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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-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:
Complicated
While marketed as an Indigenous horror novel, I found this book leaned far more supernatural thriller with a lot less culture than I would have liked.
Overall the plot of this book is great, shady businessman is using a ministry to [spoilers] with Rogarou (trickster werewolf) in his employ. Unfortunately, this Rogarou just to happens to be the MC's husband who disappeared one night in the woods. Very interesting premise with the opportunity to explore the 'business' side of ministry, the ways Christianity has been used to exploit natives, even having genuine Christians in the ministry who want the best for the people they are ministering to. Not the mention the Rogarou is a fascinating creature rarely used (this is my first time hearing about it). But alas... the moral complexities of church and state are once again turned into a one-beat foaming at the mouth of zealots on a crusade that is very... unbiblical? Racist? Money-driven?
While the religious themes were handled poorly, the underlying culture of the Metis was amazing to see. Anything with Joan's family was great. Her nephew Zeus was relatable and the story of him and his father was very tragic. A lot of cool themes were touched on, but never explored. I would have loved to see more of the 'half-breeds' discriminated against by both the Canadians and other natives. It would have been amazing to see more of the syncretism of Catholicism and indigenous religion, especially when used to cure the Rogarou. I appreciate Dimaline did not explain a lot of these nuances and simply showed them... but I could have used another 100 pages to do so more fully. It also would have been better if it was more explicitly stated earlier that Joan needed to seduce her husband to cure him. I was very confused by her sensuous tactics until she directly told Zeus her plans.
In short, great plot, okay characters, terribly basic depiction of religion, interesting, but underexplored themes of mourning, Metis culture, and the Rogarou.
Overall the plot of this book is great, shady businessman is using a ministry to [spoilers] with Rogarou (trickster werewolf) in his employ. Unfortunately, this Rogarou just to happens to be the MC's husband who disappeared one night in the woods. Very interesting premise with the opportunity to explore the 'business' side of ministry, the ways Christianity has been used to exploit natives, even having genuine Christians in the ministry who want the best for the people they are ministering to. Not the mention the Rogarou is a fascinating creature rarely used (this is my first time hearing about it). But alas... the moral complexities of church and state are once again turned into a one-beat foaming at the mouth of zealots on a crusade that is very... unbiblical? Racist? Money-driven?
While the religious themes were handled poorly, the underlying culture of the Metis was amazing to see. Anything with Joan's family was great. Her nephew Zeus was relatable and the story of him and his father was very tragic. A lot of cool themes were touched on, but never explored. I would have loved to see more of the 'half-breeds' discriminated against by both the Canadians and other natives. It would have been amazing to see more of the syncretism of Catholicism and indigenous religion, especially when used to cure the Rogarou. I appreciate Dimaline did not explain a lot of these nuances and simply showed them... but I could have used another 100 pages to do so more fully. It also would have been better if it was more explicitly stated earlier that Joan needed to seduce her husband to cure him. I was very confused by her sensuous tactics until she directly told Zeus her plans.
In short, great plot, okay characters, terribly basic depiction of religion, interesting, but underexplored themes of mourning, Metis culture, and the Rogarou.
I kept reading because I wanted to see how the plot unfolded, but I was left unsatisfied by the end. The story has good bones, but needed tighter structure to bring it all together.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated