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The Porcupine Year (2008)

by Louise Erdrich(Favorite Author)

4 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0060297875 (ISBN13: 9780060297879)

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

HarperCollins

review 1: Somehow I missed this when it came out. This is Erdrich's third book in the series tracing the life of an Ojibwe girl Omakayas (and her brother Pinch, renamed Quill) in the 1850s, as their family is forced by the American governmnet to relocate. The parallels to Laura Ingalls Wilder are obvious, and although I loved those books, these are exceptional, and include Erdrich's own illustrations. The Ojibwe (Chippewa) family life as presented is full of humor, love and empathy, including respect for elders and compassion for the less fortunate. The approach to women's bodies is healthy, and the genders seem quite equally balanced. Ma Ingall's adage that "the only good Indian is a dead Indian" is turned on its head. All I can say to Louise is "miigwech, nimikwenimaa" (thank you,... more I am pleased.)
review 2: Two years after Omakayas and her family were forced to leave their island, they still haven't found a new permanent home. The Porcupine Year follows them through another year as they make their way north.[return][return]These books just keep getting better and better. I definitely liked this one best of all. It was a lot more of an adventure story than the first two.[return][return]Apparently there will be more books in the series, but considering the author's note says the next one will be about Omakayas's children, these three do make their own trilogy. less

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