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A review by booksinstilllife
Daughters of the Deer by Danielle Daniel
5.0
“Because of my help, he was able to survive here and didn't have to go back to France. I gave him children so he could make a mark in this world, for himself and his king. In exchange, I lost my People, my culture, and my way. I've been living in such a fog. But now I see things clearly.”
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This stunning novel, set in 1600s New France, tells the story of Marie, an Algonquin woman, Pierre, her French settler husband, and their two-spirit daughter Jeanne. While the young family initially settles with Marie’s Deer Clan, when a hunting trip reaps tragic consequences Pierre feels the need to separate himself from the Indigenous people and forge a new life for his family. While Marie settles into her new life of homesteading and farming, she always feels at odds with her husband’s ways and struggles to embrace his Catholic faith.
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Pierre treats Marie kindly, agrees to raising their children to know both the French and Algonquin culture, and genuinely seeks to do what he feels is honorable and right. Daniel creates this European man’s character so intricately and with such respect that he cannot be vilified outright. And yet, as the story of their lives unfolds, it paints a painful picture of the ways colonization stripped Indigenous women and their children of their power, their culture, and their dignity. I deeply appreciate the way Daniel crafted this story of her ancestors, telling it from multiple points of view so we see the minds and hearts of Marie, Pierre and Jeanne.
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Go ahead and judge this book by its cover - it is beautiful inside and out.
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This stunning novel, set in 1600s New France, tells the story of Marie, an Algonquin woman, Pierre, her French settler husband, and their two-spirit daughter Jeanne. While the young family initially settles with Marie’s Deer Clan, when a hunting trip reaps tragic consequences Pierre feels the need to separate himself from the Indigenous people and forge a new life for his family. While Marie settles into her new life of homesteading and farming, she always feels at odds with her husband’s ways and struggles to embrace his Catholic faith.
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Pierre treats Marie kindly, agrees to raising their children to know both the French and Algonquin culture, and genuinely seeks to do what he feels is honorable and right. Daniel creates this European man’s character so intricately and with such respect that he cannot be vilified outright. And yet, as the story of their lives unfolds, it paints a painful picture of the ways colonization stripped Indigenous women and their children of their power, their culture, and their dignity. I deeply appreciate the way Daniel crafted this story of her ancestors, telling it from multiple points of view so we see the minds and hearts of Marie, Pierre and Jeanne.
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Go ahead and judge this book by its cover - it is beautiful inside and out.