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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A poignant story about the contrast between modernity and tradition, set in a tribal village in Kingcome.
In this story, we follow the everyday life of the village's new vicar, Mark, who is a young white man from mainland Canada, sent to Kingcome by the Bishop; he has no experience with tribal Indians whatsoever. This book is his account of life in the village.
I will start off by saying that this book put me in the biggest reading slump of my entire life; it took me an extraordinary 3 weeks to finish a novella with only 158 pages, a time during which I did not feel like reading any other book. That is not to say that this is inherently a bad book; but let me lay out the points, which, in my opinion, have made this so tedious to read.
First of all, the way it is written gives it a very non-fictitious, almost research- and scientific-like quality, which is just not fun to read. Especially not, if it is labelled as fiction. It feels as if Margaret Craven has written a scientific report on tribal Indians.
Secondly, its pacing. It has a very slow pace, which does not help it, in my opinion. I get it. It is supposed to be a personal account of the vicar, Mark, and how life in the village unfolds with all its happenings and problems; and yes, maybe it was a very slow life he led there. However, since it is a novella and not a 250+ page novel, I feel like the slow pacing is just wrong and does not add to it at all.
Lastly, the topic itself. I know, I chose this book and yes, it can definitely be very interesting; and I will admit that it got me curious for more, possibly better written books on the same topic, but this just was not it. The way it was portrayed, from the eyes of a vicar, just did not do it for me. Maybe it would have been better if it was told from the inside, maybe from a young Indian child's perspective and what it means to grow up in a tribe.
All in all, this book was okay but definitely not the best and I won't be recommending it to anyone.
In this story, we follow the everyday life of the village's new vicar, Mark, who is a young white man from mainland Canada, sent to Kingcome by the Bishop; he has no experience with tribal Indians whatsoever. This book is his account of life in the village.
I will start off by saying that this book put me in the biggest reading slump of my entire life; it took me an extraordinary 3 weeks to finish a novella with only 158 pages, a time during which I did not feel like reading any other book. That is not to say that this is inherently a bad book; but let me lay out the points, which, in my opinion, have made this so tedious to read.
First of all, the way it is written gives it a very non-fictitious, almost research- and scientific-like quality, which is just not fun to read. Especially not, if it is labelled as fiction. It feels as if Margaret Craven has written a scientific report on tribal Indians.
Secondly, its pacing. It has a very slow pace, which does not help it, in my opinion. I get it. It is supposed to be a personal account of the vicar, Mark, and how life in the village unfolds with all its happenings and problems; and yes, maybe it was a very slow life he led there. However, since it is a novella and not a 250+ page novel, I feel like the slow pacing is just wrong and does not add to it at all.
Lastly, the topic itself. I know, I chose this book and yes, it can definitely be very interesting; and I will admit that it got me curious for more, possibly better written books on the same topic, but this just was not it. The way it was portrayed, from the eyes of a vicar, just did not do it for me. Maybe it would have been better if it was told from the inside, maybe from a young Indian child's perspective and what it means to grow up in a tribe.
All in all, this book was okay but definitely not the best and I won't be recommending it to anyone.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-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:
Yes
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Just awful! The author's writing is dull and flat. The dialogue can be really awkward at times and the story just has no flow it jumps all over the place!