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A review by saltycorpse
Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden
3.0
Although not as gripping as its predecessor, Through Black Spruce follows the Bird clan post-WWI into modern day. It is structured parallel to Three Day Road, with chapters alternating between two characters separated by an event, slowly unravelling stories and secrets from each narrative. Through Black Spruce was an enjoyable read, but it did leave some lose plot ends - the story arc involving Suzanne's disappearance seemed to be turning into a near-noir detective story, yet it did not deliver, rather fizzled out and half-handedly wrapped up.
The one thing this novel was particularly adept at was the skewering of white girls who exoticize First Nations women, exemplified by the thin, white models Annie meets while she searches for her sister. They are all one-dimensional and vile characters who see Annie for nothing more than her "Indian-ness", lending a hand to a very real cultural issue, and yet dismantling it fiercely since we are seeing the petty blonde clones from Annie's point of view.
Boyden beautifully continues themes that emerge throughout his first novel into this - another addition in the story of the generations of one family, and the threads that tie them together throughout time.
Read Three Day Road, and then read Through Black Spruce. They are worth it as a duo.
The one thing this novel was particularly adept at was the skewering of white girls who exoticize First Nations women, exemplified by the thin, white models Annie meets while she searches for her sister. They are all one-dimensional and vile characters who see Annie for nothing more than her "Indian-ness", lending a hand to a very real cultural issue, and yet dismantling it fiercely since we are seeing the petty blonde clones from Annie's point of view.
Boyden beautifully continues themes that emerge throughout his first novel into this - another addition in the story of the generations of one family, and the threads that tie them together throughout time.
Read Three Day Road, and then read Through Black Spruce. They are worth it as a duo.