A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

Rating:
Summary: Excellent story telling
Review: Dorris has captured a very intrinsic feature of the Native American way of life. Not including the way native american women feel and talk, but with the men in the story who played minor roles in a major way. The interweaving of three stories of Ida, Christine and Rayona clearly reveals the way the three women actually see their lives and their situaion. Loved it....It was easy to feel the emotions of the women due to Dorris excellent narration.

Rating:
Summary: Real women
Review: You'd never believe this book was written by a man. The feelings of these three women are incredibly realistic and insightful. Their story moved me to, I couldn't put it down. I'd recommend this book to any women, and men who can handle real women.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best books that I have ever read!
Review: As an incoming Harvard University freshman, I fell in love with the novel. Dorris captured the heart and soul of all three women and created a story that will soothe the mind of anyone who reads it.

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Summary: Looks Interesting!
Review: I have to write a simple composition on the content of this book. I didn't read it. I will depend on the mother information highway to assist me on my quest for a college degree. Then I will laugh at all of you.

Rating:
Summary: Could be better
Review: Michael Dorris seemed to forget that the audience that he tried to affect are young adults, not full grown adults. To me, the book was hard to understand and at times, I lost interest. Overall, I think that the author should have done a lot more to keep my interest.

Rating:
Summary: This book was AWESOME!!!
Review: I read this book for a summer reading project. At first I thought it sounded dumb, but I got into the book so much that I couldn't even put it down. I definitly recommend this book to anyone. It was very enjoyable!!

Rating:
Summary: A story told by three different generation.
Review: Three generation of women with three different perspective but with the same settings. Told story with their own experiences and their view of one another. The best thing about this book is the hidden secrets from one another.

Rating:
Summary: A commentary on the lack of communication in families.
Review: An all too familiar commentary on the lack of communication in families that leads to generational dysfunction. A good but sad book as so much of the pain of the characters was within their own power to alleviate.

Rating:
Summary: A great hand-sell book
Review: Pop fiction at its best. I normally wouldn't have picked this book up--I tend to read "classic" literature as opposed to contemporary or pop lit--but this was recommended highly by a friend. Dorris, like Wally Lamb, has an uncanny feel for women at different stages of their lives; Rayona, Christine, and Ida all feel terribly real. They take their bumps and bruises, and we observe this with the same schadenfreude with which we listen to our own friends' adventures. Beautifully written, with a decent amount of plot twist, it's time well spent. I'll read more by Dorris.

Rating:
Summary: It's definitely worth the pain
Review: I can imagine that there are people who won't like this book simply because it doesn't have a happy ending. To those people I say it is worth the pain. Some of the characters have no redeeming qualities, and the sheer poverty and hopelessness of life is spread thickly throughout the stories of their lives. In the end, however, there is an answer, a reason, that even if it doesn't allow for forgiveness, allows for understanding. And it's worth it in the end.