The Orenda by Joseph Boyden

from goodreads

3 stars

Well, something happened this week that hasn't happened all winter. I wasn't sure it was ever going to happen, but it did. I shoveled the drive way.

Gasp! I know. It was shocking to me too. But one day you wake up from a previous day of rain to a blanket of lovely fluffy snow. It's time to get the snow pants out and and do some serious shoveling. Miss P "helped" for a bit but she only lasted about 5 minutes and then was ready to head back in. But I kept going. I figured I might as well get my work out for the day in.

Some people complain about shoveling snow. And I can understand that. It is a lot of work, and you are probably going to have to do it again, especially when the plow goes by, and, really, who likes having to do menial labour for free? But when you really think about it, shoveling is a great way to get cardio and strength training in without having to get to the gym. You work up a sweat and you have a sense of accomplishment when you are finished. Seriously, what's not to like. And perhaps, as a treat, you can drink some hot chocolate and curl up with a book. Doesn't that sound nice?

Synopsis

This looks at the fall of the huron nation through the view of three people. Bird, a Huron warrior/leader who is very respected in his village; Snow Falls, an Iroquois girl who Bird captures as revenge for his own family who were murdered by the Iroquois; and Christophe a Jesuit Priest who is trying to spread the word of God to the people.

My Thoughts

I wasn't sure what I was exactly getting into with this book, but I did like it.

I liked the approach that Boyden used with the 3 voices to tell the story. I think it helped to get unique views on what was going on and what motivated them. In away it helped to round out the story.

With books like this it would be easy to show bias or assign blame to a particular group. Boyden did a great job in presenting a balanced story. It was fair to all sides, showing the good and the bad, and in the end it was merely a story or telling of what happened, not an opinion piece.

I did find the book dry and slow moving at times. Sometimes the events overlapped or were repeated because we were getting the others points of view. And really, I found it an easy book to put down. It took me a long time to read partly because another book caught my eye, so I would take a break. I guess it just wasn't thrilling.

The history of this story is important to read and understand. The story is beautiful and rather epic. Just don't expect to be riveted from page one to the end.