Book Review: A Council of Dolls by Mona Susan Power
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Rating: 4.5⭐️
Revolving around themes of Native American history, heritage, identity, trauma and healing A Council of Dolls by Mona Susan Power tells the story of three generations of Native American women spanning the nineteenth century to the present day.
The narrative is presented to us from the first-person perspectives of Sissy (Jesse), Lillian and Cora. Also sharing their perspectives are the three dolls that bear witness to the sorrows, loss and trauma these three women during their childhood years – their friends, companions, confidantes and source of strength in difficult times- Sissy’s doll Ethel, Lillian’s doll is a Shirley Temple doll she calls Mae and Cora’s is a buckskin doll named Winona.
“We've had forces working to get rid of our culture and beliefs, our way of living, for many generations now.”
Sissy’s mother Lillian is a strong woman, an activist with a volatile temperament whose childhood experiences, both in her family and in school, have cast a long shadow on her present family life. Growing up in 1960s Chicago, Sissy was too young to comprehend that her Lakhota/Dakhota parents belong to a generation of indigenous people (and those who came before them) who were forced to attend schools meant to strip them of their language, their identity and their roots.
Lillian’s mother, Cora is a loving presence in Sissy’s life but has had a difficult life, growing in the Standing Rock Indian Reservation amid tremendous upheaval in the wake of the killing of Hunkpapa Lakhota leader Sitting Bull, and her experiences in an Indian residential school and troubled marriage to Jack, Lillian’s alcoholic father.
“We're used to white folks telling us how lucky we are that they are in our lives, telling us we didn't know how to live until they came along. We're used to being made feel dirty, backward, feeble-minded, lax in our conduct, nasty in our manners-just one tiny hair from being a beast in the zoo.”
The narrative begins with a glimpse into Sissy’s childhood and a tragic loss, the impact of which follows her into adulthood. The following sections follow Lillian’s and Cora’s stories and are set in the 1920s and late 1800s, respectively. In the final segment of the story, we meet Sissy who is now in her fifties and has changed her name to Jesse, as she collates the stories of her mother and grandmother to understand how their experiences are tied together and their experiences have impacted their family through generations – an endeavor that proves to be a cathartic experience that paves the way for personal healing.
I finished this book a few days ago and have been thinking about it ever since. Needless to say, this is not an easy read. Combining fact and fiction, the author has poured heart and soul into a narrative that is powerful in its simplicity, matter of fact yet intimate, insightful and thought-provoking. The use of magical realism and related symbolism to trace the impact of generational trauma in a Native American family through the eyes of the dolls who were their companions is unique and interesting. Initially, the three narratives set years apart, felt a tad disjointed but eventually the three threads are woven into a cohesive and profoundly impactful narrative that highlights Native American history, beliefs and ‘lore and the impact of colonization, the atrocities inflicted upon generations of indigenous people including war and massacres, indoctrination and the horrific treatment meted out to children in residential schools for Native American children and the hardships generations of indigenous people have endured to preserve their history, culture and heritage.
In her Note, the author talks about her extensive research, her family history and the real people and events that inspired this novel. Overall, I found this to be a heart-wrenching, informative and impactful read that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to those who enjoy character-driven fiction rooted in history.
Many thanks to Mariner Books for the gifted copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
“We've learned that healing the present doesn't only clear waters flowing into the future, recovery also flows backward and alleviates the suffering of ancestors. So they can settle down their tears in dark memories, their guilt and shame, their vengeance. And because Time is our relative, a flexible being that moves through every thought and memory, branching into a million rivers of possibility, healing even one of its streams will eventually heal the world.”
The narrative is presented to us from the first-person perspectives of Sissy (Jesse), Lillian and Cora. Also sharing their perspectives are the three dolls that bear witness to the sorrows, loss and trauma these three women during their childhood years – their friends, companions, confidantes and source of strength in difficult times- Sissy’s doll Ethel, Lillian’s doll is a Shirley Temple doll she calls Mae and Cora’s is a buckskin doll named Winona.
“We've had forces working to get rid of our culture and beliefs, our way of living, for many generations now.”
Sissy’s mother Lillian is a strong woman, an activist with a volatile temperament whose childhood experiences, both in her family and in school, have cast a long shadow on her present family life. Growing up in 1960s Chicago, Sissy was too young to comprehend that her Lakhota/Dakhota parents belong to a generation of indigenous people (and those who came before them) who were forced to attend schools meant to strip them of their language, their identity and their roots.
Lillian’s mother, Cora is a loving presence in Sissy’s life but has had a difficult life, growing in the Standing Rock Indian Reservation amid tremendous upheaval in the wake of the killing of Hunkpapa Lakhota leader Sitting Bull, and her experiences in an Indian residential school and troubled marriage to Jack, Lillian’s alcoholic father.
“We're used to white folks telling us how lucky we are that they are in our lives, telling us we didn't know how to live until they came along. We're used to being made feel dirty, backward, feeble-minded, lax in our conduct, nasty in our manners-just one tiny hair from being a beast in the zoo.”
The narrative begins with a glimpse into Sissy’s childhood and a tragic loss, the impact of which follows her into adulthood. The following sections follow Lillian’s and Cora’s stories and are set in the 1920s and late 1800s, respectively. In the final segment of the story, we meet Sissy who is now in her fifties and has changed her name to Jesse, as she collates the stories of her mother and grandmother to understand how their experiences are tied together and their experiences have impacted their family through generations – an endeavor that proves to be a cathartic experience that paves the way for personal healing.
I finished this book a few days ago and have been thinking about it ever since. Needless to say, this is not an easy read. Combining fact and fiction, the author has poured heart and soul into a narrative that is powerful in its simplicity, matter of fact yet intimate, insightful and thought-provoking. The use of magical realism and related symbolism to trace the impact of generational trauma in a Native American family through the eyes of the dolls who were their companions is unique and interesting. Initially, the three narratives set years apart, felt a tad disjointed but eventually the three threads are woven into a cohesive and profoundly impactful narrative that highlights Native American history, beliefs and ‘lore and the impact of colonization, the atrocities inflicted upon generations of indigenous people including war and massacres, indoctrination and the horrific treatment meted out to children in residential schools for Native American children and the hardships generations of indigenous people have endured to preserve their history, culture and heritage.
In her Note, the author talks about her extensive research, her family history and the real people and events that inspired this novel. Overall, I found this to be a heart-wrenching, informative and impactful read that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to those who enjoy character-driven fiction rooted in history.
Many thanks to Mariner Books for the gifted copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
“We've learned that healing the present doesn't only clear waters flowing into the future, recovery also flows backward and alleviates the suffering of ancestors. So they can settle down their tears in dark memories, their guilt and shame, their vengeance. And because Time is our relative, a flexible being that moves through every thought and memory, branching into a million rivers of possibility, healing even one of its streams will eventually heal the world.”
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