lori_reads_everything's review against another edition
3.0
This was a great collection of unique short stories - many of them heartbreaking, while others were beautiful and poetic. Kateri tackles topics like MMIWG and suicide rates among indigenous youth, among other short stories of love, lust and dreams. I was most impressed by the authors ability to create such emotional and thought-provoking stories in the span of just a few pages.
brynphd's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
4.25
juliette_bradley's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
jolynne's review against another edition
3.0
The lives and loves of Anishinaabe people. Don't miss the heartbreaking story of Chloe, a reality for the families of missing and murdered Indigenous women.
book_case7's review against another edition
3.0
Evocative and moving… when I understood what was going on. Worth the read for sure
read_ofthe_stein's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
sylda's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
cb_reads_reviews's review against another edition
3.0
“The Stone Collection,” Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm’s book of short stories is a thoughtful and often poignant read. Her characters have a lot of depth held in those few pages of each story and the reader is held captive in their thoughts, desires, and dreams. Akiwenzie-Damm doesn’t shy away from difficult subject matter, with some unsettling stories and references, but balances these stories with love, care, and commection - each story, a stone, carefully placed, a world held within but complementing the others.
careinthelibrary's review against another edition
4.0
The Stone Collection by Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm is one of the better short story collections I've read. I'm a bit picky with collections and find them hard to rare and review because there are usually a few really great stories...and thsn many mediocre ones. But in The Stone Collection, I felt a range of emotions from the skin-prickly eerie truths delivered in harrowing stories of missing and murdered indigenous women, violence, and poverty. As well as the warm fuzzies from beautiful stories of love, friendship, and loyalty. There were a few stories that I won't remember, but many that touched me at least in the moment. "Chloe" will haunt me.
Some stories didn't work as well as others, but that's to be expected. On the other hand, a few of the stories ("The Stone Eater", "Calcified Horses", "Mashkii-akii", and especially "Chloe") were so hard-hitting I had to put the book down and take deep breaths while reading. Biting, cutting, wailing prose. Akiwenzie-Damm does not coddle her readers or soften her depiction of the various struggles of indigenous peoples in her stories. And she doesn't stay on all the pain and harshness either. There are stories with love, tenderness, and humour. Yes, indigenous people in Canada experience more than their fair share of suffering and oppression and her stories show this in stark reality. But also the beauty, simplicity, and excellence of healthy indigenous relationships. Mother and son, lovers, grandmothers to children. She showcases and celebrates the kindness and gentle understanding exist in these characters' bones and traditions.
I would recommend this short story collection for anyone interested in indigenous literature, inter-generational trauma from the colonial project, and fans of short, but punchy characterization and beautiful, spare prose.
Some stories didn't work as well as others, but that's to be expected. On the other hand, a few of the stories ("The Stone Eater", "Calcified Horses", "Mashkii-akii", and especially "Chloe") were so hard-hitting I had to put the book down and take deep breaths while reading. Biting, cutting, wailing prose. Akiwenzie-Damm does not coddle her readers or soften her depiction of the various struggles of indigenous peoples in her stories. And she doesn't stay on all the pain and harshness either. There are stories with love, tenderness, and humour. Yes, indigenous people in Canada experience more than their fair share of suffering and oppression and her stories show this in stark reality. But also the beauty, simplicity, and excellence of healthy indigenous relationships. Mother and son, lovers, grandmothers to children. She showcases and celebrates the kindness and gentle understanding exist in these characters' bones and traditions.
I would recommend this short story collection for anyone interested in indigenous literature, inter-generational trauma from the colonial project, and fans of short, but punchy characterization and beautiful, spare prose.
read_nap_repeat's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0