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Book Reviews of A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

A Yellow Raft in Blue Water
A Yellow Raft in Blue Water
Author: Michael Dorris
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ISBN-13: 9780312421854
ISBN-10: 0312421850
Publication Date: 3/5/2003
Pages: 384
Rating:
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 39

3.9 stars, based on 39 ratings
Publisher: Picador
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

37 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on + 17 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
An amazing triad of stories written in the views of Grandmother, Mother and Daughter. One of my favorite stories, it is the tale of Rayona and her life on and off the reservation. Most of the jokes are inside jokes that Native American would understand, but would go undetected by one not familiar with the culture. Heartfelt and tender, this is a book to read and keep to be read over and over.
Yoni avatar reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on + 327 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
What a beautiful touching book. Following three generations of women and their lives on an Indian reservation. The characters are so real and likeable, I became very attached to them. I almost didn't want this to end.
reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on + 19 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
Starting in the present and moving backward in time, this is the thrice-told tale of three women...15 year old part black Rayona, searching for a way to find herself...her American Indian mother, Christine, consumed by both tenderness and resentment toward the people she loves...and the fierce and mysterious Ida, the mother and grandmother whose haunting secrets, ancient betrayals, and undying dreams echo silently through th years, bonding and braiding together the three strands of their shared past===and future
reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on + 412 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
It has been a number of years since I have read this novel, but it remains in my upper stata of favorite books. Beautifully written, compelling characters, an absolutely gorgeous ending. What a loss to the literary world!
reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on + 5 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Excellent and amazing. By American Indian author Michael Dorris, a gripping family tale.
Bonnie avatar reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on + 422 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
It's been years since I read this book, but I remember loving it and being surprised it was written by a man. He quickly became one of my favorite authors, along with his wife, Louise Erdrich. His death was a loss to the literary world.
reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on + 23 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Fun to read and the three main characters are all complex and interesting. I'm recommending this to all my friends.
reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on + 25 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Absolutely loved this book.
The way Mr. Dorris braided the story of the 3 kinfolk women was skillful.
The story gave me a front row seat about life on the reservation.
The main characters were spellbinding. Through Mr. Dorris's writing, he evoked both pity and admiration for their lives from the reader.
I was sorry when I turned the last page.
Teresa-S avatar reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on + 6 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This was a very interesting character study. The author does a great job of getting "into the heads" of each of the three women. Not something you read if you are looking to lighten up, but there is a spark of hope for the human condition in spite of the tragedy. A month after I read the book I can still spend time thinking about it.
reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on + 7 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
A well-written novel about the relationships of 3 women - mother, daughter and grandmother. You learn the stuggles of each generation. It is very thought provoking. A great book.
reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on + 25 more book reviews
This was assigned to my 10th grade son in English class and I picked it up out of curiosity one day and couldn't put it down! Excellent book! I'll be looking to get a copy of my own soon enough!
reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on + 334 more book reviews
I read this book very long ago, but it remains in my mind as a brilliant novel. Three generations of women find that the threads of their lives are tied together with secrets, dreams, and betrayals...as well as tenderness and love. Unusual book, a great read.
MarieSeagull avatar reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on + 19 more book reviews
Mysterious, suspenseful reading.
reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on + 13 more book reviews
Uniquely written.
reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on
One of the best books I've read all year.
reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on + 22 more book reviews
This book was a little difficult to get into, but I'm glad I stuck with it. Good story of 3 women in one family
reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on + 5 more book reviews
I loved this book!
reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on + 11 more book reviews
Well written
a classic...

everyone should read this book
reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on + 12 more book reviews
Great story about 3 generations of Indian women. It moves back in times. There are many hardships but also many joys that occur to the women. Everyone I have recommended this book to have enjoyed it.
reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on + 4 more book reviews
A great story of how a family's life decisions' effects the members of every generation thereafter for years to come. A great insight into the psychological depths of these three characters. A definite page-turner.
jodis419 avatar reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on + 3 more book reviews
Michael Dorris does an excellent job in writing from the perspective of 3 generations of indian women - all with very distinctly different voices.
imperfectveganmama avatar reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on + 13 more book reviews
A shame that this book sat on my bookshelf for many years while I passed it up for more current novels. Michael Dorris drew me in with his vivid, poetic words and captured me with his interesting, multidimensional characters. Dorris begins the story in present day and works back to the past and it works. I dreaded coming to the end of this novel.
reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on + 107 more book reviews
Wonderful, touching, lyrical story of three fascinating women who span the age gamut. One of my favorite books.
reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on + 139 more book reviews
A fascinating look at three generations of the women of an Indian family in the Pacific Northwest. Thoughtful character development.
reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on + 17 more book reviews
Read this in two different book groups about 15 years apart. Enjoyed as much the 2nd time as I did the 1st. Should also read his Cloud Chamber (same characters different generation)>
reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on + 18 more book reviews
Very interesting book. Didn't figure out the secret! Loved how they divided the book into 3 parts with each story.
reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on + 6 more book reviews
Sad and strange stories.
reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on + 12 more book reviews
Excellent story of three generations of women. Told from the youngest to the oldest, each generation holds surprises that the succeeding generation was not aware of. All three are heroic in their own way and misunderstood by the successors.
reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on + 78 more book reviews
How does the experience of one generation affect succeeding generations? A unique generational saga, "Yellow Raft" is related by three voices: daughter, mother, and grandmother. And it proceeds in that order, from the present, to the past, to the far past! The reader's questions are answered in retrospect - wouldn't appeal to everyone, but I found it fascinating. Gave me a new view of life on a Native American reservation.
reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on + 73 more book reviews
Enjoyed this book about a teanager on her own. A different kind of book.
reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on + 34 more book reviews
This is a must read.
reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on + 4 more book reviews
A fascinating story with incredibly interesting characters
reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on + 15 more book reviews
A great multi-generational story of 3 Native American women
mtnpeakmom avatar reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on
Michael Dorris's contemporary classic novel is 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.
reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on + 14 more book reviews
SPELLBINDING
reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on + 279 more book reviews
Great Book
reviewed A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on + 10 more book reviews
The cover of this book is slightly worn. Overall the book is in very good condition.