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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
What a harrowing journey! I feel wrung out and I was just reading about it. I didn't enjoy(?) this one as much as I did The Watch That Ends the Night, but I now know way more about this tragedy than I did before and we glad of the appendices at the end with all of the statistics. Now on to something happier...
"Hunger does not make choices. Only humans can do that. So do not blame me. Do not blame Hunger. I am merely here to tell the tale."
I stumbled upon this unassuming book on netgalley, never having heard of it before. I read the description and was instantly intrigued by the description. A historical fiction told in verse recounting the perilous journey of the Donner Party. I had heard of the Donner Party in a few podcasts, and generally in passing- but had never really explored the intricacies of it.
If you are unaware, the Donner Party was a group of pioneers who after a series of ill-informed choices descend into chaos and eventually cannibalism after they get trapped in the Sierra Nevada mountains in the midst of a cataclysmic snowstorm. I had mostly heard this story told in a horror, ghost story context, focusing heavily on the canablism- and so I assumed that was what this book would be. However, Allan Wolf told the Party's story with dignity and nuance, bring the members to life.
"So do not judge them, lest you suffer a similar fate. Instead, let us celebrate that small, yet mighty spark of life. That half-full bucket waiting in the depths of the well. That last bean lingering at the bottom of the empty barrel. Do not judge them. Let them eat."
The Snow Fell Three Graves Deep is told in a style Wolf calls narrative pointillism. We hear from many narrators, from children to two Miwok guides, to a pair of oxen to hunger. Each of them had a distinct voice and brought something new to the table. My personal favourites were hunger (reminiscent of the narrator death from the book thief), the native americans and tamzene donner. The majority of the perspectives are told in verse which added a unique twist. It was not simply prose separated by a few enters in between, but creatively done. It added to the story, rather than just being a selling point.
"The body will starve in the absence of food. But the soul will starve in the absence of hope. "
Despite having the ability to embellish due to its historical fiction label, The Snow Fell Three Graves Deep sticks as true to life as it can. It is clear the amount of research that went into the book, and if you are interested at the end there are almost 50 pages of information. I feel like I learnt so much without ever feeling like I was being force fed statistics and facts.
While it may seem like to read this book would be an entirely gloomy and depressing experience- there were points of hope. I won't deny there are many sad and hopeless moments. But overcoming all of that was the remarkable strength of humanity. Yes, many died, but more survived. Of the 81 pioneers trapped in the mountains, more than half of them were children. 68.9% of them survived. Over half of the overall members made it.
Overall, this was one of the most unique and interesting books I have read all year. I would recommend it if you think you are in the right mindset, and prepared to keep a various characters and places straight in your mind. I am now beyond excited to read Allan Wolf's backlist, particularly his Titanic recount.
I stumbled upon this unassuming book on netgalley, never having heard of it before. I read the description and was instantly intrigued by the description. A historical fiction told in verse recounting the perilous journey of the Donner Party. I had heard of the Donner Party in a few podcasts, and generally in passing- but had never really explored the intricacies of it.
If you are unaware, the Donner Party was a group of pioneers who after a series of ill-informed choices descend into chaos and eventually cannibalism after they get trapped in the Sierra Nevada mountains in the midst of a cataclysmic snowstorm. I had mostly heard this story told in a horror, ghost story context, focusing heavily on the canablism- and so I assumed that was what this book would be. However, Allan Wolf told the Party's story with dignity and nuance, bring the members to life.
"So do not judge them, lest you suffer a similar fate. Instead, let us celebrate that small, yet mighty spark of life. That half-full bucket waiting in the depths of the well. That last bean lingering at the bottom of the empty barrel. Do not judge them. Let them eat."
The Snow Fell Three Graves Deep is told in a style Wolf calls narrative pointillism. We hear from many narrators, from children to two Miwok guides, to a pair of oxen to hunger. Each of them had a distinct voice and brought something new to the table. My personal favourites were hunger (reminiscent of the narrator death from the book thief), the native americans and tamzene donner. The majority of the perspectives are told in verse which added a unique twist. It was not simply prose separated by a few enters in between, but creatively done. It added to the story, rather than just being a selling point.
"The body will starve in the absence of food. But the soul will starve in the absence of hope. "
Despite having the ability to embellish due to its historical fiction label, The Snow Fell Three Graves Deep sticks as true to life as it can. It is clear the amount of research that went into the book, and if you are interested at the end there are almost 50 pages of information. I feel like I learnt so much without ever feeling like I was being force fed statistics and facts.
While it may seem like to read this book would be an entirely gloomy and depressing experience- there were points of hope. I won't deny there are many sad and hopeless moments. But overcoming all of that was the remarkable strength of humanity. Yes, many died, but more survived. Of the 81 pioneers trapped in the mountains, more than half of them were children. 68.9% of them survived. Over half of the overall members made it.
Overall, this was one of the most unique and interesting books I have read all year. I would recommend it if you think you are in the right mindset, and prepared to keep a various characters and places straight in your mind. I am now beyond excited to read Allan Wolf's backlist, particularly his Titanic recount.
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I received this book in a Librarything.com giveaway for an honest review. This is my own opinion. This book was very interesting. It was about the Donner party. I haven't heard about this a lot in the past. It was a terrible thing that happened in the past.
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A magnificent fiction in verse look at the ill-fated Donner Party. The Donner Party heads to California and decides to take a little known "short cut" and ends up stuck in the mountains, unable to cross the pass due to early winter snows. Of the 89 members of the party who started out only 49 survived and at least 19 of the deceased were eaten by the survivors. Wolf's book is well researched and a fascinating read.
The story follows the fateful trip of the Donnor Party as they attempt to make their way to California. There are many different POV that can be a bit tricky to get sorted in the beginning. Some are told in verse, others through prayer. However, each person has a unique way of telling their story, and the flow quickly becomes much easier to follow.
Everyone knows the Donner Party is famous for resorting to cannibalism, but this book really takes us through the journey of how they got to that point. It’s a stressful, heartbreaking, and haunting story that kept me engaged throughout.
I really loved that at the end of the book, the author includes little briefs of history for each character and a bunch of statistics about the group on their journey.
Everyone knows the Donner Party is famous for resorting to cannibalism, but this book really takes us through the journey of how they got to that point. It’s a stressful, heartbreaking, and haunting story that kept me engaged throughout.
I really loved that at the end of the book, the author includes little briefs of history for each character and a bunch of statistics about the group on their journey.
The tragic story of the Donner Party is disturbing and yet grotesquely captivating in much the same way as a train wreck. In this new take on the events surrounding this ill-fated party of travelers and their futile 1846 attempt to journey to California before the chills of winter, poet and storyteller Allan Wolf puts a new twist on tale by writing in verse. Among the many voices heard in this work are party leader James Reed, his two daughters Virginia and Patty, Tamzene Donner, German immigrant Ludwig Keseberg, Native American scouts Luis and Salvador and orphan Baptiste Trudeau (and his two oxen); as well as several intangible entities such as The Hastings Cutoff, snow and, most hauntingly, Hunger.
I've commented on other works about how reading about historical tragedies in hindsight can be anxiety-inducing, with the reader fervently and yet illogically hoping that somehow the ending will be different. In the case of the Donner Party, there were a number of poor decisions on the part of the leaders, compounded by a series of misfortunes that simply came down to bad luck. I came to this book having already read two other works about the Donner Party, and therefore already had a level of familiarity which made it a bit easier to keep the characters straight. This is a fascinating read. I also highly recommend another of Wolf's historical novels in verse, The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic.
I received this ARC via LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.
I've commented on other works about how reading about historical tragedies in hindsight can be anxiety-inducing, with the reader fervently and yet illogically hoping that somehow the ending will be different. In the case of the Donner Party, there were a number of poor decisions on the part of the leaders, compounded by a series of misfortunes that simply came down to bad luck. I came to this book having already read two other works about the Donner Party, and therefore already had a level of familiarity which made it a bit easier to keep the characters straight. This is a fascinating read. I also highly recommend another of Wolf's historical novels in verse, The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic.
I received this ARC via LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Beautiful, lyrical, harsh, compelling, sympathetic, real, respectful... I cannot say enough good things about this novel!
I have always been a fan of harsh survival scenarios and the indominable spirit of those who survive. The Donner Party has always been a fascination of mine, and I've read a lot about it, but this novel taught me more and hit me harder than any others.
Wolf manages to portray real, flawed characters in a sympathetic light and without bias. Every member of this party had to endure terrible, unimaginable things, and we can judge all we like but we'll never know how it is.
The back matter is super interesting and informative as well. I bought this for my library and read it to make sure it was OK for middle school, and it absolutely is. Recommended for everyone.
I have always been a fan of harsh survival scenarios and the indominable spirit of those who survive. The Donner Party has always been a fascination of mine, and I've read a lot about it, but this novel taught me more and hit me harder than any others.
Wolf manages to portray real, flawed characters in a sympathetic light and without bias. Every member of this party had to endure terrible, unimaginable things, and we can judge all we like but we'll never know how it is.
The back matter is super interesting and informative as well. I bought this for my library and read it to make sure it was OK for middle school, and it absolutely is. Recommended for everyone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Cannibalism, Death of parent
dark
emotional
informative
sad
"In the end, Mr. and Mrs. Breen choose to do whatever they must to keep themselves and the children alive. They climb to the surface and harvest the meat. They descend back into the pit. They cook and they eat. But before the eat they still say grace.
And while they eat. They weep."
This is unlike anything I've ever read. This is a historical fiction YA novel about the journey of The Donner Party through the Sierra Mountains. Told in notes, poems, stories, and narrated by Hunger itself, this book will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about what happened to those people. The back of the book also have detailed resources and notes about each of the family members and people on the excursion.
My only critique is that sometimes it was difficult going and back and forth between each of the stories and poems- however, the writing was impeccable and clearly well researched.
An interesting read for the winter...
And while they eat. They weep."
This is unlike anything I've ever read. This is a historical fiction YA novel about the journey of The Donner Party through the Sierra Mountains. Told in notes, poems, stories, and narrated by Hunger itself, this book will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about what happened to those people. The back of the book also have detailed resources and notes about each of the family members and people on the excursion.
My only critique is that sometimes it was difficult going and back and forth between each of the stories and poems- however, the writing was impeccable and clearly well researched.
An interesting read for the winter...