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.

A Yellow Raft in Blue Water by Michael Dorris

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.

Looking Back - Love Medicine

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.

Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich

Fiction

2001 Harper Perennial (first published in 1984)

Read in January 2001

Rating: 1/5 (Meh)

Publisher's Blurb:

The first book in Louise Erdrich's highly acclaimed "Native American" trilogy that includes "The Beet Queen," "Tracks," and "The Bingo Palace," re-sequenced and expanded to include never-before-published chapters.

Set on and around a North Dakota Ojibwe reservation, Love Medicine is the epic story about the intertwined fates of two families: the Kashpaws and the Lamartines.

With astonishing virtuosity, each chapter draws on a range of voices to limn its tales. Black humor mingles with magic, injustice bleeds into betrayal, and through it all, bonds of love and family marry the elements into a tightly woven whole that pulses with the drama of life.

Filled with humor, magic, injustice and betrayal, Erdrich blends family love and loyalty in a stunning work of dramatic fiction.

My Original Thoughts (2001):

If it weren't for a book club selection, I never would have finished this book. I thought it was terribly confusing (even with family trees - my own attempt) and dull! I felt no connection to any of the characters.

My Current Thoughts:

I know Erdrich is a beloved author of many readers, and I have a couple of her more recent novels in my TBR stacks, but this one was a big miss. Maybe I'll give a second read sometime after reading some of her other books, but it was not a good introduction to her writing. 

Looking Back - A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

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.

A Yellow Raft in Blue Water by Michael Dorris
Fiction
1988 Warner Books
Finished in January 1998
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 Notes (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'm not certain, but I think I read this a second time and may not have enjoyed it quite as well as this first time. It may be that I went into that second reading knowing about the author's past (alleged sexual abuse with his two daughters; divorce from Louise Erdrich; suicide). 

Looking Back - Medicine River

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.

Medicine River by Thomas King
Fiction
1996 Penguin Canada (first published in 1990)
Finished in April 1997
Rating: 3/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

When Will returns to Medicine River, he thinks he is simply attending his mother's funeral. He doesn't count on Harlen Bigbear and his unique brand of community planning. Harlen tries to sell Will on the idea of returning to Medicine River to open shop as the town's only Native photographer. Somehow, that's exactly what happens. Through Will's gentle and humorous narrative, we come to know Medicine River, a small Albertan town bordering a Blackfoot reserve. And we meet its people: the basketball team; Louise Heavyman and her daughter, South Wing; Martha Oldcrow, the marriage doctor; Joe Bigbear, Harlen's world-travelling, storytelling brother; Bertha Morley, who has a short fling with a Calgary dating service; and David Plume, who went to Wounded Knee. At the centre of it all is Harlen, advising and pestering, annoying and entertaining, gossiping and benevolently interfering in the lives of his friends and neighbours.

My Original Notes (1997):

Very funny. Would make a great movie! A novel about a community in Canada (Alberta) and the Native Americans living there (contemporary time period). Harlan Bigbear is a wonderful "coyote" figure.

My Current Thoughts:

I only vaguely remember this novel, but I do remember that it made me laugh out loud. I read it for a Great Plains Lit. class that I was taking at UNL.

Looking Back - The Way to Rainy Mountain

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.

The Way to Rainy Mountain by N. Scott Momaday
Fiction
1976 by Turtleback Books (first published 1969)
Finished on February 2, 1997
Rating: 3/5 (Good)

From Wikipedia:

The Way to Rainy Mountain (1969) is a book by Pulitzer Prize winning author N. Scott Momaday. It is about the journey of Momaday's Kiowa ancestors from their ancient beginnings in the Montana area to their final war and surrender to the United States Cavalry at Fort Sill, and subsequent resettlement near Rainy Mountain, Oklahoma.

The Way to Rainy Mountain, a unique blend of history, folklore, and poetic memoir, was published in 1969. It takes the reader through author N. Scott Momaday’s own journey of discovering his Kiowa background and identity. The journey is told in three separate voices: The first voice, the ancestral voice, tells about the Kiowa by using oral traditions and myths; the second voice is a historical commentary; and finally, the third voice is Momaday’s poetic memoir of his experiences. All three voices together teach about the Kiowa’s origin, beliefs, traditions, morals, and conflicts. Not only does the journey recounted in this book help Momaday better understand his ancestry, it also teaches about the Kiowa tribe’s history. The uniqueness of this text, however, has been an issue for some readers; they claim it is confusing to follow and discombobulating. Others find it easier to understand by reading each individual voice consecutively instead of alternating from one voice to another as the book is written. The Way to Rainy Mountain continues to be an entry point to Kiowa history and a way to open discussions about what constitutes any history of a people.


My Original Notes (1997):

Very interesting. Quite different. A 3 part narrative about the Kiowa Indians. One part was legend or folklore. Another part was history or factual. The third part was the author's memories or thoughts. I read this book for my Plains Lit. class. Actually, I read it about 4 times (it's quite short) and got more out of it each time.

My Current Thoughts:

We spent quite a bit of time in my Great Plains Literature class studying the Kiowa Indians. I wound up giving my oral presentation on the Kiowa and as I mentioned above, I read The Way to Rainy Mountain several times, partly to gather information for my presentation, but mainly to make sense of the unique narrative. I no longer own a copy of the book, but I know it's still available and will have to take a look at it at work one of these days.

The Absolute Diary of a Part-Time Indian

The Absolute Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, Ellen Fornay (illustrator)
Teen Fiction
2007 Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Finished on May 17, 2016
Rating: 4/5 (Very Good!)

National Book Award for Young People's Literature (2007)
Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production (2009)
American Indian Library Association Award
South Carolina Book Award Nominee for Young Adult Book Award (2010)
Michigan Library Association Thumbs Up! Award Nominee (2008)
Florida Teens Read Nominee (2009)
American Indian Youth Literature Award for Best Young Adult Book (2008)
Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction (2008)
The Inky Awards Nominee for Silver Inky (2009)
Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee (2011)
James Cook Book Award Nominee (2009)
The Inky Awards Shortlist for Silver Inky (2009)

Publisher's Blurb:

Bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.

Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author's own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings by Ellen Forney that reflect the character's art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live.

I've always been curious about Sherman Alexie's novels, but until a customer practically thrust this book in my hands, telling me I had to read it, I've never stopped to try any of his works. I'm so glad I listened to my customer! It's an excellent book and one that I will recommend to others, as well. It's a fairly quick read and packed with lots to discuss, so this is one to add to your book club suggestions. Alexie deals with topics such as racism, poverty, alcoholism, grief, loyalty, and family and while it's touching, it's not overly sentimental or saccharine. By the end of the book, I was cheering for Junior.

Final Thoughts:

The Absolute Diary of a Part-Time Indian is on its way to becoming a classic. It was published almost a decade ago and remains very popular with both teens and adults. I know I plan to read it again and am anxious for my granddaughter to give it a try next summer. I'm eager to try another novel by Sherman Alexie. Any suggestions? 

Note: 

I understand that the hardcover includes a forward by Markus Zusak (author of The Book Thief), as well as interviews with Sherman Alexie and Ellen Forney. I'm going to have to find a copy of this particular edition so I can read those "extras" and check out the four-color interior art. The paperback edition that I read only had line drawings.