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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
I choose to read this book since it was on the classic list for high school students. I liked the story line and was impressed that Mark was able to accept the Indian ways rather than force his "white" ways onto the Indians. While reading you learn about the Indian customs which are being forgotten in "our" modern world.
What does one do for a friend who has only a year or two to live? Do you coddle him or challenge him? That's the premise of I Heard the Owl Call My Name. The bishop who is faced with this question, chooses to send his young ill vicar off to the hardest and most remote parish, a small village in British Columbia. The book covers the remaining months of the vicar's life without dwelling on his situation.
Instead, the book focuses on how the vicar learns the culture of the Kwakiutl and likewise how the Kwakiutl begin to slowly accept that the outside world is beginning to seep into their culture as their children seek education outside of the village.
[b:I Heard the Owl Call My Name|106931|I Heard the Owl Call My Name |Margaret Craven|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171568102s/106931.jpg|962] is a tender story about two cultures learning from each other as seen through the eyes of a young vicar sent to Kingcome, a village in the Pacific Northwest. It's one of the few books where neither culture is favored in how they are portrayed. Both have their good bits and their bad bits. Characters have good days and bad days and are allowed to grow into well rounded individuals.
Instead, the book focuses on how the vicar learns the culture of the Kwakiutl and likewise how the Kwakiutl begin to slowly accept that the outside world is beginning to seep into their culture as their children seek education outside of the village.
[b:I Heard the Owl Call My Name|106931|I Heard the Owl Call My Name |Margaret Craven|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171568102s/106931.jpg|962] is a tender story about two cultures learning from each other as seen through the eyes of a young vicar sent to Kingcome, a village in the Pacific Northwest. It's one of the few books where neither culture is favored in how they are portrayed. Both have their good bits and their bad bits. Characters have good days and bad days and are allowed to grow into well rounded individuals.
This is one of those books that I will probably remember for the rest of my life. I came across it in a roundabout way (I have yet to meet the person I borrowed it from) and had never heard of it before it came into my hands. I almost didn't read it because I typically like to know what I'm getting myself into but I'm so glad I went into it without any preconceptions.
This book is unlike any I've read. It was spiritual, and deep, and complex, in a very unassuming and modest way. Although the writing style was a bit alien to me at first, eventually I grew to like it. It almost felt like I was reading a distant memory that was I was trying to remember. Among other things, I liked the way the author approached cultural encroachment and the historical moment of the day.
I recommend this book to, well, anyone really, but particularly those who are going into ministry, are currently in ministry, or are any way involved in or interested in missions and the mission-field.
This book is unlike any I've read. It was spiritual, and deep, and complex, in a very unassuming and modest way. Although the writing style was a bit alien to me at first, eventually I grew to like it. It almost felt like I was reading a distant memory that was I was trying to remember. Among other things, I liked the way the author approached cultural encroachment and the historical moment of the day.
I recommend this book to, well, anyone really, but particularly those who are going into ministry, are currently in ministry, or are any way involved in or interested in missions and the mission-field.
This book is set in British Columbia in an Indian village called Kingcome in the 1960s. I knew it was going to be a serious book because the whole premise is that a young vicar named Mark is sent there to live out his last 2 years of life. The Bishop sends him because he knows it is the hardest village yet it is the one that can teach Mark "enough of the meaning of life to be ready to die." This is a relatively short book filled with words that describe a simpler time when it was more about people and tradition than about material items and the next best thing. This book made me sad, wistful, and thoughtful and for that it gets 4 stars.
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
I Heard the Owl reads mostly like a legend or a folk tale. The events and actions are the most important things, not the people and their inner reasoning. That usually distances me from the narrative and makes it difficult for me to be truly invested – and indeed I did struggle with it at first, especially having picked it up after Night Waking, which I gave 5 stars.
But the story grew on me. You *can* get to know someone through their actions, and I ended up being very touched at the events towards the end. I had tears in my eyes while reading on the bus, and disregarding everything else, that is usually a pretty good sign that I care.
Of course, it is a tragic story in itself, the slow (and sometimes fast) disintegration of the villages and cultures of the Indians in America. But this story brings it down to a personal level – one white man, one Indian village, a few handfuls of Indians from different generations that clearly show the disintegration taking place. Wiping out whole communities of Indians is surely horrendous, but this kind of slipping away of their culture was sad in a different way. The old could only look on as their young went to the big cities to get educations, and when they returned, they no longer remembered their ancient traditions, no longer dressed – or wanted to dress – like their ancestors. They all knew what the end would be, and they could do absolutely nothing to change it.
There is a happier aspect to the story as well, however (thank goodness), and that is the relationship between man – white or Indian or any other race – and nature. Mark, a dying priest, is sent to this village by his Bishop in order to ‘learn enough about life to be ready to die’. I love the message this conveys: you do not learn about life in big cities, working in big corporations, surrounded by technology and busy people. You learn about life in an Indian village at the edge of ‘civilisation’ (well, not only there, but you get my point ;))
A surprising 4.5 stars for this one.
/NK
But the story grew on me. You *can* get to know someone through their actions, and I ended up being very touched at the events towards the end. I had tears in my eyes while reading on the bus, and disregarding everything else, that is usually a pretty good sign that I care.
Of course, it is a tragic story in itself, the slow (and sometimes fast) disintegration of the villages and cultures of the Indians in America. But this story brings it down to a personal level – one white man, one Indian village, a few handfuls of Indians from different generations that clearly show the disintegration taking place. Wiping out whole communities of Indians is surely horrendous, but this kind of slipping away of their culture was sad in a different way. The old could only look on as their young went to the big cities to get educations, and when they returned, they no longer remembered their ancient traditions, no longer dressed – or wanted to dress – like their ancestors. They all knew what the end would be, and they could do absolutely nothing to change it.
There is a happier aspect to the story as well, however (thank goodness), and that is the relationship between man – white or Indian or any other race – and nature. Mark, a dying priest, is sent to this village by his Bishop in order to ‘learn enough about life to be ready to die’. I love the message this conveys: you do not learn about life in big cities, working in big corporations, surrounded by technology and busy people. You learn about life in an Indian village at the edge of ‘civilisation’ (well, not only there, but you get my point ;))
A surprising 4.5 stars for this one.
/NK
I read this in middle school and think I liked it at the time. Now, though, I only made it 12% of the way through. The distance from the protagonist felt odd, and the choice to follow a missionary squicked me.
This book is BEAUTIFUL. Incredibly well written, a beautiful story, a thoughtful examination of change in an indigenous community and a reminder that we can't pretend we didn't know the impacts of colonization and residential schools in the 1980s. This book really should be read by high school students to introduce them to some complex aspects of colonization and reconciliation. Cannot recommend it enough