Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Neige des lunes brisées by Waubgeshig Rice

39 reviews

lyndsay_bibliophile's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

Moon of the Crusted Snow is a slow burn, with a beautifully eerie setting, rewarding patient readers with its nuanced portrait of community, resilience, and uncertainty. The build-up is masterful, heavy with foreshadowing. Rice subtly paints a picture of their simple, resilient lives, making the impending disaster feel all the more chilling.

As unease creeps in and grocery shelves echo the eerie panic of the pandemic, you know something big is brewing. The constant anticipation is gripping. This is a book that begs to be read in the heart of winter, its stark prose mirroring the frozen landscape.

While undeniably fictional, the story resonates with the enduring strength and resilience of Indigenous peoples. However, for a book that lingers so long in the quiet dread, the ending felt rushed. It left threads dangling. Thankfully, there's a sequel, and I'm eagerly reaching for it to complete the journey.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Colonisation, Animal death, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, and Racism

Moderate: Cannibalism and Alcohol

biobeetle's review against another edition

dark informative reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Violence

Moderate: Murder, Colonisation, Animal death, Suicide, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Addiction

shannnne_reads_words's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Gun violence

Moderate: Suicide, Blood, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Racism and Cannibalism

annabunce's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Death, Grief, and Violence

Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism

Minor: Cannibalism

r_o_s_e's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Colonisation, Abandonment, and Animal death

Moderate: Murder, Alcohol, Cultural appropriation, Gun violence, Gaslighting, and Suicide

Minor: Cursing, Cannibalism, and Violence

erkietheturkey's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Animal death, and Murder

Moderate: Violence, Death, Blood, and Cursing

Minor: Colonisation, Alcohol, Addiction, Alcoholism, Grief, Racism, and Suicide

emilily's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Wow. This book packs a punch. Don't be deceived by the slower pace of the first few chapters. Soon things kick off, and the rest of the book is so tense that it's hard to put down. This books masterfully transitions from a very realistic contemporary tale of life in a Northern Anishinaabe community... to a world that begins to crumble. The rest of the book toes the line of becoming an apocalyptic thriller. Anishinaabe lore, traditions, and language are weaved throughout the story, and there is some powerful allegory here, looking at colonialist invasion on Anishinaabe territory, but through a creative lense.

All around a great read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Colonisation, and Gun violence

Moderate: Grief, Violence, Cannibalism, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Alcohol and Suicide

ruthypoo2's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

An interesting and emotional postapocalyptic story about how life on a reservation might be affected in a world where modern conveniences like electricity and public services were lost. Naturally, there will be certain lifestyles better equipped to live in this kind of world, including those where people already respect an inter-generational cultural structure and have the knowledge and experience of how to survive by respecting and cultivating natural resources. This lends itself to indigenous communities that are primarily confined to a sprawling reservation landscape, and central to this story is the Anishinaabe community of Canada's First Nation.

I was impressed at the realistic way in which the characters of the story assessed and responded to the changed world they found themselves suddenly living in. Unfortunately, the nature of man seems to be one of seek and divide and conquer, so it's no surprise when the story's Anishinaabe community find themselves confronted by non-reservation people who are looking for a new place to call home where they will have a chance to live full and productive lives. How the Anishinaabe respond is heart-warming but costly to the community.

The author, Waubgeshig Rice, expresses the many layers of the First Nation people. While all seem to have knowledge of the teachings of their ancestors and natural capabilities to survive in a world missing the usual comforts, not everyone has the sound mind and responsible work ethic their elders tried to instill in them from a young age.  The cultural experiences and beliefs are beautiful and lovingly included within the narrative of the story. And their area also parallels between what's happened in the past when white settlers invaded First Nation lands and how this type of greed can replay in a world where boundaries have been blurred. It was a story that captured my interest from start to finish and I genuinely cared about everyone in this story.

I listed to the audiobook and very much enjoyed the clear dialect and reading of the narrator, Billy Merasty. At first, I wasn't sure if his voice suited me, but I quickly became accustomed to his sound and I normally listen on 1.75-2X speed, so that helped eliminate any drawing out of the spoken word that I might otherwise find a little off-putting. This is another example of when I really want to hear the pronunciation of words I'm not familiar with, and Mr. Merasty ably provided that for me.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death and Death

Minor: Grief, Gun violence, Alcohol, Violence, and Addiction

linneak's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Alcohol, and Gore

Minor: Cannibalism and Colonisation

lasafica_reads's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation and Death

Moderate: Animal death, Alcohol, Genocide, Grief, Violence, Racism, and Suicide

Minor: Cannibalism