A review by mcghoull
The Auctioneer, by Joan Samson
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- 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? Yes
3.5
Real, deliberate injustices inflicted upon Black and Indigenous people in America become the dystopian present of our white protagonists.
This book is an interesting read in 2023, leaving me with lots of questions about its author and what her worldview was in the 1970s. I wish that Joan Samson could have gotten to enjoy a much longer, healthier life. By this book alone, I personally would have loved to read more of her work and gotten to know her better as an author.
Joan Samson serves up an unapologetically slow burn, and while certain deficiencies in the protagonists' self-awareness regarding their land ownership are questionable, I overall enjoyed the journey of reading this book. Samson beautifully plays with ideas such as "law and order" and "traditional American values" by turning them on their heads and making their historical perpetrators, their victims.
This book is an interesting read in 2023, leaving me with lots of questions about its author and what her worldview was in the 1970s. I wish that Joan Samson could have gotten to enjoy a much longer, healthier life. By this book alone, I personally would have loved to read more of her work and gotten to know her better as an author.
Joan Samson serves up an unapologetically slow burn, and while certain deficiencies in the protagonists' self-awareness regarding their land ownership are questionable, I overall enjoyed the journey of reading this book. Samson beautifully plays with ideas such as "law and order" and "traditional American values" by turning them on their heads and making their historical perpetrators, their victims.