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Summary: Inescapable Connections
Review: Although Grass Dancer is no suspense novel, Susan Power's utilization of literary techniques keeps her readers guessing as they turn the pages of her novel. In the first chapter, Power introduces Harley, the lonely teenager who loses his father and brother before he is born. Because of this introduction and the involvement of Harley in the next chapter, one would imagine that Grass Dancer will focus primarily on this sullen boy. However, Power's text twists and turns, giving new depth and dimension to other interesting folks like Jeanette McVay, Mercury Thunder, Pumpkin, Herod Small War, and his mother, Lydia, just to name a few. Thus, with each of these new points of view, the narrator modifies the reader's initial impressions of a character. The reader also understands that one person's story cannot exist without incorporating the rest of the community into his or her narration. How could one explain Lydia and Evie's circumstances without including in the account Mercury Thunder and her awful past? How does the disappearance of Charlene's mother make sense until Crystal can clarify her actions? This notion of community overcomes any time barrier, as seen with Red Dress. Though she is a figure of the past, she continues to affect her people, asserting that, "I am a talker now and I chatter in my people's ears until I grow weary of my own voice" (p. 282). She transcends worldly constraints to reach her people and affect them with her story. Though she is dead, Red Dress' sense of community remains in tact, and she makes sure that it is felt by her descendents. Above all, Grass Dancer is an excellent read for anyone remotely interested in the Dakota culture. Power's use of dialogue and varying points of view give richness to the text that helps the reader join into her community's intertwining stories. Happy reading!
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Summary: I ENJOYED THIS COMICAL, HEARTWRENCHING, INSIGHTLFUL BOOK.
Review: ANYONE CAN AND WILL ENJOY THIS WONDERFUL BOOK. I WAS TOTALLY ENGROSSED IN THE MAGICAL AND MYTHICAL WEAVINGS OF THE STORY, I TRULY HATED TO LEAVE THE CHARACTERS BEHIND AND AM LOOKING FORWARD TO READING MORE OF POWER'S WORK.
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Summary: Several hours of life that I will never get back...
Review: First off this book was very well written. I have met the author and she is a very intelligent woman. However despite her intelligence and writing ability, this book was terrible. The entire book is a soap opera, the characters sleeping with one another and then blaming their actions on someone else's black magic. Would I recommend it to anyone? no.
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Summary: My favourite novel this year
Review: From the first page I couldn't put this book down. I found Power to be a gifted storyteller, weaving threads together expertly, and drawing me ever on. It was a magical blend of realism and mysticism, of a community, and a state of mind, with such wonderful characters. The book dealt with several tragic situations, and a different writer could take any one of them and wring the heartbreak out of it, and dwell on the pain and conflict that results. Instead I was left with the feeling that all really is well with the world, that there are greater forces at work, and that things may not exactly happen for a reason, but that generally, stuck in the middle of a situation, we are not seeing all of the facts or the wider issues. We can't see the bigger picture, and we can't know if any given situation will ultimately end up being good or bad for us. I will definitely be looking out for more of her work.
Rating: 
Summary: didn't like it
Review: I didn't like this book very much, it skipped around way too much! I chose to read it because I thought it would be a lot more like the ancient indians were, roaming the plains and all, but instead, it was more sexual than anything. It reminded me of a soap opera, and it had no point! Why couldn't she put the years in chronological order? It was very confusing!! And maybe if the chapters were a little shorter. My attention span didn't keep with the storyline, which was almost non-existant. What exactly was the book trying to prove or teach us? It's obviously Ms. Power's first book!
Rating: 
Summary: Good read!
Review: I enjoyed this book a lot. It is a bit rough in places, and reads better as a set of short stories than as a novel, although the stories do build on each other and you need to read them all to follow where Power is heading. The characters are well done, especially Mercury Thunder and her daughter. I enjoyed the dreamy atmosphere, but I think I would have appreciated a bit more of the other aspects of Sioux culture besides visions and witchcraft... Power hints around about some of it, but I would have appreciated a bit more. I recommend it!
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Summary: Talented writing and intriguing story
Review: I found this book interesting because of the amazing ways in which Powers is able to weave together several different people, stories, and time periods with beauty and intrigue.... I liked the ways in which every little detail isn't explained, but left up to the reader to decipher this amazing story of a history bound in a people of the present and future.... wonderful!
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Summary: Susan, is wonderful!! We need to hear more from you soon!
Review: I have given this book or loaned this book to many friends! And they have all loved it. The imagery is fabulously written and the characters development is extremely interesting. This is the kind of book I want to experience again and again. My only complant is that we haven't had another book from Ms. Power. Please write more!
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting subject matter; writing a bit sparse
Review: I read GD as part of my book club in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. I thought the subject matter was incredibly interesting. It was one of my first exposures to Native American lore. I also thought the story line and relationships between characters were entertaining. That said, I think there was something missing. I wanted to read more lyrical prose (sorry for the cliche). The subject matter, especially the mysticism, seemed to warrant it. At times I felt it was a very well-researched romance novel. It seemed that Powers just needed someone to urge her to go deeper into some of the descriptions and to give us a few more surprises in the plot.
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Summary: Thumbs up!
Review: I recently was assigned The Grass Dancer for my Native American Literature class. I must say that this is a fantastic book. All of the characters are beautifully crafted. The stories of each character, such as Anna Thunder and Lydia Wind Soldier give the reader real insight as to why each character behaves in a particular way. The loss that the various characters suffer does not fill me with sadness, but gives me hope that they will see each other once again once they leave this world. The backwards progression of time brings Harley Wind Soldier to a place that allows him to fill the hole over his heart. This story displays the vivid and very much alive culture of the Dakota Sioux. Susan Power does a wonderful job of creating a world that is true and completely fictional all at the same time. I would definitely recommend this book to other people.
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