A Yellow Raft in Blue Water: A Novel - Softcover

Dorris, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312421850 ISBN 13: 9780312421854

Publisher: Picador, 2003

Synopsis

Michael Dorris has crafted a fierce saga of three generations of Indian women, beset by hardships and torn by angry secrets, yet inextricably joined by the bonds of kinship. Starting in the present day and moving backward, the novel is told in the voices of the three women: fifteen-year-old part-black Rayona; her American Indian mother, Christine, consumed by tenderness and resentment toward those she loves; and the fierce and mysterious Ida, mother and grandmother whose haunting secrets, betrayals, and dreams echo through the years, braiding together the strands of the shared past.

About this title

About the Author:

Michael Dorris's adult fiction includes The Cloud Chamber, The Crown of Columbus, coauthored with Louise Erdrich, and the story collection Working Men. Among his nonfiction works are The Broken Cord, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award, and a collection of essays, Paper Trail.

From AudioFile:

Critics have described Michael Dorris's acclaimed debut as a braid: Each life is one strand interwoven to create a whole. To uphold that imagery, Barbara Rosenblat becomes three women in one for this production. She begins as Rayona, a teenager experiencing growing pains while dealing with her mother's illness. As Christine nears death, mother and daughter return to the reservation. With ease, Rosenblat switches from the higher, innocent voice of young Rayona to the gruffer, brassy voice of Christine, a woman who has always acted impulsively on her heart's desires. The final third of the book is Ida's story, the past that brings truth to the present. While her Native American inflection does not sound authentic, Rosenblat fittingly uses a deep, cold, snappish tone to convey the matriarchal character. Three strong women, one strong voice tells their story. M.M.O. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: Picador
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0312421850
• ISBN 13: 9780312421854
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384