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blueskygreentreesyellowsun's review against another edition
3.0
This book was fine. I preferred the parts that dealt with the concrete experiences - animals crossing the lawn, writing while nursing a baby - rather than the philosophical parts. The section that dealt with birthing a baby, especially those moments right after giving birth where there is now a new person in the room, those were interesting and powerful. I thought of the women I know who have birthed babies and who are soon to birth babies and I let the awe of it flow over me. I thought about her point that we have epics describing famous battles, difficult battles, but no stories describing epic and difficult births; and this lack seems as true a proof of society's hatred of women as any around.
ecruikshank's review
4.0
This gem was my first Erdrich, and I can’t wait to read more of her. The Blue Jay’s Dance is, as the cover suggests, a memoir of early motherhood, structured around the seasons and then subdivided into small essays and observations on a variety of topics. Erdrich captures in beautiful detail the overwhelming range and intensity of emotions she experienced in the first year of her baby’s life—wonder and boredom and anger and indescribable earth-shattering love. She also explores facets of her relationship with the natural world, including a few delightful interludes with a feral cat Erdrich is trying to domesticate, some observations about the East Coast horizon, a vignette involving a skunk, time spent navigating a nearby game preserve, and lots of discussions of birds. Some of the essays that felt most tangential—segments about her grandmother’s pierogis and a month of enchilada TV dinners—were nonetheless striking and memorable thanks to her warm and wry voice. I particularly appreciated her discussion of the writer’s life and attempt to reconcile being a mother with being a writer; though they are totally different books, I thought multiple times of Jenny Offill’s Dept of Speculation and even wrote “art monster” in the margins at a particularly resonant point. I would have been happy with more attention on the baby and Erdrich’s evolving relationship with her; at a few times the book felt very far removed from a motherhood memoir, which was, after all, what I was there for. But it was such a lovely meditative read, and I would highly recommend it. I’m not a mother (and didn’t feel that I had to be a mother to enjoy the book), but I expect I will want to return to this one when I reach that stage in life.
allieeveryday's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not the biggest fan of nature writing, and I did skim some parts that got really into the weeds (har har) talking about plants. I did enjoy her talking about trying to find a self while being so absorbed in the newborn stage. This wasn't quite a series of short stories, nor quite a stream of consciousness; more like a series of vignettes, as if she had a few minutes per day to write, and took them where she could. It was fine.
clarkf87's review against another edition
4.0
Very well written. I thoroughly enjoyed the nature metaphors.
gossamerchild's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
A year's worth of reflections after the birth of her third child. Even though I'm childless by choice, I still appreciated her thoughts. TBH, it made me think of my own mom.
paigelm's review against another edition
3.0
On a family trip up to New Hampshire I began reading Erdrich's story of home and life in the White Mountains. Glancing out around the yard and looking at the great snow covered hills surrounding me I understood her description of feeling at a loss or feeling homesick for the horizon in front of you. Vast space is not something often experienced here, unless you have climbed to the top of one of those mountains.
She has some beautiful moments in describing her life as a young mother while also having adopted older children. Her focus on the dilemma of connecting with your child when they are very young, but also remaining yourself and learning to separate so that you can both grow and remain whole feels so utterly truthful and adds complexity to the relationship of mother and child. How do you remain your own human when for so long you are not? She discusses how woman are lost by their children and by their homes stating, "How many woman are buried beneath their houses?"How many woman are simplified to be only the reflection of their childhood, and how many separate from their children healthfully and return to their own. At one point she lists fro two pages female authors their marital status and their children, lack thereof or abundance of, contemplating the likelihood of her survival as can author and first time birth mother.
In addition to this book being about the relationship of mother and child she also delves into the life cycles of the world surrounding her. The book is divided into seasonal chapters, discussing the living world around her and how that helps her pass her time, but widen her own understanding of mothers and daughters life and death, time wasted and time gained. "Plants are very trusting," she writes as she remembers working in the garden and her young daughter makes this observation while they are planting.
Although some of her observations are beautiful, some of the metaphors are hard to follow, and I would get lost with her connections and continual prose. Maybe it would do for a reread later in my life if I ever have children to add more of my own experience to her writing and be able to understand more of the connections she makes with her life and her children.
She has some beautiful moments in describing her life as a young mother while also having adopted older children. Her focus on the dilemma of connecting with your child when they are very young, but also remaining yourself and learning to separate so that you can both grow and remain whole feels so utterly truthful and adds complexity to the relationship of mother and child. How do you remain your own human when for so long you are not? She discusses how woman are lost by their children and by their homes stating, "How many woman are buried beneath their houses?"How many woman are simplified to be only the reflection of their childhood, and how many separate from their children healthfully and return to their own. At one point she lists fro two pages female authors their marital status and their children, lack thereof or abundance of, contemplating the likelihood of her survival as can author and first time birth mother.
In addition to this book being about the relationship of mother and child she also delves into the life cycles of the world surrounding her. The book is divided into seasonal chapters, discussing the living world around her and how that helps her pass her time, but widen her own understanding of mothers and daughters life and death, time wasted and time gained. "Plants are very trusting," she writes as she remembers working in the garden and her young daughter makes this observation while they are planting.
Although some of her observations are beautiful, some of the metaphors are hard to follow, and I would get lost with her connections and continual prose. Maybe it would do for a reread later in my life if I ever have children to add more of my own experience to her writing and be able to understand more of the connections she makes with her life and her children.
sssnoo's review against another edition
5.0
This book...it made me smile and cry and brought so many memories alive in my head. A book of musings written over the first year of her 3rd daughters existence this is not particularly a book about babies. It is a book about being a mother. While she birthed this baby (and has two pages of the most perfect, lyrical description of birth I have ever read) she is also the mother of adopted children, as I am too. This book is about the surreal first year of becoming a mother to a new child. It is about where your mind goes, how one struggles to think sometimes - how one stuggles, endures and marvels at the same time. How getting to know this child of yours is the most intriguing, spellbinding, transformative, overwhelming and distracting this a woman ever does. She describes how it is unique with each child. The musings incude snippets of ordinary wonders in her environment. I can almost emvision her as a writer, used to concentrating for uninterupted hours, now faced with a few minutes here and there to write - and writing is clearly her life’s blood. So she composes in small musings. The descriptions she writes often just held me in awe. I had to reread them, think about them, marvel at her perfect prose. Louise Erdrich is an artist.
I checked this book out from the library, but had to go buy two coies today - one for me to keep in my special collection place of honor, and the other to give away.
I checked this book out from the library, but had to go buy two coies today - one for me to keep in my special collection place of honor, and the other to give away.
bibliophile_mama's review against another edition
4.0
A book to read while holding an infant. Erdlichs memoir validated all the confusing feelings of caring for a newborn and navigating the changes they bring to a family. She made me sit and savor the present knowing it would pass. Beautifully written. I read it in the first months of both my children's lives.
alixgb's review against another edition
3.0
I've been trying to find fiction that centered on pregnancy and found it pretty difficult. I love Erdrich's fiction and her memoir had the same poetic quality to it. It covers her pregnancy through the first year of her child's life. It really is a thoughtful reflection on the whole experience without getting into the weeds. And for a book about having kids, they aren't the main focus. There is a lot about nature and thoughts as the time goes by. It's a peaceful book and I enjoyed it.