Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese

6 reviews

wifeslife's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Suicide, Death, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Torture, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Emotional abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Physical abuse

pickett22's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

"They scooped out our insides, Saul. We're not responsible for that."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Suicide, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Addiction, Abandonment, Child abuse, Cursing, Confinement, Religious bigotry, Pedophilia, Murder, Colonisation, Child death, Rape, Racism, Kidnapping, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Racial slurs, Grief, Excrement, Death of parent, Death, and Alcohol

sydfreeman's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Racial slurs, Murder, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Child death, Racism, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Homophobia

ley107's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

I'm struggling to find the words to describe this book. It is engaging, powerful, and heartbreaking. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Colonisation, Racial slurs, Genocide, Pedophilia, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Sexual violence, Addiction, Child abuse, Racism, and Rape

lynneliu's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Suicide, Violence, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Abandonment, Confinement, Grief, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture

Minor: Death of parent and Mental illness

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.75

 Indian Horse is a hard hitting, unflinching look at racism faced by indigenous people living in Canada and the impact it has had on their lives. It follows Saul Indian Hose from a childhood spent in the loving embrace of a family, through the unspeakable horror of his time in a residential school, the highs and then the lows of playing hockey, a a period of alcoholism and self-sabotage, to him eventually facing his demons and tentatively finding a new path in life.

No matter how many times I read about it, the realities of the residential school system and the abuses perpetuated there never fail to sicken me. This book was no exception. The escape that hockey offered Saul and his exhilaration on the ice really shone through and captivated my attention, even though I have less than no interest in the game itself. The way racism impinged on that, robbed him of his love for the game, and stole his joy was heartbreaking and infuriating.

This book is a work of fiction. Yet it is filled with undeniable truths. It is beautifully and impactfully written, a painful yet important read, and one I highly recommend.

“When your innocence is stripped from you, when your people are denigrated, when the family that you came from is denounced and your tribal ways and rituals are pronounced backward, primitive, savage, you come to see yourself as less than human. That is hell on earth, that sense of unworthiness. That’s what they inflicted on us.”
 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Murder, Racism, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Suicide, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault