Motorcycles And Sweet Grass (2010) - Plot & Excerpts
'Motorcycles and Sweetgrass' is geared toward a younger audience with the occasional adult reference. It constantly feels scripted and at times choppy. The characters feel real some times and at others, very contrived, with the situations they are in often exaggerated. Still, this books touches on important events in Native life, and my favourite part would have to be where Drew includes his audience into his culture by sprinkling bits of the Anishnawbe language into the read. An easy enough read for when you're looking for something light and a bit informative. My love of Aboriginal magic realism continues with Motorcycles and Sweetgrass, a buoyant tale of a 13-year-old boy, his overworked mom and a stranger who rides into the reserve on an Indian Chief bike. Drew Hayden Taylor is able to explore the tough topics of residential school abuse, native land claims and the uneasy relationship between reserves and their non-native neighbours in a voice that is both empathetic and just a touch mischievous. In other words, human. Which is just the right tone to strike when your telling the story of Nanabush, the trickster of Aboriginal stories. His one's a great one. Pick it up, take it out from the library (I did) and enjoy.
What do You think about Motorcycles And Sweet Grass (2010)?
3.5 stars I'm not sure why I waited so long to read this book. Loved the story and the characters.
—AllieDoll28
Wisdom, humour, sadness, magic, humanity. And not necessarily in that order. I loved this story.
—204414262
What a great read. A wonderful story with characters you want to know more about.
—Reena
