Reviews

What did I even read?? 😟 Plot is pretty much non-existent and doesn’t even pick up until around page 90-100. Every single time something even remotely interesting happens, the MC almost makes it his personal mission to just never be part of anything whatsoever. Dude is literally just a side character in disguise.

Not to mention the amount of misogyny and fucked up things this man does to some of the women in this book is so??? What??? I’m just so disappointed in this book, it could have been so much more and it just completely failed in so many ways.

ben_t_g's review

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

4.25

username999's review

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dark informative tense slow-paced

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

2.5

This was so freaking boring.

dariuskay's review

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4.0

Beautiful writing with vivid scenes.

barnstormingbooks's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

BIRD how I love cranky old Bird the semi-retired cowhorse.

Published in 1974 with a preface by Joy Harjo and an introduction by Louise Erdrich I finally got around to this classic of Native American Literature, and I’m so glad I did.

Told first in vignettes that build into a cohesive story we meet a man in his 30s struggling with a world that devalues him in so many ways. He is treated like a child by his mother and the elders of his community, racially profiled anytime he leaves the reservation, and struggles to find comfort that he calls love. The details Welch chooses are perfection. If you get a chance to read this edition, Erdrich does a better job of explaining this element of his writing than I would ever do.

My heart fell in love with how Welch writes about horses and ranching. Welch manages to write an account of ranching, haying and riding that does not lean into the romance, but also lets the reader know why those of us who do or have done this work (as hobby or for $$) keep doing it. It is raw and rough. With all the characters of that word and all the swearing when your aging horse decides to buck and run.

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