All I know is there are no heroes in this world. Not really. Just men and women who become old and tired and lose the strength to fight for what they love any longer.”
― Joseph Boyden, Through Black Spruce
“Build it all up, and it all falls down. It all burns down. Everything you need can be taken. Remember that, nieces. Everything you hold dear, it can be taken.”
― Joseph Boyden, Through Black Spruce
Through Black Spruce is set in northern Ontario in Moose Factory. At the beginning of the novel, Will Bird is in a coma and his family believes he will not survive his injuries. His niece Annie has just returned from a dangerous journey to Toronto, Montreal and New York in search of her missing sister Suzanne before returning home to be by her uncle's side.
The novel works backwards as we learn the stories of Will Bird's career as a Cree bush pilot and the things that have happened to him in his lifetime. Annie begins sitting by his bedside and relaying her own stories of her search for Suzanne, and in turn we learn about this remarkable family.
Boyden is exceptional at weaving themes of loss, tragedy, and identity through his novels and he hits almost every topic I can think of that affects Native Americans today. He has a beautiful style of descriptive writing and knows how to paint pictures with his words. I enjoyed the references to his last novel Three Day Road and how it tied it into the next generation in the Bird family. I wish these stories wouldn't end! I recommend all his books, although if you are a reader that doesn't like a lot of violence, I would take caution with The Orenda.
Favorite Takeaway Quotes
“Your grandfather was a hero in a war, girls. He wasn't a bad man or a weak man. Maybe he was too old to have a second family, a second wife and your mother and me, so many years after he lost his first. Maybe he was too old to fight anymore, and that's why he let me be taken away. I've thought about this for years and years. All I know is there are no heroes in this world. Not really. Just men and women who become old and tired and lose the strength to fight for what they love any longer.”
― Joseph Boyden, Through Black Spruce
“Build it all up, and it all falls down. It all burns down. Everything you need can be taken. Remember that, nieces. Everything you hold dear, it can be taken.”
― Joseph Boyden, Through Black Spruce
What an enticing story. I love when a book ends and you feel like the story goes on and this book definitely has that feeling that the characters have more to their story.
This wasn't an easy book or a fast read. It was a beautifully written and painful story to be savored. The parallel journeys of Will and Annie are fascinating. The descriptions of the natural world and the plight of Canada's First Nations are mean to be pondered. I hadn't ready Boyden's previous book but certainly plan to!
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No