Welcome to Litsy!

I read my June book with my book club. We all liked this book and that doesn‘t happen often.

#12booksof2024 @Andrew65

Really good

This is a must read. Told from the perspective of the dolls of different generations within a family of Indigenous women, this novel is about “Indian” boarding schools and the damage they have done and continue to do. It is about generational trauma and the healing power of ancestral wisdom. Community is powerful. Identity is powerful. Respect is powerful. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

So much injustice and death, but stories that we need to hear and never forget. I like the perspective of the dolls POV, it‘s very unique and adds a layer of depth that really brings the stories to life and adds more context to the times. The one doll kind of gives Chucky vibes though.
Book #105 in 2024

Ooh this was good. It tells the story of three generations of Dakhota women, who each have a special doll as a companion, and how they survive the trauma that came from colonization and subsequent Indian Boarding Schools, either directly or as a descendant. Cannot wait to see how the book group reacts! #ownvoices

This was an excellent historical fiction/magical realism story about 4 generations of Dakhota girls & their dolls. The first 2 generations of girls are forcibly placed in “Indian Schools” & navigate the disturbing experience with help from their dolls. The next 2 girls & their dolls have generational trauma to live with as a result. Wonderfully written!
♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

📚 Read for book club
📚 Taken with a mini Cabbage Patch doll from my childhood

I just finished the #20in4 Readathon and surpassed my goal.

I finished A Council of Dolls: 241/241 pages
AND
read part of
Maui Writers Ink Supernatural Tales: 27 pages
How to Keep a Sketchbook Journal: 74 pages

🟰 342/241 pages

Thanks again @Andrew65 !

#Bookly

I‘ve joined the #20in4 Readathon!
My goal is to read the remaining 241 pages of A Council of Dolls in 4.
My progress at the end of day 2: 49/241
Loving this book so far!

Thank you for hosting as always @Andrew65 !

https://youtu.be/pW4CyuPfqF0?si=X09nU7lPHFETrFiI

#litwithindianlit
#PeopleApril

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