Year Three Book Four:
Green Grass Running Water by Thomas King
January 28th, 2016
Amy: 5 out of 5! Again, sending in my thoughts from a gate at an airport. I read this book in 2009 in university and still love it 7 years later. The story line with Lionel and his "heart condition" seemed like classic comedy to me. And Latisha's restaurant reminded me of a Corner Gas episode and again I giggled out loud to myself.
Some little things I picked up the second time around were the four Indians were referred to as Mr. Black, Mr. Red, Mr. White, Mr. Blue which are sometimes the colours used in the medicine wheel, which I thought was humorous subtly. Other things like the 3 guests at the Dead Dog restaurant called "Louis", "Ray" and "Al" are subtle gabs at colonization and perhaps a way to lighten tension between various relations!
Other thoughts I had were regarding how water played such an important part in all the story lines and connecting them. Is this a reference to Genesis? This was always a theological question for me when reading the beginning of Genesis " God hovered over the water" but if that was the true beginning of time, where did the water come from? Who made it? Did God just find it there by happenstance? Is this King's attempt at offering an explanation?
Also, do the four Indians represent the notion that God's or Deities could make mistakes or be fallible (4 Indians in the car with Norma and Lionel explaining that they are going back to Blossom to fix things they should have ages ago)?
Overall, I love it! The story can be very back and forth almost as quickly as a tennis match which is always hard for me, but still, 5 out of 5!
Steph: I give this book 4.5. I found the story engaging and the story and structure were very tightly composed. I love the way he weaves the native symbolism and myths together with white/christian symbolism and myth. The way he is able to juxtapose these two worlds really emphasizes the fluidity of native storytelling and culture as opposed to the rigidity of white storytelling and culture. I was also really impressed with the cyclic nature that can be found in the composition of the story, as well as the character's lives: Eli goes away and comes home; Lionel loses his way, but comes around; Charlie leaves his father, but goes back to him; Norma replaces Eli and rebuilds the cabin.
I also found the interplay between the genders very interesting. In the white culture, women are for procreation and that is all - they are definitely held inferior to men. However, the Native women are strong female characters. It is only when the women are within the white world that they are considered less or disrespected. There is also beautiful fluidity between the genders: the old Indians are at times both male and female.
It is a tiny bit confusing if you do not have a base knowledge about Native storytelling and imagery, but it does all come together. I hope people are able to stick through the first part of the book and see it all come together and make sense. King's humour and vivid imagery are a well deserved reward for sticking it out.
Lindsay: I was assigned to read GGRW almost 10 years ago, during my first year in college. I remember thinking, “this is weird - who is this Coyote and Lone Ranger and Ishmael and Robinson Crusoe and Hawkeye and First Woman and Thought Woman and Changing Woman and Old Woman and ‘I’?” I was hoping that reading the novel a second time around - especially after reading a few other Aboriginal-based books recently with The Women From Away - would bring more clarity and understanding, but to be honest, I still had a lot of those same questions this time. However, I think I can say with confidence that although there a lot of Green Grass that was still over my head, in terms of symbology, references and humour, I think I grasped onto more than the first time I read it, so I’ll count that as a win!
Allusions aside, I really enjoyed reading about the stories of main characters Alberta, Lionel, Eli, Charlie, and Latisha. I was profoundly struck, moreso than ever before, by the struggle that exists for those searching for the middle ground that exists between Native American tradition and the modern world. The character of Norma brought to my attention my ignorance on the subject, which I am grateful for. I also thoroughly the sometimes subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle commentary on racism, gender issues, and national identity nicely executed by King.
In short, GGRW was a gratifying read for me. Although I know there’s still a lot that was missed on my part, what I did grad onto was very good and incredibly well-written; I was engaged and interested in the personal stories of the main characters. I rate Green Grass Running Water a 4/5.
Lauren: I like how he experimented with his writing. I think it makes reading more challenging. There seemed to be some hidden messages throughout the book, which made it feel like a puzzle in some ways. I found certain parts a little bit frustrating, such as the scenes with coyote. I found that character slightly irritating and those scenes a little hard to follow because I wasn’t sure if they were real people or a figment of someone’s imagination.
Lindsay: I was assigned to read GGRW almost 10 years ago, during my first year in college. I remember thinking, “this is weird - who is this Coyote and Lone Ranger and Ishmael and Robinson Crusoe and Hawkeye and First Woman and Thought Woman and Changing Woman and Old Woman and ‘I’?” I was hoping that reading the novel a second time around - especially after reading a few other Aboriginal-based books recently with The Women From Away - would bring more clarity and understanding, but to be honest, I still had a lot of those same questions this time. However, I think I can say with confidence that although there a lot of Green Grass that was still over my head, in terms of symbology, references and humour, I think I grasped onto more than the first time I read it, so I’ll count that as a win!
Allusions aside, I really enjoyed reading about the stories of main characters Alberta, Lionel, Eli, Charlie, and Latisha. I was profoundly struck, moreso than ever before, by the struggle that exists for those searching for the middle ground that exists between Native American tradition and the modern world. The character of Norma brought to my attention my ignorance on the subject, which I am grateful for. I also thoroughly the sometimes subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle commentary on racism, gender issues, and national identity nicely executed by King.
In short, GGRW was a gratifying read for me. Although I know there’s still a lot that was missed on my part, what I did grad onto was very good and incredibly well-written; I was engaged and interested in the personal stories of the main characters. I rate Green Grass Running Water a 4/5.
Lauren: I like how he experimented with his writing. I think it makes reading more challenging. There seemed to be some hidden messages throughout the book, which made it feel like a puzzle in some ways. I found certain parts a little bit frustrating, such as the scenes with coyote. I found that character slightly irritating and those scenes a little hard to follow because I wasn’t sure if they were real people or a figment of someone’s imagination.
What I liked most was his humor and his writing of the people in
blossom. It was the little things about this book that I felt had the biggest
impact to me and also the most truth. Some examples of scenes I enjoyed – when
she whispers “You are Canadian” to her children after her husband is telling
her all of these negative things in comparison to Americans, scene where Lionel
is discussing how he's going to change his life and the humorous dialogue he
invents with his parents and Alberta, scenes in the restaurant where they were
pretending to serve dog meat to the tourists.
I also really enjoyed the parts of the book that
made me feel the connection to the native spirit and to nature - particularly
where he mentions green grass and running water. It almost touched me in a way!
I felt I got more of a sense for the aboriginal world while reading this book
than I did during the others we have read for book club. I think he was able to
infuse their culture and beliefs into so many scenes in the book that sometimes
I was even unaware that it was happening. He was creative and I enjoyed his
depiction of Canadian aboriginal peoples.
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