Sunday, March 09, 2008

A Yellow Raft in Blue Water: A Novel by Michael Dorris

This novel covers the lives of three Native American women from one family. Each of the three sections of the book are narrated by one of these women. The sections do not exactly overlap the same period of time as the others. They are "braided" - this being a kind of running theme throughout the work.

The story (or stories) illustrates the challenge of life both on and off the reservation. The young girl's tale is a struggle to find identity and belonging - mostly on her own resources. Her life is refracted through the accounts of the other two in a way that expands the story to that of the larger family. The narrative exposes the family secrets and series of hardships of which each individual woman is only partially aware.

Although this is not the kind of novel I normally read, I thought it was well written. Some might consider that the author played up certain stereotypes of the Native American experience. But I thought he made a fair attempt at showing the challenges in the lives of people who have become displaced not only on a grandly historical scale but within the vicissitudes of family tragedy. ( 4 stars )

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