I was hopeful that I would be drawn into this book. Unfortunately, the narration is awful, the pace of the plot slow and the characters forgettable. I'm not going to finish listening and write this one off to "They can't all be good." Blech.

The teenage boys watching a video they liked by peering through the priest's window into his home.

I listened to the audio version of this book. It was an OK story that was well told but just not my usual intense mystery/thriller. This was a slight mystery/drama set in the late 80's on an Indian reservation and told from a 13 year old boy's perspective. I will say there are some very funny moments with the 13 year old boy and his buddies.

The narrator's voice and style matched the cultural context and storytelling of the native people very well.

Promotes culture values and beliefs, while providing an excellent well developed plot.

Excellent!

When the woman that was raped set up and spoke when she heard the baby's name mentioned in a conversation, who she was protecting by her silence.

I am not sure if the audio version is better. It was nice hearing it read by a Native American, but I felt his inflection was off at times. I would still highly recommend it!

Definitely Joe. He provided great insight into the mind of a kid.

It was a book about Native American culture, so it was nice hearing it with the correct narrative voice.

Geraldine... she was so sad.

I have seen this book all over the place and have had many people recommend it. I work with Native people in Oregon and I found the book to be both entertaining and educational.

Listening drew me into the lives of the characters more than reading it would have.

yes, but only if you have read some other works by Louise Erdrich there are characters that pepper this novel from some of her earlier works that make it delightful to hear them mentioned again.

Linda - she just had a mystery about her.

His voice but I felt his accent was spot on...and brought real life to the male characters especially.

That's tough probably "ooops" I just loved him!

Informative sadness compassion

The honesty of the story and characters. The positive and negative.

Excellent. I truly felt that he was the author and main character as he read.

I grew up in N.Dak., and tho white, I am well aware of the problems on the reservations and the prejudice suffered by the Natives. Even tho I smiled at the antics of some of the characters, I was also terribly sad for them.

I will be anxious to read more by this author and listen to Gary Farmer.

Yes - it was a great story, and beautifully told.

Its hard to pick - there were so many beautifully crafted scenes.

No. It was difficult at times, because the subject matter was dark. But the family (all of them) were crafted with such care that the story kept pulling me back.

I am not sure about that. There were times when I wished I had a print copy to go back and re-read some scenes because either my brain wandered off while I was listening or I just didn't understand abstractly what was happening.

I think Joe's mother's depression really spoke to me. The author made me feel her pain and what she was going through. I both pulled for her and wanted her to snap out of it, but also felt understanding toward her and allowed her time to heal.

At first, I thought the narrator of this book sounded a little....er....drunk. But then I felt bad for thinking that because I realized it was an actual American Indian with a slight drawl of an accent! Once I was used to him, he helped make the book come alive to me by being an authentic part of the story!

Wow...what a question. No idea. How about "Swamp Tea?"

This book has coming of age, Indian culture, religion, and strong families--a very enjoyable read and brilliantly researched and written by the author.

This is a Native American story that should be read and heard by every American. It truly tells the story of the plight of their journey, now and then.