Reviews

Legends of the Capilano by Joe Capilano, E. Pauline Johnson, Mary Agnes Capilano

andreannechat's review against another edition

3.0

Bon livre que je vais utiliser dans ma classe pour notre unité sur les légendes. Il y a plusieurs histoires que j'aimerais lire à mes élèves, mais pas la dernière wtf is this white saviorism bullshit.

Je pense qu'on aurait pu adapter le langage pour refléter les mots qu'on utilise de nos jours. Mais bon. C'est pas ma décision.

littlecitycorner's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced

4.0

trentl14's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

4.75

damaris_anne's review against another edition

5.0

After completing an extensive research paper on E. Pauline Johnson, I can honestly say she is one of my favourite authors and Canadian women. She was so inspiring, brave and courageous in her difficult life as a biracial, Canadian author and performer. Bravo to her! This collection of Indigenous legends is a beautiful, rich read, as well as Johnson's countless other poems.

poisonenvy's review against another edition

5.0

A quick and easy read, beautifully written and evocative. A little melancholy, especially over a century after it was originally written. The legends are simple and poignant.

As a fun aside, one of the legends is about Napoleon Bonaparte and I've become especially fond of stories about Napoleon in the last few years, so that was a pleasant surprise for me.

lucaisapenguin's review against another edition

informative fast-paced

2.0

This was a disappointment. The stories about different areas in the Lower Mainland were interesting, to be sure, and I enjoyed learning more about the places I grew up visiting. However, the language used and the stereotypes evoked in Johnson's writing, especially in the final story, "A Royal Mohawk Chief," can be described as nothing less than blatantly racist, even when written by someone with Indigenous heritage. Furthermore, I read the 100th Anniversary Edition, a copy published less than ten years ago (post-TRC), and there is no editor's note denouncing or even mentioning the language and colonizer lens each of the stories are told through, which I consider to be incredibly irresponsible at the very least.

devikapha's review against another edition

informative inspiring mysterious relaxing medium-paced

4.0

thepoisonrain's review against another edition

4.0

Really beautiful nature writing and captivating stories which I'm particularly biased toward since I call the Vancouver area my home. Really interesting writing choices from Pauline as she constantly reminds the reader (in literally every introduction) that these stories are being reported exactly as they were told to her. Plus she constantly hypes up the knowledge and character that Joe Capilano brings to the legends (which in turn, I think she hopes, adds authenticity to what she retells). I didn't feel that all the introductory work that Johnson did was particularly necessary to justify the legends' significance, but perhaps that's because I'm reading in 2019, and not 1911.

vanreads's review against another edition

I picked up a vintage edition of this book at a cute used bookstore because the paper felt so smooth and nice with no idea as to what it was about. It was a really nice surprise to find out that these are a collection of indigenous tales from around Vancouver and surrounding areas in BC. By chance, I had traveled to a lot of these places in the summer (like Tulameen) and it gave a me a new perspective on all of these places.