Books by Dorothea: REVIEW - A Council of Dolls

SPECIAL NOTE

This is a new and different format for fiction. The format was also recently updated for memoirs. This blog is a continual work in progress to find exactly what works for me and you!

OVERVIEW

I just cannot imagine how I read another amazing book ARC!! This historical fiction book was just amazing. Another book in the running for my Book of the Year 2023.

The writer is a female Native American author and she wrote a beautiful love letter to the strong women in this book. There were THREE very strong women who lived in different and important times in Native American history in the U.S.

The book works backward in time which is a nice and unique change and ends in somewhat current times. The three main characters are Sissy (born 1961), Lillian (born 1925), and Cora (born 1888). Each of these women lived in a different, difficult time for Native Americans, but there is an invisible string of their dolls and their love that surrounds them.

The book was so beautifully written even with the horrible and devastating events that occur in this book. It also made me so disgusted that we treated these dignified and beautiful Native Americans so horribly. Unfortunately, there is no change in their mistreatment with the continual breaking of long-standing treaties. So very convicting.

OVERALL REVIEW: 5.0 stars

Writing: 5.0 stars

Mona Susan Power has a beautiful and powerful voice in her writing. The time and events in this novel were not pleasant to read or write. But, it was her gorgeous writing with so much character development that helped me understand and love this book. I cannot wait for what else she will write.

Character development: 5.0 stars

The character development of the main characters was so intense and thorough. I could feel all of my senses viscerally engaged as I read. Interestingly, they were the main characters in the current chapter and then secondary characters in the following chapter.

There were many secondary characters in the book. The partners and friends of the main characters also were thoroughly explored. The three dolls that connect all of the main characters are given voices to understand so much of the history.

Of course, the United States government, white Christian patriarchy, and many evil institutions were horrible tertiary characters that invaded all parts of the novel.

The character development was thorough, but not overdone. It was perfection.

Storyline: 5.0 stars

The storyline goes backward in time to end in the recent present. The three main characters each have a doll that is an integral part of their lives and binds them together. Without the dolls as the main fabric of the story, it would not have been as rich and meaningful.

Sissy, the daughter, was a young child during the American Indian Movement and was born off of the reservation. Lillian, the mother, was born on the reservation and attended Indian Boarding schools closer to home which helped spur her activism for her people. Cora, the grandmother, was born during the time of the murder of Native Americans for their land and when children were forced to attend Indian Boarding schools far away from home.

The main locations were Chicago, North/South Dakota, Eastern Pennsylvania, and Minnesota.

Memorable/Informative: 5.0 stars

I had no idea that there were so many Indian Boarding schools. I need to research if there are any locally here in California.

Unfortunately, California did not avoid having its own horrors. We had the legacy of the mission system which enslaved the Native Americans and forced them to convert to Christianity.

I am not sure which was worse.

Book cover: 4.0 stars

Beautiful

Book title: 5.0 stars

It is exactly what the dolls represented

Gut feeling: 3.5 stars

I knew very little of Native American history. Now I want to read and learn more and not the whitewashed history.

Suggestions:

A glossary of the Native American words used. I could figure out more of it, from context but it would have been a nice touch.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND

BOOK INFORMATION

A Council of Dolls by Mona Susan Power