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True North
Life has always been difficult and dangerous for those living on and around the Turtle Mountain Reservation. Everyone has a story. Everyone has a secret. Everyone thinks they’re only connected to their neighbors by the isolated, peculiar town they share.
Orphaned Sioux Ida Florence Little Shay is determined to escape the life before her, but her course of action only draws her into a world of increasing conflict and deepening poverty.
Young Fawn Breen appears as if she is from a different century. With her primitive, animalistic father as her only companion, she is forced to look after herself when she is thrust into society.
Harold Peavey is an idealistic young man who finds his views of the world in severe conflict with those around him, facing ostracism by his community when he refuses to abandon his beliefs.
Enduring mistakes, tragedies, secrets, and long-held grudges spanning the 1930s-1960s that have permanently marked them, these three Great Plains farm families clash together as they struggle to survive and find their way in an ever-changing world.
Orphaned Sioux Ida Florence Little Shay is determined to escape the life before her, but her course of action only draws her into a world of increasing conflict and deepening poverty.
Young Fawn Breen appears as if she is from a different century. With her primitive, animalistic father as her only companion, she is forced to look after herself when she is thrust into society.
Harold Peavey is an idealistic young man who finds his views of the world in severe conflict with those around him, facing ostracism by his community when he refuses to abandon his beliefs.
Enduring mistakes, tragedies, secrets, and long-held grudges spanning the 1930s-1960s that have permanently marked them, these three Great Plains farm families clash together as they struggle to survive and find their way in an ever-changing world.
376 pages, Hardcover
Published November 18, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 1, 2022
Ida Florence Little Shay is orphaned as a teen. When she is sent to watch over young girls at a boarding school, Ida Florence is determined to make a better life for herself. However, her decisions along with the current state of the world lead her right back into the situation she came from. Fawn Breen has only ever known the small mud hut that she and her father live in, raising goats and foraging nearby. Once Sidney Breen finds Fawn in the woods, Fawn life changes forever. Harold Peavy can't catch a break since he made a decision in line with his morals. Forced into a life he didn't choose, Harold tries to make the best of what he has been given in the small town of Prophetstown, North Dakota.
True North follows the stories of three interconnected families living along the Canadian Border and the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in North Dakota from the 1930's through the 1960's. The time period and landscape offer a bleak landscape and outlook for the people of Prophetstown. Poverty, racism, and war defined these time periods for the people of Prophetstown. The writing carried a long story over several decades at a good pace. Each family had their own method of survival and holding on to hope. The characters were all bound together by tragedy and sorrow. Some of them used this bond to overcome while some became stuck in their suffering. Each character was written very real, raw and gritty. I wanted to know their stories and was carried through their journeys with each misfortune, setback and trial that they faced.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
True North follows the stories of three interconnected families living along the Canadian Border and the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in North Dakota from the 1930's through the 1960's. The time period and landscape offer a bleak landscape and outlook for the people of Prophetstown. Poverty, racism, and war defined these time periods for the people of Prophetstown. The writing carried a long story over several decades at a good pace. Each family had their own method of survival and holding on to hope. The characters were all bound together by tragedy and sorrow. Some of them used this bond to overcome while some became stuck in their suffering. Each character was written very real, raw and gritty. I wanted to know their stories and was carried through their journeys with each misfortune, setback and trial that they faced.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
December 30, 2021
The book starts with three young unmarried pregnant girls in a small area in rural North Dakota. The entirety of the book takes place between the 1930s and 1960s. All three girls eventually all end up married and they are “related” in some way. There are feuding neighbours in the mix, and a nearby Indian reservation.
The girls: Fawn was raised by her father, extremely isolated, and had never met any other human until shortly before she became pregnant. Ida Florence – I can’t remember her circumstances at the start of the book. Leah liked a nearby boy (one of the indigenous people, I think), but her father did not. Her father was pushing for an unmarried older man, Harold, to marry Leah after she got pregnant.
There are a lot of characters and I (sometimes) found it difficult to either remember who was who and/or who was related to whom in what way(s). It took a long time for me to figure out that these three pregnant girls were not of the same generation. Similarly, I sometimes found it difficult to remember which characters were indigenous or not. There were very few likable characters. All that being said about the numerous characters, the story itself ended up being ok, but it took a while at the start to get “into” it.
The girls: Fawn was raised by her father, extremely isolated, and had never met any other human until shortly before she became pregnant. Ida Florence – I can’t remember her circumstances at the start of the book. Leah liked a nearby boy (one of the indigenous people, I think), but her father did not. Her father was pushing for an unmarried older man, Harold, to marry Leah after she got pregnant.
There are a lot of characters and I (sometimes) found it difficult to either remember who was who and/or who was related to whom in what way(s). It took a long time for me to figure out that these three pregnant girls were not of the same generation. Similarly, I sometimes found it difficult to remember which characters were indigenous or not. There were very few likable characters. All that being said about the numerous characters, the story itself ended up being ok, but it took a while at the start to get “into” it.
February 17, 2022
Eller's _True North_ is not a book that will be embraced by the tourist bureau of North Dakota, for the people he depicts in his naturalistic stories are much like the rest of us, pushed around by circumstances of wealth, race, gender, and geography over which they (and we) have little influence. Both modern and primitive, Eller's hard-bitten families abrade each other in the towns and on the farms on and about the Turtle Mountain, enduring the small triumphs of the few who've bullied their way into positions of petty power over their poor and indigenous neighbors. The organization of the stories eschews the straightforward manner of naturalistic novels and requires readers to associate time, place, and theme--as in the best of Faulkner, Anderson, and Cather. The book offers rich rewards for any reader willing to do the work of understanding the book's stark lives.
A good winter book, Eller's novel powerfully casts its characters and shapes the "true" of their northern settings and situations.
A good winter book, Eller's novel powerfully casts its characters and shapes the "true" of their northern settings and situations.
October 13, 2021
2.5 stars
True North follows Florence Little Shay, Fawn Breen, Harold Peavey and their families as they tackle life in the 1930s to 1960s around the Turtle Mountain Reservation. The book deals with tough topics and there are a few trigger warnings: racism, misoginy, homophobia, rape, murder, alcoholism, mental health issues.
Eller’s descriptions of flora, fauna, daily activities and time passing are captivating. I found Harold to be particularly calming and a constant presence amongst the trauma and found some of the character arcs interesting. Unfortunately, I kept getting pulled out of the story because of some descriptions of characters (mostly those who weren’t white men) and their reactions didn’t make sense to me. I think that the author may have wanted to portray the way misogyny and racism was exhibited in the early- to mid-1900s but the negative reactions that the characters would have felt when experiencing sexism, racism and violence wasn’t always there. That made it very difficult to immerse myself in the story. For example, a young woman is raised in an isolated setting and is very distrustful of others. She has no known experience of sexual violence. One day, when she is minding her own business, she gets raped in a barn by her brother-in-law. She is described by the narrator as thinking ‘little of it’ and finds the experience ‘distasteful’ but soon comes to consider it as another one of her chores. It was very difficult for me to believe that she would have had such a mild reaction to such a traumatic event.
Thank you bhc press for an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
True North follows Florence Little Shay, Fawn Breen, Harold Peavey and their families as they tackle life in the 1930s to 1960s around the Turtle Mountain Reservation. The book deals with tough topics and there are a few trigger warnings: racism, misoginy, homophobia, rape, murder, alcoholism, mental health issues.
Eller’s descriptions of flora, fauna, daily activities and time passing are captivating. I found Harold to be particularly calming and a constant presence amongst the trauma and found some of the character arcs interesting. Unfortunately, I kept getting pulled out of the story because of some descriptions of characters (mostly those who weren’t white men) and their reactions didn’t make sense to me. I think that the author may have wanted to portray the way misogyny and racism was exhibited in the early- to mid-1900s but the negative reactions that the characters would have felt when experiencing sexism, racism and violence wasn’t always there. That made it very difficult to immerse myself in the story. For example, a young woman is raised in an isolated setting and is very distrustful of others. She has no known experience of sexual violence. One day, when she is minding her own business, she gets raped in a barn by her brother-in-law. She is described by the narrator as thinking ‘little of it’ and finds the experience ‘distasteful’ but soon comes to consider it as another one of her chores. It was very difficult for me to believe that she would have had such a mild reaction to such a traumatic event.
Thank you bhc press for an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
October 19, 2021
True North is about rural people living on and near the Turtle Mountain reservation in North Dakota, spanning the period of 1930s to 1960s. I was particularly interested in it because North Dakota is my home state with my ancestors in the state going back a number of generations. The book is a bit difficult to read for many reasons. There are a number of what could be considered main characters and these characters are connected to each other in various ways throughout the book. It is a stark book, not softening the harsh living conditions and shocking activities that occur. To me, it evoked John Steinbeck and even Edith Wharton. While it is a bleak book in so many ways, the story and characters ring true. The imagery is beautiful. I recommend it as a realistic account of life in this place and time.
Thank you to the publisher for an advance copy. The review is my unbiased opinion.
Thank you to the publisher for an advance copy. The review is my unbiased opinion.
October 20, 2021
Gritty and sad. Be prepared for vivid living conditions of Indians, side by side with a white culture during and after the depression. It emphasises all the negative aspects of racism. Finding love in all the wrong places is a natural occurrence and its results are as expected. As we read we are flooded with the work ethic of the Indians which I find to be exaggerated although the living conditions have a hint of truth to it.
October 21, 2021
Harsh, gritty, bleak. This story of survival weaves together the lives of four families living in the Turtle Mountain area of North Dakota. Set across three decades, the reader witnesses the tangled and messy long-standing grudges and generational hardships of these families.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the eARC of this title.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the eARC of this title.
December 31, 2021
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
With excellent description of the area, flora and fauna, the reservation at Turtle Mountain is full of isolated, unhappy people. The harsh life of the native peoples is challenging, and through Florence Little Shay and Fawn Green, we see the bitterness and hopelessness of these first people.
With excellent description of the area, flora and fauna, the reservation at Turtle Mountain is full of isolated, unhappy people. The harsh life of the native peoples is challenging, and through Florence Little Shay and Fawn Green, we see the bitterness and hopelessness of these first people.
February 19, 2022
True North by Gary Eller is the well-written story of a community in the Turtle Mountain Reservation in North Dakota during the 1930s-1960s and of those who live there. Each of the characters struggles to survive and move forward moving past their mistakes, secrets, and long-held grudges. Great read with beautiful description and well-crafted characters!
August 2, 2022
True North weaves a complex social web across generations and achieves a great balance between grounding a work in a specific location and not letting that location overdetermine the characters. The variety of admirable and contemptible actions (sometimes by the same characters) is compelling and persuasive.
July 16, 2023
Under skies of threat and storm on North Dakota lands of stone and dust, the insular characters of this novel survive and interrelate in strange and surprising ways. The story strands in this novel feel surreal at times. Reading this book is a compelling adventure where the expected doesn't happen but the unexpected does.
Set in time before 1970, the story follows three families, their relationships and dark secrets. As in life, good fortune is fickle. I was drawn emotionally to several of the characters, and all of them felt true to life amid the authentic background and landscape.
Set in time before 1970, the story follows three families, their relationships and dark secrets. As in life, good fortune is fickle. I was drawn emotionally to several of the characters, and all of them felt true to life amid the authentic background and landscape.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews