Scan barcode
A review by careinthelibrary
American Indian Stories by Zitkála-Šá
4.0
An invaluable memoir portion, some really memorable short stories, and poetry that was good, just not my preferred style.
The memoir was of childhood, boarding school, and after graduation/college. Some harrowing passages of the trauma of separation and cultural loss that were made all the more sad because of the beauty of the passages about her childhood. Her relationship with her mother was so tender.
The short stories were a nice surprise! They had twists I didn't expect. I would revisit these portions of this book again. Somehow I was surprised by these. I think after the excellent memoir, I expected the rest to be a hodge-podge of other writings that were added on. But these stand on their own two feet!
The poetry was great I'm sure, it just wasn't a style I enjoy, no fault of Zitkála-Šá. In the fashion of the era, it was very restrained in its technique and style.
Absolutely worth checking out if you're interested in a primary source/memoir of indigenous life in the late 1800s/early 1900s and some really engrossing short stories centring indigenous characters. Also that foreward was fantastic and makes me want to check out Layli Long Soldier as well.
The memoir was of childhood, boarding school, and after graduation/college. Some harrowing passages of the trauma of separation and cultural loss that were made all the more sad because of the beauty of the passages about her childhood. Her relationship with her mother was so tender.
The short stories were a nice surprise! They had twists I didn't expect. I would revisit these portions of this book again. Somehow I was surprised by these. I think after the excellent memoir, I expected the rest to be a hodge-podge of other writings that were added on. But these stand on their own two feet!
The poetry was great I'm sure, it just wasn't a style I enjoy, no fault of Zitkála-Šá. In the fashion of the era, it was very restrained in its technique and style.
Absolutely worth checking out if you're interested in a primary source/memoir of indigenous life in the late 1800s/early 1900s and some really engrossing short stories centring indigenous characters. Also that foreward was fantastic and makes me want to check out Layli Long Soldier as well.