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leah_alexandra's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Drug use
kimreed4's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Rape
paxtyn's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Child death, Racism, Rape, Violence, Murder, and Colonisation
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Car accident, and Alcohol
Minor: Vomit
yourbookishbff's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Joe's personal liminality is reflected in Erdrich's depiction of life on the reservation. We take long detours through Catholicism and the local church and see the ways in which colonizing religions have influenced various people and families in their tribe, and we sense the disharmony of these traditions and their own. In the end, as Joe journeys toward revenge, he finds himself seeking reassurance and validation in both Catholic and Ojibwe tradition, alternately leaning on stories of Sins Crying out for Vengeance and the wiindigoo. Erdrich sets the crime itself in just such a liminal space - occurring, in part, within the Round House, a sacred space for the Ojibwe, but occurring in part at an intersection of tribal and "fee" lands. This liminality becomes the crux of the injustice in our story, and Erdrich shows us how the very real lack of sovereignty for Indigenous communities undermines their ability to protect themselves and their lands, and how it has specifically betrayed Indigenous victims of sexual violence.
There is so much that can be said about how Erdrich builds the narrative - the lack of quotation marks that give it a stream of consciousness feel at times, the storytelling woven throughout, the anecdotal detours, the wide cast of characters and the decision to confine the story to Joe's point of view. Altogether, these decisions create a world haunted by many ghosts, one in which we can see the ripples of action and inaction across people and generations, and one in which justice feels illusory.
Graphic: Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Car accident
foxglovefairy's review against another edition
4.0
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Grief, Stalking, and Alcohol
lisettemarie's review against another edition
4.25
Moderate: Genocide, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Grief, and Colonisation
stephalopuff's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
alisonoreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Rape
anna_hepworth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Well worth having stuck through having to borrow it from the library four times, each time having to wait through the hold queue!
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Hate crime, Racism, Rape, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
library_anne's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Rape, Sexual violence, Vomit, and Murder