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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
tense
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:
Yes
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
I loved this book. As a crime novel set on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, it does an outstanding job of describing the intricacies of life on a Native American reservation. The plot was action-packed and engaging, but it was the characters that drew me in and left me deeply caring about the outcome. Virgil was especially interesting. He’s much more than a “tough guy” vigilante; he’s deeply nuanced, balancing a deep respect for Indigenous people and culture with a skepticism towards traditions that have failed him in the past. The way the story interwove a thrilling plot with his growth throughout the story had me not wanting to put it down. It’s my favorite kind of book - a meaningful, well-paced mystery with engaging characters that I keep thinking about for days after finishing it. Would absolutely recommend (although must be ok with some gritty scenes involving drugs/violence). A great find that I just randomly picked up in a bookstore!
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
informative
tense
fast-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:
Yes
I gobbled this mystery down. set on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, it's a fast-paced thriller with lots of details about life today on a Lakota rez.
Virgil Wounded Horse is a complicated man who metes out just when the tribal council and US legal system can't. Someone is selling heroin on the reservation, and when Virgil's own nephew overdoses, Virgil makes it his mission to find and stop the dealers.
Very good writing abut the land, different concepts of justice, and the convoluted legal systems on many Native reservations which deny indigenous people justice.
Virgil Wounded Horse is a complicated man who metes out just when the tribal council and US legal system can't. Someone is selling heroin on the reservation, and when Virgil's own nephew overdoses, Virgil makes it his mission to find and stop the dealers.
Very good writing abut the land, different concepts of justice, and the convoluted legal systems on many Native reservations which deny indigenous people justice.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Colonisation
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Another book that I put on my list at the beginning of 2021, a pulpy crime thriller purchased at a time when I thought that was a genre I really enjoyed. Very much appreciated the care and narrative attempts to tie this revenge fantasy to ongoing social issues and criminal justice issues. The book itself is not badly written, it's just not one that I would choose to read again.
The novel Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden chronicles the events of Virgil Wounded Horse of the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota.
Virgil Wounded Horse supplements his income by hiring himself out to issue his own form of justice to those that have escaped the established modes of punishment for their misdeeds. With his own cynicism, he has grown to ignore the traditional ceremonies and practices of his fellow Indigenous people while trying to survive in a world hostile to Native American people.
Soon, Virgil Wounded Horse enters into a murky world of drug gangs, corrupt politicians, and business people after the nephew he is raising is pulled into the subculture of gangs and drug dealers against his will.
While Virgil Wounded Horse tries to save his nephew, he has to contend with people with questionable motives leading him to wonder just who can be trusted.
Winter Counts is a debut novel with writing and characters that exceed expectations when reading the work of a first-time novelist and includes a well-woven aspect of historical Native American culture to move the story along in an interesting way.
Virgil Wounded Horse supplements his income by hiring himself out to issue his own form of justice to those that have escaped the established modes of punishment for their misdeeds. With his own cynicism, he has grown to ignore the traditional ceremonies and practices of his fellow Indigenous people while trying to survive in a world hostile to Native American people.
Soon, Virgil Wounded Horse enters into a murky world of drug gangs, corrupt politicians, and business people after the nephew he is raising is pulled into the subculture of gangs and drug dealers against his will.
While Virgil Wounded Horse tries to save his nephew, he has to contend with people with questionable motives leading him to wonder just who can be trusted.
Winter Counts is a debut novel with writing and characters that exceed expectations when reading the work of a first-time novelist and includes a well-woven aspect of historical Native American culture to move the story along in an interesting way.
dark
tense
fast-paced