pick(Part 3) Obviously this was a fictitious story but the fact that 1 in 3 Native women will be raped in her lifetime (not counting women who do not report) and 86% of sexual assaults are done by non-Native men is NOT fictitious. ("Maze of Injustice" 2009 report by Amnesty International) I absolutely love a book that educates me on an issue which I have lacking knowledge about. So if you wanna get your socks blown off, read the book. It's worth it.
pick(Part 2) We as readers got such a teaser there for how the conflict would resolve and I know personally I couldn't stop chewing my nails worrying, "is THIS is the moment Cappy dies!?" Though I'm still not entirely convinced why Cappy needed to die at all... Next, can we talk about how educational this was on the plight of indigenous people in the US, especially Native women??
pick(Part 1) Wow. This book is extremely powerful and difficult to unpack. First off, the narration is excellent. The story is told from the perspective of Joe as an adult reflecting on his childhood, and there are often added tidbits from older Joe that intice the reader and help keep the story exciting. When Cappy was first introduced as "a white cross on the Montana Hi-Line," I was shooketh.
"Okay, I said, where's the luck? ... I wrenched the head off the doll to dump out the rest of the water, and there was my luck. Right there. The doll was packed with money."
It was a nice surprise when, a few pages after reading this passage, I found a pressed-flat four leaf clover left behind by the last reader. There is a beauty in sharing a book, and I thank the last reader for sharing their luck with me.
Nothing like reading a good book in a warm coffee shop on a lazy Friday afternoon while trying to ignore the SAT you have to take the next day....
The characters were what really drew me into this novel. I started reading assuming that Jeevan was the main character and then the point of view shifted to Kirsten and I was like "Okay, a switch in main character, I can follow this." But then we learn more about Arthur and Miranda and so many other people who I was not expecting at all! It really felt like I got to know each character on such a deep level - absolutely exquisite writing.
