soph (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sophia_sol) wrote2018-03-14 06:18 pm
sophia_sol) wrote2018-03-14 06:18 pm
The Birchbark House, by Louise Erdrich
This book is first in a series of children's novels about an Anishinaabe girl living in the Lake Superior region during the time of colonial westward expansion in North America. I gather it was written in conscious reaction to the way the Little House series portrays the westward movement by white people as being into empty, unpeopled land. I loved the Little House books growing up, but the racism inherent in them is definitely not great, so I was happy to hear about The Birchbark House.
And it does not disappoint! It's a genuinely good book, engaging and emotional and interesting. It has a strong sense of the importance of the characters' traditional life, and the worries brought up by the westward encroachment by white people. But also it's just a really nice look at a young girl named Omakayas and her family and broader community, all lovingly portrayed as interesting and varied characters with real-feeling relationships with each other. I cared a lot about Omakayas and everyone she loves!
(And there's sequels, which are...in my to read pile...after too many other library books)
And it does not disappoint! It's a genuinely good book, engaging and emotional and interesting. It has a strong sense of the importance of the characters' traditional life, and the worries brought up by the westward encroachment by white people. But also it's just a really nice look at a young girl named Omakayas and her family and broader community, all lovingly portrayed as interesting and varied characters with real-feeling relationships with each other. I cared a lot about Omakayas and everyone she loves!
(And there's sequels, which are...in my to read pile...after too many other library books)