A Council of Dolls

A Novel

By: Mona Susan Power

Narrated by: Isabella Star LaBlanc

Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD

The long-awaited, profoundly moving, and unforgettable new novel from PEN Award–winning Native American author Mona Susan Power, spanning three generations of Yanktonai Dakota women from the 19th century to the present day.

From the mid-century metropolis of Chicago to the windswept ancestral lands of the Dakota people, to the bleak and brutal Indian boarding schools, A Council of Dolls is the story of three women, told in part through the stories of the dolls they carried….

Sissy, born 1961: Sissy’s relationship with her beautiful and volatile mother is difficult, even dangerous, but her life is also filled with beautiful things, including a new Christmas present, a doll called Ethel. Ethel whispers advice and kindness in Sissy’s ear, and in one especially terrifying moment, maybe even saves Sissy’s life.

Lillian, born 1925: Born in her ancestral lands in a time of terrible change, Lillian clings to her sister, Blanche, and her doll, Mae. When the sisters are forced to attend an “Indian school” far from their home, Blanche refuses to be cowed by the school’s abusive nuns. But when tragedy strikes the sisters, the doll Mae finds her way to defend the girls.

Cora, born 1888: Though she was born into the brutal legacy of the “Indian Wars,” Cora isn’t afraid of the white men who remove her to a school across the country to be “civilized.” When teachers burn her beloved buckskin and beaded doll Winona, Cora discovers that the spirit of Winona may not be entirely lost…

A modern masterpiece, A Council of Dolls is gorgeous, quietly devastating, and ultimately hopeful, shining a light on the echoing damage wrought by Indian boarding schools, and the historical massacres of Indigenous people. With stunning prose, Mona Susan Power weaves a spell of love and healing that comes alive on the page.

©2023 Mona Susan Power (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

a book i wish every 'american' would read

"English has it's grand beauty that I will always admire, but it also has its agenda."
Mona Susan Power

Mona Susan Power's transformational ability to tell the stories of the deeply woven histories of several generations of women who were sent to, or taken by boarding schools with the nuance of subtle and unspoken kindness, respect and dignity that seems a requirement to live through colonization, woven and tangled with the casualties of those who don't survive and those who do but whose spirits are ravaged and broken by it. She models real friendship - actual friendship - one that is not based on convenience, or transaction, perhaps from a mindset of scarcity but not greed; and the courage to carry on after worlds were burnt and beaten to nothing...This is a book i wish every 'american' would read. Although fiction, it is an historic document that reveals how things got to where we are, from the medical and pharma 'industries,' to public education, to ecologic crises - still extracted from, still perversely anthropocentric and perversely based in domination. Yet this nuance of kindness, respect and dignity prevails in the characters who have the courage to actually do some healing. No magical realism or spiritual bypassing here.

Outstanding!

The writing is superb. The story is written in a unique way with many twists. The characters are interesting and deep.

Healing generational trauma

Such a beautiful way to tell the stories of trauma and healing. Our innocent “toys” as witness and absorption of trauma. It was beautifully woven with the history of the Lakota and Dakota people in both the wonderful and the tragic.

Wonderful story with lots of facts thrown in

The narrator didn’t have a good range of voices so was often difficult to know which character was speaking.

Captivating

A captivating story based on much of the author’s own family history- uniquely told through the eyes of the precious “toys” who provided comfort and companionship for the generations of young girls surviving cultural genocide

History, family, community, trauma, and hope

I learned a lot from this book. The ways the lives of people in these stories are captured - seeing who they were as adults first and the. Going backwards to understand factors that affected them - a very humane depiction of complicated characters. Understanding ourselves through our past and our generational history is at the foundation of this book.

Highly engaging read.

More than five stars

A beautifully written story that weaves together fiction and the rich threads of First Nations history and culture. A creative way of sharing the truths of trauma. I couldn’t stop listening to this book. I hope to read more of this gifted and powerful writer’s work. I will need to purchase a hard copy of this book to add to my personal library.

Dolls and their Stories

Fascinating story of 3 Native American woman from different generations and the dolls who witness everything. It's not supernatural, just really good storytelling

The brutal honesty

I loved this sad story. The inclusion of true historical events or themes. The expression of the traumas effects on the lives of the children made to go to far away “schools” and how it carried down the generations, still. The brutel theft & loss of their beings, culture and security.
Sad sad truth of it breaks my heart over and over again but I still can’t wait to share this novel with my friends and family. Thank you for sharing your families experiences, telling some of the true histories Indigenous peoples endured, and showing the humanity they carried (or tried to carry) with them thru their lives. And for including our languages, languages that are in jeopardy of being lost forever along with our cultures that were taken from us. Pinamaya 🪶🪶🦅🪶🪶

Unique perspective

A Council of Dolls by Mona Susan Power, narrated by Isabella Star LaBlanc. I loved the unique perspective of this multi-generational story, tenderly told through children and their dolls. Generational trauma starting in 1888 in the wake of the "Indian Wars" and forced assimilation by separating children from their parents and even each other in boarding schools and residential training to "civilize" them, removing them from their land, their people, their homes, their language, way of life, their religion - while treating them inhumanely, in so many horrendous ways. This story is told as a healing process in such a beautiful voice.