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knittyreader's review
5.0
I totally loved this book. The characters are real, devoted but sometimes self-centered, like everyone needs to be at times. The sadness sprang from it's pages, but in between there was hope, love, and lots of kindness.
I received a free copy through Netgalley in return for an honest review - I wrote a full review in Dutch on my website:
http://www.eccentriclady.nl/?p=448
I received a free copy through Netgalley in return for an honest review - I wrote a full review in Dutch on my website:
http://www.eccentriclady.nl/?p=448
mlouie21's review
emotional
sad
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
3.25
fallingletters's review
4.0
Review originally posted 5 January 2016 at Falling Letters.
The province-wide On the Same Page programme encourages everyone in the province to read and discuss a book at the same time. Readers voted this year for The Evolution of Alice.The programme includes "author appearances and special events", though unfortunately I won't be able to attend any. I decided to read this book because 1)the summary + reviews on the back enticed me, 2) it's the novel debut of a local Indigenous author whose graphic novels I previously studied and 3)I've never participated in On the Same Page.
Though the story pivots around an awful death and follows a family's sorrows, I found the tale ultimately satisfying and uplifting because of its deeply realistic characters. They endure tragedy, yet remain decent human beings. No nasty or vicious people populate this story when you might expect them. That's not to say everyone is on their best behaviour at all times...only to say that here is a story about not about vile monsters or permanently shattered souls, but about real people realizing their flaws and their troubles and trying to do better.
The local setting injected a layer of reality to the story for me. I have an awkward prejudice against books explicitly set in my home area. I assume they'll be boring and I feel weird when locations are specified. However, I appreciated the local setting in this story. I liked Robertson's references to places I could recognize from context alone. For example, I know the city is where I live, I walk past the coffee shop across the street from the big department store on my way to university, and I can picture the bridge a woman prepared to leap from. Instead of thinking "Ugh, this is weird, I know that place" like I do when places are explicitly stated, I thought "Hey, I know where that is!" as I put together the cues to create a location in my mind. Having to recreate these familiar places made me feel more connected to the story and the characters' experiences.
I also appreciate that Robertson has written an Indigenous story that isn't solely about Indigenous issues. This book can be read as a universal tale that could teach us something about empathy. Indigenous people are not always 'other'; we are all the same people. This makes the story highly relevant for my fellow citizens. (Last year an 'infamous' article was published about how my city is the most racist in the country for its attitude toward Indigenous peoples.) I don't want to disvalue the differences between Indigenous and White experiences. However, I think in my province's case, at this time, we may be better served in recognizing our similarities rather than allowing ourselves to become disenchanted when we perceive stereotypical differences.
Gideon's first person narration about Alice comprises the bulk of the tale, shifting to third person about halfway through. Robertson intersperses vignettes and some longer chapters from other perspectives. Often these alternative chapters added another perspective to Gideon's. My favourites were the chapters about Edward, who sees Kathy on the highway when she tries to run away, and Harvey, who briefly connects with Alice in the city. A few of the vignettes felt too disjointed from the main story, such as the boy who discovers his Cree heritage.
Finally, I found Gideon's voice, and Robertson's prose in general, soothing. It was very easy for me to read this book in a day. On the back of the book, Alison Gilmour describes Robertson's voice as "immediate, unflinching, and emotionally generous." I would "unpretentious" and "articulate", though those words seem to fall short of what I'm trying to invoke! Perhaps this passage captures it, a little bit.
The province-wide On the Same Page programme encourages everyone in the province to read and discuss a book at the same time. Readers voted this year for The Evolution of Alice.The programme includes "author appearances and special events", though unfortunately I won't be able to attend any. I decided to read this book because 1)the summary + reviews on the back enticed me, 2) it's the novel debut of a local Indigenous author whose graphic novels I previously studied and 3)I've never participated in On the Same Page.
Though the story pivots around an awful death and follows a family's sorrows, I found the tale ultimately satisfying and uplifting because of its deeply realistic characters. They endure tragedy, yet remain decent human beings. No nasty or vicious people populate this story when you might expect them. That's not to say everyone is on their best behaviour at all times...only to say that here is a story about not about vile monsters or permanently shattered souls, but about real people realizing their flaws and their troubles and trying to do better.
The local setting injected a layer of reality to the story for me. I have an awkward prejudice against books explicitly set in my home area. I assume they'll be boring and I feel weird when locations are specified. However, I appreciated the local setting in this story. I liked Robertson's references to places I could recognize from context alone. For example, I know the city is where I live, I walk past the coffee shop across the street from the big department store on my way to university, and I can picture the bridge a woman prepared to leap from. Instead of thinking "Ugh, this is weird, I know that place" like I do when places are explicitly stated, I thought "Hey, I know where that is!" as I put together the cues to create a location in my mind. Having to recreate these familiar places made me feel more connected to the story and the characters' experiences.
I also appreciate that Robertson has written an Indigenous story that isn't solely about Indigenous issues. This book can be read as a universal tale that could teach us something about empathy. Indigenous people are not always 'other'; we are all the same people. This makes the story highly relevant for my fellow citizens. (Last year an 'infamous' article was published about how my city is the most racist in the country for its attitude toward Indigenous peoples.) I don't want to disvalue the differences between Indigenous and White experiences. However, I think in my province's case, at this time, we may be better served in recognizing our similarities rather than allowing ourselves to become disenchanted when we perceive stereotypical differences.
Gideon's first person narration about Alice comprises the bulk of the tale, shifting to third person about halfway through. Robertson intersperses vignettes and some longer chapters from other perspectives. Often these alternative chapters added another perspective to Gideon's. My favourites were the chapters about Edward, who sees Kathy on the highway when she tries to run away, and Harvey, who briefly connects with Alice in the city. A few of the vignettes felt too disjointed from the main story, such as the boy who discovers his Cree heritage.
Finally, I found Gideon's voice, and Robertson's prose in general, soothing. It was very easy for me to read this book in a day. On the back of the book, Alison Gilmour describes Robertson's voice as "immediate, unflinching, and emotionally generous." I would "unpretentious" and "articulate", though those words seem to fall short of what I'm trying to invoke! Perhaps this passage captures it, a little bit.
[Gideon speaks to Alice as she swings.] It was a long conversation to have that way, but as I heard more and more I wasn't about to ask her to come down from the tire swing. Up there, she was safe, and the girls were safe and that was that. After she told me everything, she stopped pumping her legs, and after a few minutes her swinging settled into a light rocking. made our visit a lot easier. I saw her struggling with it a bit, her brain that is. So I decided to say something all Elder-like to her. I pointed to an old dirt road just about 20 yards to our right. It was pretty much grown over with grass, you could hardly see it, but it was still a road. It went right through the field, right up to the distant tree line, and got tinier and tinier on its way. "You know, my grandpa used to tell me that all the roads around here just lead us right back home," I said. I wasn't even sure what the connection was, and after I'd said it I kind of felt dumb about it. I tried to figure what I was getting at, for Alice and for me, so I added, "But, I don't know, maybe he was wrong, maybe roads take us where we're s'posed to be." (21)The Bottom Line: A worthy selection for the province-wide book club. In The Evolution of Alice, Robertson has penned a vivid and moving story about Indigenous experiences that has relevancy for all readers.
mrs_george's review
3.0
Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a copy to read.
It was a very beautiful story but I felt like there were just one two many characters/story lines that distracted from the heart of it. I loved reading about Alice, Gideon and the girls. The parts about Gideon and his grandfather were touching and definitely added to the story. But I didn't quite care for any of the other characters stories.
It was a very beautiful story but I felt like there were just one two many characters/story lines that distracted from the heart of it. I loved reading about Alice, Gideon and the girls. The parts about Gideon and his grandfather were touching and definitely added to the story. But I didn't quite care for any of the other characters stories.
feeona's review
2.0
"The Evolution of Alice" tells the story of a young family. Alice, her 3 daughters and her good friend Giddion. When a terrible accident happens, everything changes.
It took me some time until the story interested me. The switching between the chatacters without introducing them and their role to the story was sometimes confusing, in my opinion it only made sense in the end.
I think the title "evolution of Alice" doesn't fit. I expected Alice to start to move on, not to get over what happened, but at least start something new or "evolve".
It took me some time until the story interested me. The switching between the chatacters without introducing them and their role to the story was sometimes confusing, in my opinion it only made sense in the end.
I think the title "evolution of Alice" doesn't fit. I expected Alice to start to move on, not to get over what happened, but at least start something new or "evolve".
pawsandread's review
3.0
Let me start of by saying it is a fantastic story and well written! Unfortunately, I listened to it via audio book and I think that might be what "ruined" it for me. I just couldn't get into the narrators. They were very dry and didn't bring the book to life. This book is a heavy topic and it NEEDS a fantastic narrator to do the story justice! I feel like if you read a physical copy of this book you would probably rate it MUCH higher. If you're interested in the plot I'd highly suggest a physical copy so you can truly feel the impact of the story.
*Thank you to David Alexander Robertson and NetGalley for my audio copy of this in exchange for my honest review!*
*Thank you to David Alexander Robertson and NetGalley for my audio copy of this in exchange for my honest review!*
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