This was a pretty good review. I thought that the conclusion that he reached was very similar to my own and I very much agree that this was a very good book. I did like that there was a back story of the author and talked about some of his other works. This is something that I liked as it gave a broader picture of some of the other things that this author has done. One particular statement that caught my eye was "So audible is Saul’s voice, that I heard him stop speaking whenever I closed the book." This was something that I never considered, but the author did such good job at using description throughout the entire book that it did really make the book come to life, which is one of the things that made this novel so appealing. This review also pointed out how this novel took place during the time that Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission studying the impact of residential schools had released its reports on how bad these schools were, which makes the impact even more significant. There was one more paragraph that really caught my eye " Wagemese’s writing qualifies as an act of courage, for we are in the
midst of one of the most effective silencing campaigns in generations:
People who dare to address historical wrongs are regularly accused of
whining; unbelievably, the word “victim” has become a derogatory term.
Yet, Wagamese writes without apology; and with such specificity and
emotional restraint the reader sometimes forgets to breathe." This is very true. If we refuse to look back at out past and understand our wrongs, there's no way we will ever be able to correct them and this book is a perfect example of this. Even though many parts of this book were depressing and unpleasant, it only served to drive home the point of the novel and ultimately, what made this book so good. I liked this review and it brought out some unique perspectives and ideas. The only small issue I had with it was that it seemed like there was a lot of summarizing done in the review. Other than that it was pretty good.
Link: http://news.nationalpost.com/afterword/book-review-indian-horse-by-richard-wagamese
-Jordan
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