Last Friday I could not post a review, because I had not finished the book. I finished it later that night, around midnight. A week later, here's my review of Solar Storms by Linda Hogan.
This is going to be the book we discuss at my cousins' annual gathering - tomorrow! We read one book a year. One of my cousins suggested that the title doesn't seem to fit the story, and she proposed that we all think of alternate titles for the book. I agree, "Solar Storms" is kind of out of nowhere.. I'd give it a title something about water. But, I'm surmising that the publisher made her use that title. It's more catchy than something like I was thinking: Water Shapes Us or... something like that. That's very dull.
It's the story of a 1970's teenage girl who has Indian (native American) heritage but grows up in Oklahoma, removed from her clan of origin. Her mother was abusive and the girl had ended up in foster care. As a teenager, she returns to her clan's area of land and villages, to search for her mother and to figure herself out. Water plays a big role in the story; it's also a coming-of-age saga of this young girl. It also involves another culture clash between the dominant White American society and the Indians' culture of the area in question (northern Minnesota and Canada).
The writing is beautiful! Fabulous language in this book. I couldn't read it quickly, though, because the story made me sad. I needed little breathers. That's why it took me over two weeks to read the book. I loved it and yet... it was hard due to the pervasive sadness. Actually there are quite a few times when the story is light-hearted, hopeful, positive, and pleasant. But overall I felt sad about the whole situation.
It will be interesting to hear what my cousins have to say about it tomorrow. I give it 4.5 stars; I definitely recommend this well-written, beautiful book.
2 comments:
Sounds like a book I'd like to read. Compelling!
Hope you had a great get-together with your cousins. Sounds like fun.
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