Flamboyant fresco in three voices: that of Christopher young French Jesuit that Indian call "Ravens", the leader Bird Huron and finally that of Snow young Iroquois Falls woman captured in a raid conducted by a party of Hurons under orders Head of Bird who pass the massacre the whole family of the young woman.
On a bright writing and poetry imprint Joseph Boyden draws us into a face to face taut like the string of a bow between the Jesuit missionaries and Indian tribes. These same missionaries will undoubtedly spearhead of the invasion of settlers and thereby the destruction of the Indian civilization.
The author makes the customs of Native Americans made us discover their traditions and way of life, and therefore the mind blowing and unbelievable cruelty that they could demonstrate towards their prisoners! What entitles a few scenes of unimaginable torture!
We are witnessing the elimination of Huron faithful allies of the French, with their ancestral enemies the Iroquois allies of the English. They already outnumber were abundantly equipped with firearms by the English, while French was unavailable muskets to their Indian allies sparingly and still has those who deigned to convert!
This book is a great big novel that student Boyden among the geniuses of American literature like Harrison or late James Welch other Native American author to which one can only think that reading this book.
PS: Amanda Boyden Joseph Boyden's wife signed also an excellent novel titled "Waiting for Babylon" which I highly recommend reading.
