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A review by teachreadinspire
What Was Said to Me: The Life of Sti'tum'atul'wut, a Cowichan Woman by Ruby Peter
5.0
This is a complicated book for me to review. I wanted so badly to like it but I just couldn't connect. I'll start with some neutral information about the book. The story is about an Indigenous Elder, Ruby, from British Columbia who is dictating her oral history to her daughter and another author. Indigenous Elders are knowledge keepers and their stories are essential elements of their cultures. Ruby tells of residential and Indian day schools, longhouses, potlatch bans, the indian act and more. She also shares elements of her culture such as Mask dances, rites of passage and funeral/mourning procedures. The novel is written in a unique way, in keeping with oral histories which are typically passed down from an elder to a younger person orally through storytelling, the novel was written through dictation. The story reads very much like a conversation with a grandparent.
In theory, this is the perfect book for me, I love learning about cultures, especially Canadian Indigenous cultures, I enjoy a great story from a grandparent, but I didn't love this book. I think that because of the way it was written, while I completely support what the authors were trying to accomplish, was at times a bit difficult to follow and while some chapters were very interesting, others were more mundane. There was a fair amount of repetition and some confusing timelines, which added to the slow pace.
I think this book is such an important piece of history and cultural information. I am so glad that it was written and wouldn't change anything about it. However, I think it is important that readers understand what kind of book they are picking up so that they can look to this book for what it is meant to be. This is not a mainstream novel, it wont make it to the top of all the reading lists for 2021, but it is definitely a worthwhile piece of literature that deserves to be available for audiences through the future. Losing an elder can be like losing a culture, especially when we consider the atrocities the Canadian government has created when imposing the Indian act. But Ruby and her community are resilient and by working until her death to pass on her knowledge, Ruby has made it impossible for her culture to be lost.
I'm so appreciative of Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book!
In theory, this is the perfect book for me, I love learning about cultures, especially Canadian Indigenous cultures, I enjoy a great story from a grandparent, but I didn't love this book. I think that because of the way it was written, while I completely support what the authors were trying to accomplish, was at times a bit difficult to follow and while some chapters were very interesting, others were more mundane. There was a fair amount of repetition and some confusing timelines, which added to the slow pace.
I think this book is such an important piece of history and cultural information. I am so glad that it was written and wouldn't change anything about it. However, I think it is important that readers understand what kind of book they are picking up so that they can look to this book for what it is meant to be. This is not a mainstream novel, it wont make it to the top of all the reading lists for 2021, but it is definitely a worthwhile piece of literature that deserves to be available for audiences through the future. Losing an elder can be like losing a culture, especially when we consider the atrocities the Canadian government has created when imposing the Indian act. But Ruby and her community are resilient and by working until her death to pass on her knowledge, Ruby has made it impossible for her culture to be lost.
I'm so appreciative of Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book!