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sandiet's review against another edition
5.0
absolutely wonderful book. If you like to read about native culture (which I do), spirituality and getting in tune with yourself and nature this is the book to read. Simply marvelous.
stazja_'s review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
3.5
lilyjoy's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
dianacarmel's review against another edition
reflective
medium-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
3.75
tolin_in_search_of_new_stories's review against another edition
5.0
This book is a bit hard to read (for me).
I'm a white settler.
There is so much pain that has been produced in this Indigenous community because of the actions of white settlers. Stealing children. Stealing land. Forcing Catholicism on them, and denigrating their spirituality. And it is all what I still benefit from — I have a good job in the colonial white settler dominated system in North America. And all my ancestors are catholic Europeans, and many of them white settlers.
I know this story is technically fiction of course, but it clearly reflects thing that have actually happened.
So it's hard for me not to wallow in the fact that my people, while they struggled a lot, forced horrible things on Indigenous peoples.
That's just my experience. I'm not looking for praise for those feelings. I'm not trying to do a kind of white-guilt-attention-gathering thing. But I'm just using Goodreads to catalogue how I've worked through difficult emotions in this book. And perhaps once I read enough literature by Indigenous authors these thoughts and emotions will evolve into something more productive than wallowing in shame and depression.
I guess reading a book like this could reinforce a white settler's resolution, or create one, to find ways that our stories can be written in a way that supports joint liberation of white people, Indigenous peoples, and other people. I mean to say—I don't want to take a white-charity perspective, where I'm saying that this book should reinforce white people's commitment to support Indigenous peoples. I've heard Indigenous peoples say that this is a paternalizing move, that they'd prefer if we realize that white supremacy has also sucked for us. But honestly, we benefit from it (e.g., good jobs, clean neighbourhoods free of toxic pollution, etc.), so I'm not sure what to do about those arguments.
In any case, it could, I guess, reinforce a white person who is reading this's commitment to support Indigenous peoples or make their story about the joint liberation of Indigneous peoples, white people, and the other races and positions that we find ourselves around. And make their story that through their actions, I mean. Not like, spinning fake stories about how well you support Indigenous peoples while not actually doing so.
It's not that depressing stories, like about the harms white settlers have done to Indigenous peoples, should just be avoided. They likely have important lessons that can change what we do, so that the stories become not depressing. The story we tell about the relationship between ourselves and the story can change, and then the emotions that go along with it can change. So if the story goes from: "wow, white people are so shitty, and I'm white, so I'm shitty", it can go to something like, "so much wrong has happened and that's why we need to keep doing X, Y, and Z kinds of initiatives to support the liberation of people, esp. Indigenous peoples, but also all other people who have been marginalized". And we can see how we have also some parts of that history, so part of it is about helping our own communities as well (in my case, poor farmers who were pushed off their land in Europe)—just not at the expense of anyone else. But that's a bit impossible (joint liberation of white, Indigenous, and other marginalized people), when we live in such a scarcity economy, where good jobs are dwindling and economic inequality is increasing, thanks for neoliberal deregulated capitalism.
And trying to bring about socialism, a good kind of socialism like the democratic socialism of Sweden, seems increasingly impossible. The capitalist class is so powerful, and so many other people think it is fine, or better than anything else. It's hard to change people's ideas that capitalism is the best option, even when you point to how economic inequality is increasing. But people love their consumerism, thanks a lifetime of brainwashing by advertisements. So things brings me back to how powerful the capitalist class is—they control our minds.
This matters because ... how do you create more economic equality between people in North America/Turtle Island? It is very hard to do when neoliberal capitalists are in control. I want to have a good job/a comfortable life. But this book also helps me see that I should do something to try to help Indigenous peoples (and the rest of marginalized peoples) also have good jobs and comfortable lives. Partly because my people were and are the cause of so much suffering for Indigenous peoples. But everyone having good jobs and comfortable lives is hard, if the main priorities of economies are producing increasingly large profits for major corporations. Because that means making shitty jobs that pay as little as possible ("reducing labour costs"). That means getting rid of jobs and replacing the workers with robots. That means defunding universities except for those things that make profit, so denuding the university of every job that isn't benefitting the large corporations. Defunding governments so that government jobs disappear, so that the corporations can have more free reign to make a mess and make as much profit as possible at the same time (and pay less in taxes, and so pay less for the government jobs). And union-busting by corporations and governments that are in the pockets of corporations, so that unions can no longer help make sure their members have good jobs. So under neoliberal capitalism, the good jobs disappear. And then I find myself trying very hard to just keep a good job and am afraid of losing it to anyone, from a marginalized group or from my own group, or from any other group. So that is why a good kind of socialism, like the socialism of Sweden, starts to seem essential. How can my story be about supporting Indigenous peoples if I lean in to the neoliberal capitalist economic structure, which is also a white supremacist structure, to keep a good job and a comfortable life? It seems impossible.
But then how do you bring about a good kind of socialism, when the capitalists are so much in charge of how people think, through advertisements, and their books, movies, news (eg Fox News), TV, etc? Capitalists literally pay intellectuals to write books like those that create doubt about climate change. You could try to write a lot of books to counter all the ideas of capitalists, but decreasing numbers of people seem to be reading books. Of course, Goodreads shows a lot of people reading. But it is a fraction of people, especially of younger people (although, the whole BookTok thing is encouraging!). So maybe writing, but it would have to be engaging writing for the pubic, not stuffy professional writing. But beyond writing—the creation of media that explains all of this clearly. TikTok accounts that help people see these issues.
And I guess one important part of this too is abolitionism (of police and prisons). So how do we create an abolitionist socialism? It seems very radical to many people, and of course you need some kind of way to stop violence, and I won't go into all the arguments about abolitionism here. But police and prisons are one of the forces making such a shitty time for Indigenous peoples and other marginalized people.
So ultimately, this book reminds me to keep thinking about how to design societies in better ways.
I honestly haven't finished the book, but wanted to work through some of this that comes up in the first parts of the book, so that I could keep reading. But I'll update this as I continue to read through. Not all of my reflections will be centered on my own relationship to Indigenous peoples, or so it should be, probably.
I'm a white settler.
There is so much pain that has been produced in this Indigenous community because of the actions of white settlers. Stealing children. Stealing land. Forcing Catholicism on them, and denigrating their spirituality. And it is all what I still benefit from — I have a good job in the colonial white settler dominated system in North America. And all my ancestors are catholic Europeans, and many of them white settlers.
I know this story is technically fiction of course, but it clearly reflects thing that have actually happened.
So it's hard for me not to wallow in the fact that my people, while they struggled a lot, forced horrible things on Indigenous peoples.
That's just my experience. I'm not looking for praise for those feelings. I'm not trying to do a kind of white-guilt-attention-gathering thing. But I'm just using Goodreads to catalogue how I've worked through difficult emotions in this book. And perhaps once I read enough literature by Indigenous authors these thoughts and emotions will evolve into something more productive than wallowing in shame and depression.
I guess reading a book like this could reinforce a white settler's resolution, or create one, to find ways that our stories can be written in a way that supports joint liberation of white people, Indigenous peoples, and other people. I mean to say—I don't want to take a white-charity perspective, where I'm saying that this book should reinforce white people's commitment to support Indigenous peoples. I've heard Indigenous peoples say that this is a paternalizing move, that they'd prefer if we realize that white supremacy has also sucked for us. But honestly, we benefit from it (e.g., good jobs, clean neighbourhoods free of toxic pollution, etc.), so I'm not sure what to do about those arguments.
In any case, it could, I guess, reinforce a white person who is reading this's commitment to support Indigenous peoples or make their story about the joint liberation of Indigneous peoples, white people, and the other races and positions that we find ourselves around. And make their story that through their actions, I mean. Not like, spinning fake stories about how well you support Indigenous peoples while not actually doing so.
It's not that depressing stories, like about the harms white settlers have done to Indigenous peoples, should just be avoided. They likely have important lessons that can change what we do, so that the stories become not depressing. The story we tell about the relationship between ourselves and the story can change, and then the emotions that go along with it can change. So if the story goes from: "wow, white people are so shitty, and I'm white, so I'm shitty", it can go to something like, "so much wrong has happened and that's why we need to keep doing X, Y, and Z kinds of initiatives to support the liberation of people, esp. Indigenous peoples, but also all other people who have been marginalized". And we can see how we have also some parts of that history, so part of it is about helping our own communities as well (in my case, poor farmers who were pushed off their land in Europe)—just not at the expense of anyone else. But that's a bit impossible (joint liberation of white, Indigenous, and other marginalized people), when we live in such a scarcity economy, where good jobs are dwindling and economic inequality is increasing, thanks for neoliberal deregulated capitalism.
And trying to bring about socialism, a good kind of socialism like the democratic socialism of Sweden, seems increasingly impossible. The capitalist class is so powerful, and so many other people think it is fine, or better than anything else. It's hard to change people's ideas that capitalism is the best option, even when you point to how economic inequality is increasing. But people love their consumerism, thanks a lifetime of brainwashing by advertisements. So things brings me back to how powerful the capitalist class is—they control our minds.
This matters because ... how do you create more economic equality between people in North America/Turtle Island? It is very hard to do when neoliberal capitalists are in control. I want to have a good job/a comfortable life. But this book also helps me see that I should do something to try to help Indigenous peoples (and the rest of marginalized peoples) also have good jobs and comfortable lives. Partly because my people were and are the cause of so much suffering for Indigenous peoples. But everyone having good jobs and comfortable lives is hard, if the main priorities of economies are producing increasingly large profits for major corporations. Because that means making shitty jobs that pay as little as possible ("reducing labour costs"). That means getting rid of jobs and replacing the workers with robots. That means defunding universities except for those things that make profit, so denuding the university of every job that isn't benefitting the large corporations. Defunding governments so that government jobs disappear, so that the corporations can have more free reign to make a mess and make as much profit as possible at the same time (and pay less in taxes, and so pay less for the government jobs). And union-busting by corporations and governments that are in the pockets of corporations, so that unions can no longer help make sure their members have good jobs. So under neoliberal capitalism, the good jobs disappear. And then I find myself trying very hard to just keep a good job and am afraid of losing it to anyone, from a marginalized group or from my own group, or from any other group. So that is why a good kind of socialism, like the socialism of Sweden, starts to seem essential. How can my story be about supporting Indigenous peoples if I lean in to the neoliberal capitalist economic structure, which is also a white supremacist structure, to keep a good job and a comfortable life? It seems impossible.
But then how do you bring about a good kind of socialism, when the capitalists are so much in charge of how people think, through advertisements, and their books, movies, news (eg Fox News), TV, etc? Capitalists literally pay intellectuals to write books like those that create doubt about climate change. You could try to write a lot of books to counter all the ideas of capitalists, but decreasing numbers of people seem to be reading books. Of course, Goodreads shows a lot of people reading. But it is a fraction of people, especially of younger people (although, the whole BookTok thing is encouraging!). So maybe writing, but it would have to be engaging writing for the pubic, not stuffy professional writing. But beyond writing—the creation of media that explains all of this clearly. TikTok accounts that help people see these issues.
And I guess one important part of this too is abolitionism (of police and prisons). So how do we create an abolitionist socialism? It seems very radical to many people, and of course you need some kind of way to stop violence, and I won't go into all the arguments about abolitionism here. But police and prisons are one of the forces making such a shitty time for Indigenous peoples and other marginalized people.
So ultimately, this book reminds me to keep thinking about how to design societies in better ways.
I honestly haven't finished the book, but wanted to work through some of this that comes up in the first parts of the book, so that I could keep reading. But I'll update this as I continue to read through. Not all of my reflections will be centered on my own relationship to Indigenous peoples, or so it should be, probably.
searobin's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I read this before, it is just as good as I remembered. I love everything that I've read by Richard Wagamese, and this is no exception. His storytelling is absolutely amazing, it's so engaging and relatable. For people (like me) who are used to stories told in the western style, it might take a bit of getting used to, but don't let that deter you at all. Just let it wash over you, instead of trying to figure out where it's going.
I really love the way Garnet found his way through, and how he and his family were really well described and fleshed out as people, more than characters. I wish I could have heard these stories told around a fire, but listening to the audiobook is not bad at all! Both narrators did an excellent job.
I really love the way Garnet found his way through, and how he and his family were really well described and fleshed out as people, more than characters. I wish I could have heard these stories told around a fire, but listening to the audiobook is not bad at all! Both narrators did an excellent job.
nymeria123's review against another edition
4.0
Overall I enjoyed this book. I liked the characters and learning about Ojibway culture and people. It was more of a slice of life story than I had been expecting - those types of stories aren’t usually my cup of tea otherwise I probably would have rated this higher.
amn028's review against another edition
5.0
A beautiful story by a gifted storyteller. If you've not read Richard Wagamese before, this would be a great one to start with.
rebecca_labrador's review
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5