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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
A wild romp of a book, apropos of Thomas King’s work. It is a re-telling - and a re-telling, and a re-telling, and a re-telling - of creation stories, all of which feature a woman falling from the sky into the waters, and four Indians who try to fix up the world. It also involves a huge cast of characters trying to figure out life and family on and off the reserve in Blossom, Alberta. And Coyote is there too, and he may have been responsible for the Flood. And the Virgin Birth. And a few other things. The book is hilarious and also deeply satirical concerning modern life and Indigenous traditions such as the Sun Dance. There are things of real consequence here, but they could be missed, just as most of the conversations in the book feature people talking past each other, not really listening.
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-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
As hilarious and meaningful as every Thimas King book, and a great look at the echoes of Canadian society.
I love this book, and re-reading it makes me appreciate Thomas King’s writing style even more. His work is not only funny and quirky but touching and impactful as well. My favorite aspect is how the main characters are written: they each have their own unique personalities and storylines that come together perfectly in the end. The integration of Native mythology was a great choice too, helping to move the story along and advance the character development. All-in-all this is an excellent (and slightly bizarre) read. I guarantee you’ve never read anything else like this before, but I think you’d enjoy the ride.
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I found this one very difficult to finish. I think I understand the intent but the mix of myth/real life family dynamics just did not work for me. Ended the book with little understanding of who these people were and why we had to read about them.
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
This book was a lot funnier than I expected. Very generally, the book is about indigenous peoples adjusting to the modernity. The topic then is rather serious but the way Thomas King presented everything is quite humorous.
There is actually a lot of funny dialogue and the different narrators are funny. Like the 4 Indians that just do whatever they feel. The narrator/I and coyote. The very plain way that the Indians speak (the Indians, narrator and coyote, the woman, the older Indians to the younger ones).
I love how the woman’s interactions with classic western figures show how just how ridiculous the reactions of westerners to the indigenous peoples was. Like every time the woman would meet some western guy and he would be like ah! you must be insert person they decide she is.
I also like how King connects the different chapters. Like one chapter ends with something about water and then the next chapter also begins with water. And then all 4 people (who are at differnet places and not directly influnced by each other) ask the same question about water. Very fun🙂
a little meta even! “All this water imagery must mean something”!!
- Something about flowing water vs still water is important perhaps? Like the cars all disappeared in puddles. The dam is definitely not seen as good and its breakage is definitely seen as good. I feel like Alberta + bathtub only helped her temporarily but Alberta + rain—> new Alberta. Not sure what water means though.
Now to the confusion/issues
- Confused about Babo. I feel like there is something different about her socially but it is not addressed in the book. It’s almost as if she’s very spacy but for no reason
- Ending felt kind of abrupt but it could also have been that I read the book in 5-15 page increments soooo
- What happened with Alberta? Like is she pregnant? Did she choose one of the guys?
very interesting read.
king has got a lot going on in this story and this is a book he wants, i think, readers to work for. there are a lot of historical and cultural references, along with plays on origin stories. knowing these things, and catching them while reading, really added to the story for me, so i hope that people who read the book and don't know something they encounter will take a moment to look it up. king also uses satire in this novel. for the first part of the book (it's divided into four sections), it worked for me, but as the story progressed, it was less effective as a device or approach for me. i worried that the importance of the book would be lost, or even missed, because of the style of humour. or, even worse, that a knucklehead reading the book would take the satire and use it to reinforce negative beliefs already held. but then... that kind of person probably wouldn't pick up this book in the first place, would they? sigh.
that's my very brief take for now. this is a group read i am leading for the month of march, but i was having trouble sticking with the schedule and wanted to just read it all so i could get to the big picture. i may update this review at the end of the month; i have a crap-ton of information. the discussion are also really adding to the read, so it's definitely a great novel to read with others.
king has got a lot going on in this story and this is a book he wants, i think, readers to work for. there are a lot of historical and cultural references, along with plays on origin stories. knowing these things, and catching them while reading, really added to the story for me, so i hope that people who read the book and don't know something they encounter will take a moment to look it up. king also uses satire in this novel. for the first part of the book (it's divided into four sections), it worked for me, but as the story progressed, it was less effective as a device or approach for me. i worried that the importance of the book would be lost, or even missed, because of the style of humour. or, even worse, that a knucklehead reading the book would take the satire and use it to reinforce negative beliefs already held. but then... that kind of person probably wouldn't pick up this book in the first place, would they? sigh.
that's my very brief take for now. this is a group read i am leading for the month of march, but i was having trouble sticking with the schedule and wanted to just read it all so i could get to the big picture. i may update this review at the end of the month; i have a crap-ton of information. the discussion are also really adding to the read, so it's definitely a great novel to read with others.
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
wish i understood better… was still a fun read.
challenging
emotional
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
I swear Thomas King has never written anything even mediocre