March 18, 2022

Looking Back - A Yellow Raft in Blue Water (re-read)

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

Fiction
1987 Warner Books
Read in February 2001
Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Michael Dorris has crafted a fierce saga of three generations of Indian women, beset by hardships and torn by angry secrets, yet inextricably joined by the bonds of kinship. Starting in the present day and moving backward, the novel is told in the voices of the three women: fifteen-year-old part-black Rayona; her American Indian mother, Christine, consumed by tenderness and resentment toward those she loves; and the fierce and mysterious Ida, mother and grandmother whose haunting secrets, betrayals, and dreams echo through the years, braiding together the strands of the shared past.

My Original Thoughts (2001):

My second reading of this wonderful book. Just as good as the first time. It had been four years, so I had forgotten a lot of the details. Three generations with secrets and misunderstandings.

My Thoughts in 1998:

Fantastic novel! I loved it and really didn't want it to end. I even put off reading the last chapter, saving it to be read in bed. [No distractions or interruptions.] Ida, Christine and Rayona became my friends and I didn't want them to leave! Beautifully written. Michael Dorris captured the voices of these three women, narrating their thoughts and emotions with superb realism - more so than Wally Lamb did [with his female character] in She's Come Undone. This one did move me to tears. What a shame this talented writer is no longer living. A saga of three generations. Hardship. Angry secrets. Kinship.

My Current Thoughts:

I wonder why I reread this book so soon after the first reading. I rarely reread books and when I do, it's many years after the initial reading. I enjoyed this book both times I read it, but twice is enough.
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9 comments:

  1. thecuecard5:14 AM

    Yeah I read this one when it came out (pre-blog) but that was long ago and I don't recall it now. But I haven't forgotten the title.

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    1. Les in Oregon2:16 PM

      Susan, I don't remember much about it either. Even after reading it twice!

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  2. jenclair8:00 AM

    I've never read it, but I, too, recognize the title.

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    1. Les in Oregon2:17 PM

      Jen, I wonder if it's stood the test of time since it was published. Weird to think that it's 35 years old. :o

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  3. Les in Oregon2:16 PM

    Vicki, it's a good book! I doubt I'll read it a third time, though. ;)

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  4. Laurel (www.ravenandchickadee.com)6:45 AM

    If you say that this author captured women's voices better than Wally Lamb did in She's Come Undone....I need to read it! It sounds like an interesting story. Hope you all are doing well and that spring is springing on the Oregon coast. :-)

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    1. Les in Oregon8:01 AM

      Laurel, I had to go back and reread my journal notes and make sure that I said that (about Wally Lamb's writing). I don't remember why I thought that, but I guess at the time, it was true. :)

      All is well here. Rain has returned to the coast, but we're beginning to see some spring flowers.

      Delete
  5. Helen's Book Blog5:15 PM

    I remember loving this book when I read it decades ago. I haven't re-read it though since I am not a big re-reader. Glad you liked it, too.

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    Replies
    1. Les in Oregon8:18 PM

      Helen, I don't re-read a lot of books, but every now and then I pull one off my "keeper shelf" and read it again to see if I still want to hang on to it.

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