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eejayceelof's review against another edition
5.0
It's been far, far too long between reading this book and writing its review, so I'm afraid it might be a little bit more perfunctory than my usual. This is the curse of reading interesting material while in the process of packing up to move countries! This novel deserves a much deeper analysis than I'm going to be able to give it, because it was just marvelous...it created emotional characters in a vivid world, structured a clean and deceptively simple narrative between past and present with a similar tension holding up both ends, and thoroughly plays around with gender in a super compelling way that forces readers to reorient any of their visions of masculinity and femininity. I appreciate how the text never quite goes one way or the other on the supernatural elements of the narrative, with Erdrich giving ample evidence both to believe and distrust any miraculous events. There's such a strong sense of place here, and Father Damien Modeste is one of my favourite characters of 2019. It's really, really, really, really great.
rmlrogers's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-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? It's complicated
4.5
wordnerdy's review against another edition
4.0
http://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2018/05/2018-book-85.html
Rereading this for book club and finished it just in time! I had a request this month for a fantasy book AND a non-fantasy book, so I thought Erdrich's combination of literary writing, fascinating characters, discussions of pagan religions and Catholicism, and a touch of magical realism might satisfy all comers. Not to mention a priest who is secretly a woman! Man, Erdrich is so good.
Rereading this for book club and finished it just in time! I had a request this month for a fantasy book AND a non-fantasy book, so I thought Erdrich's combination of literary writing, fascinating characters, discussions of pagan religions and Catholicism, and a touch of magical realism might satisfy all comers. Not to mention a priest who is secretly a woman! Man, Erdrich is so good.
aliciamcclintic's review against another edition
emotional
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
4.5
hmkuether's review against another edition
5.0
fantastic. Switches between 1910s and 1990s from the perspective of the same woman living as a priest. Interesting view of religion and culture and MN/ND geography
aritter95's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
5.0
esotericareads's review against another edition
challenging
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? Yes
4.0
marijuanerareads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
anaya13's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
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? No
3.0
booksandkittens's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0