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breezie_reads's review against another edition
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
5.0
This book was really difficult for me to read. I went into this not expecting to relate to anything, based solely off of the synopsis. However, I quickly found out that I was wrong.
I might not have been able to relate to living off the land and having your people stolen in the middle of the night and shipped off to God-knows-where, and I might not be able to relate to being targeted specifically because of your skin color and origins, but I understand what it's like to feel like, to be treated like, an outcast, like you don't belong. I understand what it feels like to have one thing that brings you relief from it all and to have it wrenched away from you. I understand what it feels like to watch others go through what the kids in the school went through, and I understand what it feels like to remember those same things happening to you.
I relate especially to finding comfort and escapism in books. Books to me are what hockey was to Saul and reading about his struggles with coming to terms with his past and remembering it hit home for me because I've felt the same way. It's a constant, uphill battle and this novel did an amazing job of capturing the emotions of that struggle, not only with addiction and recovering from your addiction, but with the struggle of isolation, whether self-imposed or otherwise, and with the struggle of remembering who you are and fighting to get that person back.
This was a work of art, and I'm definitely going to need some recovery time after reading this.
I might not have been able to relate to living off the land and having your people stolen in the middle of the night and shipped off to God-knows-where, and I might not be able to relate to being targeted specifically because of your skin color and origins, but I understand what it's like to feel like, to be treated like, an outcast, like you don't belong. I understand what it feels like to have one thing that brings you relief from it all and to have it wrenched away from you. I understand what it feels like to watch others go through what the kids in the school went through, and I understand what it feels like to remember those same things happening to you.
I relate especially to finding comfort and escapism in books. Books to me are what hockey was to Saul and reading about his struggles with coming to terms with his past and remembering it hit home for me because I've felt the same way. It's a constant, uphill battle and this novel did an amazing job of capturing the emotions of that struggle, not only with addiction and recovering from your addiction, but with the struggle of isolation, whether self-imposed or otherwise, and with the struggle of remembering who you are and fighting to get that person back.
This was a work of art, and I'm definitely going to need some recovery time after reading this.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Alcohol, and Colonisation
Minor: Suicide
pandorawotton's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Suicide, and Colonisation
arana_discoteca's review against another edition
dark
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
5.0
I'm sobbing uncontrollably djebwfjhbwefwuei
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Pedophilia, Rape, and Religious bigotry
maryjames's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Forced institutionalization, and Grief
Moderate: Cursing, Rape, and Death of parent
brenticus's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
5.0
This is probably the best examination of inter-generational trauma I've ever read. Indian Horse follows the life off Saul Indian horse, from his early childhood learning bits of his culture with his grandmother to his attempts later in life to cope with the atrocities of the residential school he was placed into.
What gets me with this story is that there's minimal drama presented as time goes on. Saul is examining his life through a journal as he goes through rehab, and there are many events that do or could change the course of his life but remain hidden or muted until later. The behaviour of his parents is pushed aside quickly as he focuses on the love of his grandmother; the abuses at the school are background noise while he learns about his love of hockey; the inaction of his foster parents is unaddressed because he just wants to do the best he can for his team. Saul doesn't really know what he's doing, and he doesn't have many people to lean on, and the people who understand what he's going through best don't know how to grapple with it themselves. It's a tragedy unfolding slowly and quietly over the course of his life.
I've read and heard similar stories many times, but something about Saul rings louder and truer than a lot of other tales. Saul and the people he interacts with and even the reader quietly ignore his traumas to focus on his hockey career, to see how high the young virtuoso can fly, but we can't. They're all seething under the surface, and when they boil over it's a gut punch as we realize what we've done. Maybe if more people had tried to help with his past instead of focusing on his hockey ability we wouldn't need to read this book.
All in all, this is probably the best work of Canadian literature I've ever read and I want to recommend it to just about everybody.
What gets me with this story is that there's minimal drama presented as time goes on. Saul is examining his life through a journal as he goes through rehab, and there are many events that do or could change the course of his life but remain hidden or muted until later. The behaviour of his parents is pushed aside quickly as he focuses on the love of his grandmother; the abuses at the school are background noise while he learns about his love of hockey; the inaction of his foster parents is unaddressed because he just wants to do the best he can for his team. Saul doesn't really know what he's doing, and he doesn't have many people to lean on, and the people who understand what he's going through best don't know how to grapple with it themselves. It's a tragedy unfolding slowly and quietly over the course of his life.
I've read and heard similar stories many times, but something about Saul rings louder and truer than a lot of other tales. Saul and the people he interacts with and even the reader quietly ignore his traumas to focus on his hockey career, to see how high the young virtuoso can fly, but we can't. They're all seething under the surface, and when they boil over it's a gut punch as we realize what we've done. Maybe if more people had tried to help with his past instead of focusing on his hockey ability we wouldn't need to read this book.
All in all, this is probably the best work of Canadian literature I've ever read and I want to recommend it to just about everybody.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, and Colonisation
idrankian's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicide
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