May 2018 - The Last Report on the MIracles at LIttle No Horse

[Almeta]

I actually finished this book on May 4th. Thought I'd get my comments in early for a change, but totally let the month go by without making any.

I did not like the book. I was confused by double and triple identities and by untranslated Ojibwe quotes . Reading other comments, I decided I must have missed something very important. Did I snooze through something?

Here at the end of the month (as usual), I am giving the book another try. And am keeping track of everyone's names. Let's see how it goes second time around.☻

[Almeta]

Prologue
Father Daimien's (view spoiler)[letters to a long line of popes certainly shows tenacity! Now over one hundred years old, I imagine this will be his last letter to the pope. (hide spoiler)]

Why does he (view spoiler)[call himself an imposter? Is it his loss of faith? or (oh my) woman's breasts under Ace bandages? (hide spoiler)]

Sister Leopolda Puyat (view spoiler)[(not entirely dead?) What does that mean? (hide spoiler)]

Part One the Transfiguration of Agnes
Chapter One
Can't imagine Sister Cecelia's (view spoiler)[ very expressive music causing emotional reactions in other convent residents. And she affected often to sexual ecstasy (hide spoiler)]

Berndt Vogel too (view spoiler)[became mightily affected by Agnes' passions. He certainly went above and beyond in the "gentlemanly abstienence" department. (hide spoiler)]

Arnold the Actor Anderson (view spoiler)[must have been quite a performer to have his victims laughing BEFORE he killed them! (hide spoiler)]

Can't believe (view spoiler)[the sheriff, Slow Johnny, shot Agnes! (hide spoiler)]

What a terrible (view spoiler)[way to die...slowly into the mud. (hide spoiler)]

Pleased that (view spoiler)[Agnes kept the bank money AND inherited the farm. (hide spoiler)]

Father Hugo (view spoiler)[sweating blood? Is there such a condition? (hide spoiler)]

Chapter Two
Nothing like a (view spoiler)[flood to change the direction of a life, without having the angst of decision and hesitation! (hide spoiler)]

Who was the man (view spoiler)[that fed Agnes and slept beside her after the flood? Supposed to be Jesus? (hide spoiler)]

THE Father Damien Modeste (view spoiler)[didn't survive the flood. How very convenient. Not going to miss him! (hide spoiler)]

Chapter Three
Confused by the reference (view spoiler)[to the OLD Father Damien. Thought Damien was dead. Took me a while to figure out that Agnes took his identity. (Should have remembered the prologue revelations.) (hide spoiler)]

Father Jude Miller's (view spoiler)[Vatican-initiated inquiry into the proposed sainthood of Sister Leopolda Puyat must have been a cruel blow for the ignored Damien. (hide spoiler)]

Mary Kashpaw (view spoiler)[must have plenty of stories to tell. (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah]

I am surprised you are reading it again Almeta if you didn't like it the first time. I hope it's better this time around.

[Cherie]

Almeta wrote: "I actually finished this book on May 4th. Thought I'd get my comments in early for a change, but totally let the month go by without making any.

I did not like the book. I was confused by double a..."

I was disgruntled about the lack of translation of the Ojibwe quotes too.

What did you think you missed? I read through your spoilers in the message below and agree with your comments.
re Father Hugo (view spoiler)[ I believe the fever he was one of the hemmoragic kind - I think that is why this was indicated as sweating blood (hide spoiler)]
re the man (view spoiler)[ I thought he was supposed to be Jesus, yes (hide spoiler)]

It looks like I will not get the book back before the end of the month, but I will finish it when I do. There is no hope for me to get my alternate book read because I was finishing Circe.

[Cherie]

Sarah wrote: "I am surprised you are reading it again Almeta if you didn't like it the first time. I hope it's better this time around."

I think this is a book that could be read more than once. It took me three times to get all of the way through One Hundred Years of Solitude and get all of the characters straight. There are several cases in Little No Horse that feel very much like OHYoS.

[Janice, Moderator]

I finished the book while on holidays. My feet swelled because of the heat and travelling and I spent a few hours in a yoga pose with my feet up the wall, so I was able to get some reading time in.

I'll be back tomorrow to read spoilers and comment. I'm really tired right now and my own sweet bed is calling to me (the best thing about coming home).

Almeta, I'm glad to hear that you are willing to give it another chance. Hopefully, the second reading will help clear some things up for you.

For some reason, the Ojibwa quotes didn't bother me. It felt natural to read the language untranslated. It's how Agnes would have heard it when she first arrived and before she understood it.

Okay - back tomorrow to read and comment.

[Sarah]

Don't forget to report your read in the reporting thread in order to get a badge.

[Cherie]

I downloaded the audiobook version from my daughter's library a few minutes ago. I hope I will be able to listen at work tomorrow!
The narrator is the same person that narrates the Barbara Holloway series books. Sweet!

[Sandra, Moderator]

I couldn't renew my copy, so I guess I am going to resume it at some point this summer. Probably I will start it all over again, really.

Janice, glad to see you gave it 4 stars.

[Janice, Moderator]

Overall thoughts about the story -


(view spoiler)[ I'm not sure I'd define this book as magical realism. There were some interesting things that happened, but it seemed more in keeping with the lore of the Ojibwa peoples.

As the story progressed, it became apparent that most of the Indian people knew that Father Damien was a woman, and they didn't care. It would have been more an issue for the Church.

Agnes relationship with Gregory was sad. It was thrown away misguidedly in my opinion. When I was reading the chapter where they talked about the sin they were committing, I reflected on the damage that religion has done. Who was it decided that sex was dirty? What constitutes marriage? I remember my dad saying that the act of intercourse is what binds a couple - just that they weren't "churched". Somewhere, we went off track about the whole issue of sex, love, relationships, commitment, respect. The MeToo movement really sheds light on the illness. I think I'd better stop while I'm ahead.

I liked that Agnus and Nanapush became such good friends. He's a bit of a trickster. It was rather funny how he threw it out there that he knew she was a woman, just to throw her concentration off on the chess game.

I found some sections very funny, and others extremely sad. This author sure knows how to play with our emotions. It was horrible when Lulu was torn from her mother and sent to the residential school. That it was her mother's choice was such a huge betrayal.

I thought Father Jude was going to recommend that Sister Leopolda be granted sainthood, but his pen seemed to have a mind of it's own and would write the truth in spite of the spin he was trying to put on her "achievements". I thought it interesting that he would recommend Father Damien instead. (hide spoiler)]

There are so many details in this story, that it begs for a re-read. I shall move on to other books though. My tbr is out of control.

[Laura (Lclwags)]

Listening to the audio book and trying to finish it today. There is so much detail and so many characters! I can't decide if I like this book or not, my opinion changes frequently as I listen.

[Janice, Moderator]

I hope you can finish it today, Laura. Be sure to give us your impressions and what you like or dislike about the story.

[Cherie]

Laura - I am also trying to finish the audiobook version. I am laughing. The audiobook says this is track 19 and my bookmark indicates 95.64%. (view spoiler)[I cannot believe Agnes is going to go on vacation and drown herself and pin the bag of money to her chest to convince anyone who finds her body - if it floats up, to re-submerge it or bury it. I can definitely understand why she does not want to be discovered, pawed over, and talked about when she dies. It will be bad for the church, but some of the Indians already know, and totally accept it. (hide spoiler)]

Father Jude (view spoiler)[writing his story about Sister Leopolda - it was too fantastical that he would even consider trying to convince anyone that she could be considered for Saint Hood, and then he started thinking about Father Damien. I had wondered about this. I thought somewhere it had been mentioned that FJ had been sent to determine "someone's" Saint Hood. I always thought someone had to be dead before they could be considered. Now what - he has to wait for FD to die?I am still waiting to see where his love of/for Lulu is going to go. (hide spoiler)]
Mary's story (view spoiler)[It was really hard to hear some of the conversation between Mary and Father Jude, but it was interesting to hear her side of the story, finally. I felt sorry for her for so long! (hide spoiler)]
Father Damien (view spoiler)[I know that this is all mixed up, but the dog visitation again was very interesting. And then everyone thought FD was drunk the next day. (hide spoiler)]... back to listening. It is so sad now.

[Janice, Moderator]

I forgot about the black dog. (view spoiler)[ That was rather creepy, and I haven't quite decided what that was all about.

I googled and found this: "A black dog is a spectral or demonic entity found primarily in the folklore of the British Isles. The black dog is essentially a nocturnal apparition, some of them shapeshifters, and are often said to be associated with the Devil or described as a ghost or hellhound. Its appearance was regarded as a portent of death."

That fits in well with its portrayal in the story, but it was like mixing folklore. This one is from the British Isles, and yet it's being told in a Native American setting. Does the book ever say where Agnes was from? (hide spoiler)]

[Janice, Moderator]

In case anyone is interested, I found this site with discussion questions. It may help you analyse the story more.

[Cherie]

I finished the book. Wonderful!

The end notes were very interesting!

I really enjoyed listening to Anna Fields. I think I might listen again!

[Janice, Moderator]

Woohoo! I'm glad you finished, Cherie and I look forward to your comments on the last bit.

[Cherie]

Almeta - I saw your post in the reporting thread. I had to finish listening to the audiobook after my ebook expired and I can definitely say that the dates and timelines are more difficult to pick up on in the audiobook. It is easy to miss the subheadings too, and I believe this caused some of your confusion with multiple names. Although I finished the book yesterday, I still want to get the ebook back to finish "reading" the ending again.

Being able to stop and review the text that was just read and think about comments and write spoilers, I think helped me. I agree that there was a lot going on, and with the time line and people's stories going back and forth, it was confusing.

I am listening to the beginning of the story again, and the audiobook brings a whole different feel to the story. I like Anna Fields and her ability with voices, but it "feels" flat and monotone.

[Cherie]

Re the end of the story (view spoiler)[I was surprised when Gregory came back, to hear that he had stayed a Priest after he left Agnes. I was so relieved when Mary rowed over to the island and took care of Father Damien's remains. I could not figure out just how he was going to manage everything after he sat and started drinking. Oh, and did the Pope finally send Father Damien a letter - after he had died? (hide spoiler)]

Re the end notes (view spoiler)[I did not quite get the letter - from the church? about the author of the Indian stories? It was hard to figure out, exactly, on the audio - maybe I was just wishing it would get over with so I could say I was finished and my ears were listening but my head wasn't.. Was it supposed to be from THE Pope? (hide spoiler)]

[Janice, Moderator]

Re: End notes - (view spoiler)[ He did eventually get a letter from the Pope, but I think it arrived after he died.

The letter from the Vatican in the end notes that talked about the writer Louise Erdrich was a bit confusing and I'm not sure exactly what that signifies. She says she included the letter because it shows the responsibility she has as a writer. I'd have to read that section over again, but it's like she's implying that she received divine knowledge of the events by means of dreams, I wondered if she wrote the book based on these dreams and then wonders if they were actually true. I think it just adds to the magical quality of the story.

Rambling here. (hide spoiler)]

[Cherie]

I sent the audiobook back to the library this morning and just got a notification that I can download the ebook again.

When I listened to the beginning- re Agnes' Transformation (view spoiler)[ "as a man, Agnes had to remember not to lick her finger and reach up and smooth her eyebrows". I don't remember if I caught that when I was reading but it really tickled me listening to the audiobook. I think I do it every morning when I'm driving to work! (hide spoiler)]

[Janice, Moderator]

I can't say that I've ever done that, Cherie. I remember my mother doing that to me all the time. LOL!

Are you starting over from the beginning, or will you pick up where you left off.

[Cherie]

I listened to the whole book, but I will finish reading where I left off in the text. Yes, I know how it ends, but I want to make sure I did not miss anything else.