Rating: 
Summary: This book will stay with you forever!
Review: "I Heard the Owl Call My Name" is a gorgeous book! It definitely has a slow start, and the language can be hard to get used to, but slowly but surely you fall in love with the Kwaikutl tribe!
Rating: 
Summary: "I Heard the Owl Call My Name" was a very well written novel
Review: "I Heard the Owl Call My Name" was book that was sort of hard to understand but as the book went on it related to quotes from earlier chapters. For example the quotation about the "swimmer" on page 47 was not understood until I fiqure out later in the book that it was a metaphor to the life and death of Mark Brian. I believe this novel clearly explains how people sterotype Indians and how Mark changes because of their culture and beliefs. As Mark came, the people of Kingcome are not in favor of Mark but as the novel went on their relationship became closer and finally when he dies Marta says "...go on to the land of Our Lord"(155). Our Lord shows that Mark has become one of them.
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Summary: I Heard The Owl Call My Name
Review: 'The Owl Called My Name' was very enlightning because I am really interested in other cultures and their customs. This book is about a dying priest who is sent to an isolated Indian village to learn more about the native culture. What he doesn't know is that he is being sent there to get ready to die. Even through he does no know about the oncoming death his journey through this book is full of suspense ofr him. At first he is rejected and basically ignored by the natives in their usual treatment of the whites. Acturally he experiences the quiet resistance the natives are so good at. Then as he learns to adjust to the new way of life and starts learning more about the natives he is slowly excepted into their society where few whites enter. He soom realized the young Indians. are being taken in by the white world and he wants to help the elders put a stop to it because he wants the old native cultures to live on. The author of the book, Margaret Craven makes the book come alive for her readers. I like the way she describes the surroundings of the places. In a novel most authors write description more about the characters then the surroundings. But this author is unique and using a different writing style. Instead of describing the characters physical appearance she described the appearance of the surroundings itself, so I get a clear picture in my head about where the events took place. The author herself is an Indian so she is sure what she is talking about. Although she was an Indian woman, she wrote it with the eyes of a white person. I would recommend this book to anyone of any age who likes to read and is interested in learning about different cultures and their customs. There is no age limit to this book. So buy this book, take it home and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: A simple, sweet story about Native American Culture
Review: A simple, sweet book about the interaction of a white priest and an Alaskan Native American tribe. Enjoyable for it's low-key approach and as a character study. Tony Hilerman fans will enjoy this if they do not mind that this is not a mystery.
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Summary: The dying candle burns brightest
Review: A young Anglican vicar, Mark Brian, is sent to a remote Indian village on the western coast of Canada, and there he unobtrusively does the job he is sent to do. He is a quietly burning candle of his faith. He joins into the life of the community and the people of the village accept him. There he finds his people, his home and his final resting place. He is a swimmer."'Come, swimmer,'" he [Mark] said. "'I am glad to be alive now that you have come to this good place where we can play together. Take this sweet food. Hold it tight, younger brother.'" Then, for the first time, the watchful waiting left the Indian's eyes and he said eagerly, "How did you know that? Where did you hear it?" "It's a prayer your people once said to the salmon, and I read it in a book written long ago. The hook was called 'younger brother.' The halibut was called 'old woman.' When your people pulled a halibut into a canoe, they said, 'Go, old flabby mouth, and tell your uncles, and your cousins, and your aunts how lucky you were to come here.' But they spoke with respect of the salmon and they called him 'swimmer.'" "The salmon is still the swimmer in our language, and I can remember my grandfather speaking to him as you do now. I had forgotten." "Do you see him enter the river often?" "No, not often. He enters usually at night." "And in the end, does he always die?" "Always. Both the males and the females die. On the way up the river the swimmer will pass the fingerlings of his kind coming down to the sea. The want to go and are afraid to go. They still swim upstream, but gently, letting the river carry them downstream tail first, and the birds and the larger fish prey upon them to devour them, and pretty soon they turn to face their dangers." "And when they reach the open sea?" "Then they are free. Nobody knows how far they go or where. When the time comes to return, their bodies tell them, and those hatched in the same stream separate from all the others and come home together. And in the end the swimmer dies, and the river takes him downstream, tail first, as he started." --p. 44-45
Rating:
Summary: The dying candle burns brightest
Review: A young Anglican vicar, Mark Brian, is sent to a remote Indian village on the western coast of Canada, and there he unobtrusively does the job he is sent to do. He is a quietly burning candle of his faith. He joins into the life of the community and the people of the village accept him. There he finds his people, his home and his final resting place. He is a swimmer. "'Come, swimmer,'" he [Mark] said. "'I am glad to be alive now that you have come to this good place where we can play together. Take this sweet food. Hold it tight, younger brother.'" Then, for the first time, the watchful waiting left the Indian's eyes and he said eagerly, "How did you know that? Where did you hear it?" "It's a prayer your people once said to the salmon, and I read it in a book written long ago. The hook was called 'younger brother.' The halibut was called 'old woman.' When your people pulled a halibut into a canoe, they said, 'Go, old flabby mouth, and tell your uncles, and your cousins, and your aunts how lucky you were to come here.' But they spoke with respect of the salmon and they called him 'swimmer.'" "The salmon is still the swimmer in our language, and I can remember my grandfather speaking to him as you do now. I had forgotten." "Do you see him enter the river often?" "No, not often. He enters usually at night." "And in the end, does he always die?" "Always. Both the males and the females die. On the way up the river the swimmer will pass the fingerlings of his kind coming down to the sea. The want to go and are afraid to go. They still swim upstream, but gently, letting the river carry them downstream tail first, and the birds and the larger fish prey upon them to devour them, and pretty soon they turn to face their dangers." "And when they reach the open sea?" "Then they are free. Nobody knows how far they go or where. When the time comes to return, their bodies tell them, and those hatched in the same stream separate from all the others and come home together. And in the end the swimmer dies, and the river takes him downstream, tail first, as he started." --p. 44-45
Rating: 
Summary: Never re-read!
Review: All right. This book I didn't choose to read it. I got stuck reading it for and English class! Well the first chapter was confusing. Then after that it became more understandable but it is still not a very good book. I would never of chosen this to read on my own!
Rating: 
Summary: The Message was too Complicated
Review: Although this isn't the kind of book that I usually enjoy, I found myself liking it. Through most of it I thought it was boring and obvious, but at the end I realised that I really felt something for the character. After reading it, I thought that the message and theme were straightforward and simple, but after reading the reviews on this page, I discovered that it isn't so. I studied this book and the author at length. It seems that many people who have read the novel got completely different things out of it. Under some circumstances that would be a good thing about a novel, but not here. Margaret Craven was saying something specific, and many people didn't understand it. (As well, some people were somehow under the impression that Margaret Craven wasn't white herself. That also contributed to their view of the novel). To summarize, this may not be as well written a book as I thought it was. The message must have been too unclear...it's not for everyone, because not everyone will understand it.
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Summary: Changes your outlook on life.
Review: As I finished reading this book the grandeur and emotion hit me hard. This is a beautiful piece of writing that takes you deep into the heart of a remote indian village, and the young vicar sent as a missionary there. If you made it through this book with out even giving the way you live your life a second thought I highly suggest that you read it again because you obviously didn't get the meaning. The young vicar is sent to the village to learn an important lesson about life. While he is there he is excepted into the village and finds that the simplicity of the village is being ruined by the ways of the white man. The myths and traditions that are usually passed down through the ages are being forgotten because no new generations wish to learn them. In this extrodinary tale you see into the world of Mark Brian and the small indian village he learned to love and call home.
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Summary: This book is very interesting as long as you have patience.
Review: At first when I began to read this book I thought it was going to be forever boring. Due to the fact that Margaret Craven had to set the tone for the book, she could not just jump into the climax, which I fully understand. There is also a factor that in order to understand the climax you have to build with the basic information. In other words once you get through the first chapter the book doesn't seem so bad. To me the book almost symbolized the cycle of life and death. In my honest opinion if you really like to read about different civilizations and you have a good amount of time and patience than this book is absolutly for you. ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!
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