Mariner Books
A Council of Dolls
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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.
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Book Details
ISBN:
9780063281097
EAN:
9780063281097
Binding:
Hardcover
Pages:
304
Authors:
Mona Susan Power
Publisher:
Mariner Books
Published Date: 2023-08-08
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A Council of Dolls covers almost two hundred years in the lives of Indigenous women, from the ancestral lands of the Lakota to twentieth-century Chicago. Readers learn of the lives of Sissy (born 1961), Lillian (born 1925), and Cora (born 1888) in part through the stories of the dolls they carried.From life on their ancestral lands to Indian boarding schools to inner city Chicago, I found this book to be compulsive reading and, at times, emotionally draining.
I loved this book! Women's stories as important, and those of Indigenous women even more so. Sharing their experience through their relationships with their dolls, gave an insight to the continuing struggles of the most invisible of our citizens.
A beautifully written book about the power of art, mysticism, and the imagination to heal.The story follows three generations of native women through their suffering and survival of oppression.
Got this for my space for my students and they love it so much it hasn't returned LOL
Shirley Temple, Barbie, Ken, Cabbage Patch - the NA use of dolls is more than playing pseudo-Mommy. This is a unique story; you will not look the same at an Indian doll in a museum after reading this.
