On The Page: "A Yellow Raft in Blue Water"

"A Yellow Raft in Blue Water" by Michael Dorris (1987)

I just read this book after years of encouraging from my mother, and on the recommendation of another friend. While I'm sorry I put it off so long, I also tend to think that books find you at the right times. And this was definitely the right time for me to find "Yellow Raft." Simply put, what an amazing book. It is definitely one of the best novels I've read in the last few years. In addition to being moving and very readable, it's also (as many a critic has pointed out) amazing that a man could narrate the lives of three women in such a truthful way. A powerful story of three generations, "Yellow Raft" is (to me) a book about the misunderstandings in families, the complications of relationships, and the power of understanding, love, and forgiveness.

The book follows three generations of Native American women living in the mid-to-late 20th century. Through the unique voices of each, we learn more about their secrets and the motivations behind previously inexplicable decisions we have seen them make. I'm trying to let this book sink in instead of plowing onto the next tome. Having recently been at a three generation family reunion, I have been steeped in thought about the ways that, while being critical of previous generations, we must also accept that we will never know the full reasons behind the decisions that shaped us.

Another note in conjunction with this book: Michael Dorris was married to the author Louise Erdrich and, sadly, committed suicide in 1997. Having just finished his masterpiece, it is heart-wrenching to think that someone so talented could have been so tortured as to take his own life. However, his book also shows how finely attuned he was to the lives of those around him. To be so aware, so bare to the world, undoubtedly must have taken a toll. What a complex life he led...