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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
A beautifully written, engaging novel. Some of the scenes are quite gripping, others are quietly stunning. I savored every word. Erdrich has an amazing gift for writing about characters that I would normally despise for their actions in such a way that I felt genuine sympathy for them --and wondered how I'd behave in similar situations.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
My first Louise Erdrich book. Interesting story of Ojibwa Indians in historical and modern times. I enjoyed the book. I’d like to read more about the Indian children removed from their home to boarding schools out east.
informative
mysterious
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:
No
Terribly well writte, and a good read, although not as plot-driven as I usually prefer. It did have this great paragraph though:
Life will break you. Nobody can protect you from that, and living alone won't either, for solitude will also break you with its yearning. You have to love. You have to feel. It is the reason you are here on earth. You are here to risk your heart. You are here to be swallowed up. And when it happens that you are broken, or betrayed, or left, or hurt, or death brushes near, let yourself sit by an apple tree and listen to the apples falling around you in heaps, wasting their sweetness. Tell yourself that you tasted as many as you could.
Life will break you. Nobody can protect you from that, and living alone won't either, for solitude will also break you with its yearning. You have to love. You have to feel. It is the reason you are here on earth. You are here to risk your heart. You are here to be swallowed up. And when it happens that you are broken, or betrayed, or left, or hurt, or death brushes near, let yourself sit by an apple tree and listen to the apples falling around you in heaps, wasting their sweetness. Tell yourself that you tasted as many as you could.
"Which causes me to wonder, my own purpose on so many days as humble as the spider's, what is beautiful that I make? What is elegant? What feeds the world?"
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Another good novel from Louise Erdrich. It wasn't as compelling as the previous one I read, but still wonderfully written and full of lyrical prose.
hopeful
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:
Complicated