Reviews tagging 'Dementia'

Das Leuchten der Rentiere by Ann-Helén Laestadius

18 reviews

gingerbirder's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative relaxing slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Hmm. This one was a slow mystery and not a ton happens. Still, it is a rich narrative with a lot of intersecting stories of Sami life. The tension at the center was clearly a metaphor for larger issues and gave an emotional context to cultural erasure. The narration was beautiful too. 
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evas_library's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I read this book on a recommendation by a bookseller based on my wish for a "wintery read for my holiday in Lapland, it's okay if it's a bit more bleak" - and boy, did the book deliver! I have rarely read a book that was such a precise fit for the circumstances under which it was read, or for what I wanted from it (definitely a testament to great booksellers in general).
Not only was the story gripping and the characters complex and interesting, but I also learned so much about Sámi life, history, and culture. At the same time, this knowledge didn't come across as a lecture but was shown through the daily life of the characters, their conversations, and reflections. It was also incredibly nuanced in its discussion of contemporary problems, which I appreciated. It was particularly fun for me that I could immediately apply and expand this knowledge in real life.
Another thing I appreciated was how the setting of the seasons related to the progression of the story, making it a very wintery read but not getting stuck there and serving as a metaphor.
What I didn't like so much was a lot of the conflicts in the book could have been solved if people just SPOKE to each other, even a tiny little bit - I know this is kind of the point and serves as social commentary itself, but to me, it makes for an extremely frustrating read. 
Overall, a great read and a clear recommendation.
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oliveyou814's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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tdap1899's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I had such high hopes for this book which I think is where I ran into issues. I wasn't expecting a multi-POV and I'm still undecided if some of them were necessary. The first part was quite slow and hard to get through, but picks up in the second and third parts. You can tell the author really went the extra mile to make sure you understood the Sami people from their language to their culture which was interesting to learn about. Even small details like the chapter titles being the number in Sami. There were some story aspects I was disappointed in, but overall I think the main story was good. There just seemed to be too many subplots partially because of the multi-POV. 
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ruthmoog's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective tense medium-paced

4.75

Somehow this book brings souch complexity and intersectionality, into a clear perspective. It's topical and political, whilst being heartfelt and expressive, reflecting on the impacts of racism, animal cruelty, sexism, mental health, climate change, cultural change, childhood trauma, corruption... And it's told in such an open honest way, without romanticising Sámi or first Nations people.

I think the story will stick with me like a 5* read.
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corsetedfeminist's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book reminds me of an Appalachian ballad: filled with love of the land and culture, family, purposefully ineffective police, murder, and grief. 
It details the coming of age of a Sami girl, beginning on the day she finds her reindeer butchered by a neighbor who is not a tribe member. The rest of the books shows her growing up, the changes in her family, and her ongoing battle to force the police to treat the slaughter of her tribe’s reindeer seriously. 
It begins with a deeply traumatized little girl, and ends with an even more traumatized, but brave and determined woman. I think Elsa is one of the most honest characters I’ve read in awhile, which comes with the author’s comfort with showing a story that doesn’t have a happy ending. The police never really come to care about the concerns of the Sami, climate change is affecting the village they live in, her family is deeply dysfunctional and everyone in her family has mental health issues, and the future of the reindeer herds is still up in the air… but there she stands, strong, proud, and tragic. 
This isn’t a story of overcoming trauma, it’s a story about how sometimes life is just messed up and we have to survive it. 
Beyond the raw beauty of the portrayal of Elsa and her family and friends, the racism and oppression of the Sami people is in stark contrast to the deeply loving portrayal of Sami culture in a way that makes the descriptions of oppression hit even harder, such as the scenes where Elsa’s grandmother’s dementia causes her to relive her days in boarding school. 
In short, this is a poignant story about Indigenous suffering and grief, but still balanced with strength and somehow not without hope. 
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haileyhardcover's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

August 9th is World Indigenous Peoples’ Day. In anticipation and observance of the holiday, I’ve been spending some time learning about the Sámi people. The only indigenous people of Europe, the Sámi’s ancestral lands are in an area known as Sápmi, spanning the north of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and part of the Kola Peninsula in Russia. During my research, I stumbled upon this book.

Stolen tells the story of Elsa, a young Sámi girl who witnesses the poaching of a beloved reindeer, Nástegallu. This traumatizing event is only the beginning for Elsa, as she grows up and continues to witness against racism and xenophobia, unchecked mental health struggles in her community, climate change, and ever-present threat to their reindeer and, thereby, their very ways of life.

Strong TW for animal torture and death. At several points, I had to just put this book down and cry after reading some of the descriptions; but I still think they were important to include. Though technically fictional, Stolen is inspired by real events, and these are horrific experiences that Sámi   reindeer herders experience. 

There is more than just trauma in these pages, though. While portraying the very real struggles that the Sámi experience, Laestadius, a Sámi woman herself, also clearly wrote this as a love letter to her culture and community. We get wonderful glimpses into culture, food, clothing, tradition. Though my Swedish didn’t come in handy very often, I enjoyed learning some new Sámi vocab words as well!

If you’re looking to broaden your knowledge of other cultures, I highly recommend Stolen. Before I was even halfway through, I pre-ordered Laestadius’ next book, Punished, which is also inspired by the true events of Sámi children taken from their families to state-mandated “nomad schools” - Scandinavian versions of the residential schools that Native American children were forced into in the US and Canada. 

Netflix has adapted Stolen into a movie which was released in April of this year. I’ll be spending my afternoon watching the movie!
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symmetra's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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geerbeer's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Heftige omschrijvingen, maar wauw! Voor iemand die de cultuur niet kent is het ontzettend leerzaam en je voelt enorm mee met de personages en dieren in het boek. Elke keer was ik weer in 'awe' over hoe mensen toch prachtig in verbinding kunnen staan met de aarde, haar flora en fauna en al zo snel zien dat het klimaat naar de klote gaat. Ontzettend mooi!
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cariboukai's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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