So,
historical fiction. Usually not my cup of tea, but I dig it at times. Mom has
been recommending this book to me for years, for it’s “sympathetic realistic
portrayal” of the Native American characters and the “writing full of emotion”.
Yeah, uh, spoiler alert, neither of them are here.
The story
follows the grandmother of Cynthia Ann, a girl who, at young age, gets
kidnapped during a Native American raid on their fort. This is because
the main character and her family are a bunch of colonizers. It details how
“Granny”, the main character, confronts the loss of her granddaughter and how
she eventually comes across Cynthia Ann again.
There’s just a whole bunch of problems with this book. First
things first, this is a terrible portrayal of the Native Americans. It is full
of offensive racist stereotypes, they are portrayed as ruthless and horrible
people, no sympathy for them is shown, etc. I also am pretty much devoid of
sympathy for the main character. She’s a colonizer, I’m not having sympathy for
that. None of this would’ve happened if you hadn’t invaded and bothered the
Native Americans like you did.
What else? The writing style. It. Is. Dull. For a story
that’s supposed to be full of emotion, this is one dreary boring slog to get
through. Japin has one of the least accessible and interesting writing styles
I’ve ever encountered. There wasn’t a point in this book where I didn’t feel
like putting it down. I honestly only finished it out of spite and no other
reason.
This isn’t a long review, but it needn’t be. The point I try
to get across is simple. Definite new least favorite book. Not recommended.
I read the Dutch version, called De Overgave. I heard there is an English
release, too, but to this day can’t find what exactly the English title is and
if it is even still available. Either way, be glad if there isn’t even an
official English release. Skip out on this one.
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