The Orenda by Joseph Boyden

The Orenda by Joseph Boyden

This book had everything going for it, but boy did I suffer reading through it. Set in 18th century New France (Northern America), it focuses on three main characters: Bird, a Huron war leader, Snow Falls, a young girl he abducts from the Iroquois in retribution for an Iroquois war party killing his wife and daughters, and Christophe, a Jesuit priest sent in the wild to convert the Hurons. The depiction of native american culture is fantastic and immersive, and the story, while predictable, is interesting in its developments. I think my problem with the book was a combination of pace and possibly style. I just could never really lose myself in the story, so it took me weeks to get through to the end. I'm not even sure I should not recommend it on that basis, I just think it didn't work for me. Still, it's made me dig up Colonial Gothic, so it can't be all that bad.