The Orenda

by

Published Sept. 10, 2013 by Hamish Hamilton.

ISBN:
978-0-670-06418-2
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5 stars (2 reviews)

In this hugely acclaimed author’s new novel, history comes alive before us when, in the seventeenth century, a Jesuit missionary ventures into the wilderness in search of converts—the defining moment of first contact between radically different worlds, each at once old and new in its own ways. What unfolds over the next few years is truly epic, constantly illuminating and surprising, sometimes comic, always entrancing, and ultimately all-too-human in its tragic grandeur.

1 edition

reviewed The Orenda by Joseph Boyden

Review of 'The Orenda' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I think this is my favourite Boyden tale. While Three Day Road is, perhaps, a better written book, this is a story closer to my heart: a tale of early contact between First Nations and Europeans and the devastating effects of disease and cultural change that contact wrought. It is a tale of the beautiful worldviews and complex social structures of the Ouendat, and the brutality of their warfare with the Haudenosaunee. As usual, Boyden doesn't pull any punches in his descriptions of the horrors people can face, and that makes this a difficult read, at times. However, it is Boyden's talent for bringing events to life that make his work so compelling.

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5 stars