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carlylottsofbookz's review against another edition
1.0
This is a terrible book about native people that portrays all natives as unintelligent (putting it nicely). Terribly written I just don’t get how this book was published, let alone selected for the Pulitzer.
Ugh.
Ugh.
drewmoody321's review against another edition
4.0
Read my full review here: http://thepulitzerblog.wordpress.com/2013/01/30/entry-63-laughing-boy-by-oliver-lafarge-1930/
lilnoto's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
“I do not know what you mean, but i know her, that girl. She is not bad. She is good. She is strong. She is for me”
asktheleaf's review
emotional
lighthearted
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
radioisasoundsalvation's review against another edition
4.0
Laughing Boy is an elegantly written love story, vast in its emotional substance. There was a poignant moment in every chapter. I love it when such a little novel can be so loaded. Young love for Laughing Boy and Slim Girl deftly mirrors the struggling relationship between the Navajo reservations and the modernizing Americans; the thin string that it all hangs so delicately from. La Farge writes with confidence and clarity. I will have to read this book again!
nancidrum's review against another edition
3.0
I love stories about Native Americans. This Pulitzer prize winning story set in the southwest of America in 1915 had the premise of being everything I typically would love. Somehow that just didn't happen. The story waxed and waned a bit too much for me and just didn't come through as powerful as I was hoping. I found myself skimming it from time to time to get through the slow parts. The ending was well-done, but by and large the rest of the book just left me wishing for more. As my 3 star rating indicates, I liked it, but it sure doesn't rate in the top third of books I've read.
halfcentreader's review against another edition
4.0
I think the author did a great job portraying the inner thoughts of Laughing Boy and Slim Girl. I appreciated the way Laughing Boy worked through his grief or his doubts. His beliefs help sustain him and keep him on the path of beauty.
uncle_remus's review against another edition
3.0
This book may be important from a historical / cultural perspective, but as a pure novel, it is not shabby or shoddy, but not all too great either. Where it shines is not so much the characterization of Laughing Boy, but the *historical Navajo* characterization of Laughing Boy, and to a lesser extent Slim Girl. The historicity is quite unique, and perhaps unique only to the time period represented. A different slice of 'Americana'. About page 140, I was thinking only 2 stars, but the pace picks up (predictable throughout, but well done). It is a story with heart: Laughing Boy for Slim Girl, for the Navajos and the land in which he lives. 3-3.5/5 stars.
ecahilly's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
amarj33t_5ingh's review against another edition
5.0
'Laughing Boy' is a work of art. And like a work of art, it plays with your mind. It is not abstract, but peculiar. Laughing Boy, the novel's protagonist, is a Navajo indigenous American attempting to straddle the world of tradition and the world of the white man. The initial starting of the novel is not a hook. It won't draw you in. But if you persist, you will discover the beauty and simplicity of La Farge's times and Laughing Boy's richness of heart.