Reviews

Dream Wheels by Richard Wagamese

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deribash's review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

bookmarkedbybritt's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I must admit, I have been purposely putting off starting on Richard Wagamese’s books. Why, you might ask? Because I knew I would love them and, with his passing, there is a finite number of books to fall in love with.⁣
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What I found, though, in Dream Wheels was a book that begs to be read again. Wagamese found such an incredible story in the characters of Joe Willie and Aiden, two men “imprisoned” through very different circumstances. I’m also a sucker for Westerns/cowboy stories, so this heartfelt combination really rang true to me. ⁣
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The writing was at first challenging as the character perspective changed every few paragraphs, to begin with, with no indication. What I felt as I continued to read, though, was the pace and continuity of the writing was a direct reflection of the healing journey, both physical and mental, of our lead characters. The subtle weaving of words until their stories entwined created such a beautiful and evocative tapestry. I felt their stories, their frustration and anger, so deeply through the choice of language and style. Then, I had the privilege of witnessing their healing, their tradition/teachings and their camaraderie through the same. ⁣
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At its heart, this story so deftly told of the Indigenous experience in the not-so-distant past in the Canadian west. It was direct in its assertions, but empathic to the choices that the characters made. ⁣
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It also was just so incredibly hopeful. I took away such an incredible lesson that I desperately needed hear: you are built by the choices you make. It doesn’t matter that you make a “wrong” choice, just that you continue trying to make the right ones for yourself.⁣
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I definitely think that lovers of literary fiction/Canadian fiction will resonate with this book. Just remember: lean into the discomfort and discord. You will find a different understanding of this incredible book if you do.

greenblack's review

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

breadandmushrooms's review

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emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

3.5

robbi_nk's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

4.75

sjklass's review against another edition

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4.0

When I heard of Richard's passing last month, I surprised myself at how hard it hit me. I'd been lucky enough to meet him a couple times, most recently last summer, and he is without a doubt one of my favourite authors. The loss of him in the world is so sad but his spirit and his books are immortal. On that day, Mar 11th, I knew exactly where on my bookshelves his books were and I picked Dream Wheels as the one book of his that I own but hadn't read yet. I read it slowly, savouring the words. It's one of his earlier novels and has themes and scenes that show up again in his later writing, like the medicine walk and of family stories told around a fire being like embers that burn through generations. Dream Wheels is the story of Joe Willie, a rodeo star who suffers a career ending injury, and of Aiden, coming out of 2 yrs at juvie and needing a fresh start. At a ranch in the Chilcotin region of British Columbia (where Wagamese lived), these two young men heal. "To his eyes, used to the dullness of concrete and steel, it was a feast, and Aiden sat straighter, watching it unroll before them. He could feel the openness work against his insides. As his eyes reached farther down the length of the valley, he felt smaller and larger at the same time. He felt less like he was moving through it as he was moving with it, becoming part of the sage and pasture and draw and the severe slope of the valley, and the feeling crested and broke against his ribs and he exhaled long and slow". Beautiful writing. A natural storyteller.