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A review by beckykphillips
A Grandmother Begins the Story by Michelle Porter
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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? Yes
5.0
If you want an incredibly immersive story that explores generational trauma told through POVs as disparate as a great-great grandmother and a bison calf, I truly cannot recommend a better book.
This book explores five generations of Métis women and their lives. We meet each of them at different places, the great-great grandmother who is in the afterlife, but not yet passed on; the great grandmother, who has decided to get treatment for her alcoholism at 81; the grandmother, who has called her granddaughter asking her to kill her; the mother who is trying to reconnect with said daughter who she had given up for adoption; and finally, the daughter, Carter, who is working through finding her place within this family after being adopted by a white family and having a child of her own. We also explore generations of a family of Bison, which is also equally emotional.
I will admit, I had a tough time initially entering into this book and had started it while I had COVID. The different perspectives and the way the story is told made it difficult to catch a hold of at first. However, once you get going (and are not brain addled), it melds together beautifully. The author does not typically use quotes to delineate talking, and sometimes, when two characters are talking they sort of become one person. This felt particularly effective with the sisters Gen and Velma.
If you're ready to have some deep feelings and think about generations from an indigenous perspective, I highly recommend this book. I don't think I've ever read anything like it and the story telling is absolutely masterful.
This book explores five generations of Métis women and their lives. We meet each of them at different places, the great-great grandmother who is in the afterlife, but not yet passed on; the great grandmother, who has decided to get treatment for her alcoholism at 81; the grandmother, who has called her granddaughter asking her to kill her; the mother who is trying to reconnect with said daughter who she had given up for adoption; and finally, the daughter, Carter, who is working through finding her place within this family after being adopted by a white family and having a child of her own. We also explore generations of a family of Bison, which is also equally emotional.
I will admit, I had a tough time initially entering into this book and had started it while I had COVID. The different perspectives and the way the story is told made it difficult to catch a hold of at first. However, once you get going (and are not brain addled), it melds together beautifully. The author does not typically use quotes to delineate talking, and sometimes, when two characters are talking they sort of become one person. This felt particularly effective with the sisters Gen and Velma.
If you're ready to have some deep feelings and think about generations from an indigenous perspective, I highly recommend this book. I don't think I've ever read anything like it and the story telling is absolutely masterful.