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Introduction

Mystery guest

Week in Review

Patreon update

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 1 by Beth Brower

A Council of Dolls by Mona Susan Power

Strange Flowers by Donal Ryan

Mirror of the Darkest Night by Mahasweta Devi

This novel about intergenerational trauma by Dakota Sioux author Mona Susan Power has an effective structure: we first meet Sissy as a child in the 1960s, then go back in time to when her mother was a child, then further back to her grandmother‘s teen years at Carlisle Residential School, then return to Sissy as an adult. The therapy-speak in the final part isn‘t to my taste but otherwise I can see why this is on the Carol Shields Prize longlist.

Writing this book was a healing endeavour. May it support the healing of others.
—from the Author‘s Note.

All beings are capable of providing love medicine.

“You can put ideas on and off just like moccasins. You can wear them and set them aside, hold on to those you find meaningful … someone telling you that you‘re wrong and only they know the truth. Such boasting is evidence of a fool, perhaps a dangerous one.”

An emotional read - heartrending yet hopeful. Much of this novel was taken from Power‘s own experience and that of her family which gives the writing an authenticity and vulnerability. A book about trauma and its reverberations across generations, yes, but also a book about healing. Look forward to discussing with my IRL book club!

I think three hours is enough. I wasn't at all interested in the way this was told. It just felt really simple and unrewarding.

(This is on the NBA longlist for literature. So clearly some readers like this. But, for me, I‘m now done with those judges.)

This book follows 3 generations of Lakota/Dakota women and the traumas experienced by each, layered into their multigenerational trauma. Each has a doll, which play meaningful parts in the story. I‘m not usually a fan of child narrators, but this really works. My only complaint is that I wanted a little more exploration of one of the characters, but it is nonetheless very good.

NBA longlist, fiction

This is about women overcoming generational trauma through the love and sacrifices of their ancestors and their own power as indigenous women. A very moving story and moving history lesson. The dolls give so much to these women, they even rescue them in some cases.

Bookstore visit on my break today! I loved The Grass Dancer so especially excited for tagged. #bookhaul