The Orenda

This was a great book that gives a realistic portrait of what it was like to be on the frontier of North America during the Beaver Wars, fought between the Iroquois-English-Dutch and the Huron-French for control of the vast territory and trade in Quebec, Ontario and Norther New England. I am American born , but 100% French-Canadian in heritage and really am fascinated by this area of history so automatically I love these types of books. Geneology tells me that through my dad I have ancestors who lived in the Troise Riviere area of Quebec in the early 1600s and I love to travel up there. I just love Old Quebec City and when I roam those narrow streets I fantasize about adventures there in the 1600s. So I am probably not the most objective person to review The Orenda but I will try. Firstly, Joseph Boyden gives a very accurate description of the deep , passionate devotion that Jesuit missionaries of the 1600s had and he gives a very sympathetic portrayal of these guys. Christophe, Gabriel and Isaac seem like real French people who just happen to love God and want to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to people they lovingly view as living in spiritual darkness. They are not patronizing in their mission and display real love in how they interact with the Wendats ( Hurons). Contemporary literature usually presents such folks as self-serving religious fanatics and usually these types of characters have deep psychological flaws. Not Boyden's missionaries , who are painted as 3 dimensional real people with perhaps fantastic but genuinely magnanimous aspirations for the people they serve. The whole issue of European colonialism is presented but not as a cardboard cut-out to vilify but as an historical reality to accept. Having read all 5 of The Leather-Stocking Tales by James Fenimore Cooper I noticed some significant similarity between his long and admittedly at times tedious novels and The Orenda. All the greatness of Cooper's stories is here-- the magnifigant landscapes, pristine lakes and rivers, the abundant wildlife are all integrated into a setting in the Orenda which is wonderfully described by Boyden and the reader feels like he is there . The breath-taking dangerous encounters between the Indian tribes and with pioneers are also described in gripping detail much like one experiences in Cooper's tales. But Cooper's biggest failing was in his very unsuccessful attempt to recreate the phonology and body language of the indigenous peoples' language and mannerisms. Mark Twain had a field day mocking Cooper in this aspect of their craft. Joseph Boyden is very intelligent to just avoid even attempting to imitate the language of the indigenous characters and lets them use a pretty modern contemporary dialect that we can understand and is just a little different enough so we can suspend belief and accept as authentic to them. That is a clever tactic and I am sure this strategic aspect of the writing of the novel is very important to it's success. Another cool aspect of the book is Boyden's character Gosling who though a somewhat secondary person in the narrative is described in great detail . Boyden descibes her as at times as a likeable but also an almost malevolent demonic power who deeply intimidates the Jesuit Christophe Crow and she validates his worldview that sees these indigenous people as not so simple children but mature souls controlled by personal powers of darkness. The scenes where Gosling exerts her deep magic and genuine occult powers are pretty scary. So , this is a wonderful book, well-written with some complex fascinating characters, with an exciting plot all presented in a rich historically accurate physically magnificent natural setting.

Brilliant! Magnificent! Loved it! The Orenda is a wonderfully researched and detailed historical fiction novel that plunks you in the heart of 17th century Great Lakes territory when the Huron-Wendat and Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) were at the peak of war. A time when missionaries (Black robes), at their own personal risk, traveled to Huron territory, lived amidst the Wendat in longhouses aimed to convert them to Christianity. Not only did they bring their foreign God, but European maladies as influenza, smallpox, and measles which killed many of the Wendat, depleting their warriors, and perhaps the reason the Iroquois devastated them in numbers, uprooting the Wendat from their homes.The Orenda is told from the perspective of three narrators, Bird (A Huron Warrior), Christophe Crow (French Jesuit missionary), and Snow Falls (a young female Iroquois captive of the Wendat Indians) and their entwined lives on treacherous jaunts through dense woodlands, escapes from enemies on treacherous rivers, and day-to-day existence together on the Wendat settlement as Crow tries to convert each to Christianity, a religion the Wendat people mock and never fully accept.The growing relationship between Bird and Snow Falls sometimes overshadows the war and unimaginable bloody tortures of captives. Snow Fall hates Bird for killing her family and often inflicts her own physical and mental pain on him. Bird adopts Snow Falls as his daughter after his family was killed by her people. Their relationship strengthens with time from disdain to one of genuine love. Their relationship revolves around the missionary, who Bird despises and worries Snow Fall will succumb to his religion. Bird’s animosity and Snow Falls acceptance of Crow fuels the story as much as the war threating to undo them all. Mr. Boyden has created memorable characters you will either love or hate in a time when life was tenuous at best.The Orenda is not a novel for the faint of heart. The Huron and Iroquois, known for their savagery during war, inflict gruesome torture on their enemies which Mr. Boyden has captured accurately along with other historical information. For lovers of historical fiction, I highly recommend this novel. Mr. Boyden, thanks for the riveting read!

The Orenda is a first contact story. The story is told through three narrators: the fierce Wendat tribal leader & warrior Bird; Snow Falls, the Iroquois girl he takes as his daughter after killing her family; and Christophe, a Jesuit missionary who ventures into the Canadian wilderness in search of converts. It’s a brutal existence for all involved.The writing is excellent and the story keeps you reading. I really enjoyed this novel, one that I’ve been eager to read for quite a while. While there are many unforgettable moments in this book, the second to last chapter is one of the best I’ve ever read.“Humans, in all their many forms, are an unruly bunch, prone to fits of great generosity and even greater meting out of pain.”“I say that humans are the only ones in this world that need everything within it. But there is nothing in this world that needs us for its survival. We aren’t the masters of the earth. We’re the servants.”I highly recommended this novel, it is a satisfying read.Seek out good books & enjoy.~ BJ

If you know anything about the history of native peoples and their encounters with Europeans, this will read like a familar tale i.e contact was the beggining of their demise. Despite that, this is a masterfully written work which will keep you interested from the first page until the last.

I found it a little slow to get into but once I was past 50 or so pages, I found I couldn't put it down.A very eye opening and deep read.

Was really well written

This fascinating book is narrated by, and follows the lives of, a Jesuit priest and two native Canadians and their tribes, at the time when early European settlers were attempting to convert the natives to Christianity.The author writes well, realistically conveying a sense of time and place, though some of the dialogue seems a little modern for the period described. Characters are generally well drawn and the often harsh landscape is brought to life with reverence.The author doesn't shy away when it comes to describing violence and the well established practice of torture between the tribes at the time. Some of the torture scenes are extremely graphic but all are integral to the tale and perfectly illustrate the profound cultural and spiritual differences between natives and settlers. I'm not sure how historically accurate this portrayal is butI enjoyed this book and have already purchased another of the author's titles which I look forward to reading.3 Stars

This appears to be a well researched book containing lots of detail about the lives of the priests and the Native American characters. The chapters alternate between several characters as narrators, and here I felt was the main weakness of the book. Conversations between two native Americans could have been between a couple of Victorian gents ( referring disapprovingly to the young girl as " like a wild animal" didn't ring true ) and I sometimes found it hard to quickly identify which character was speaking as the chapter began. Given we had a young Native American girl, a French priest and two mature Native American men as narrators it really should have been easier to work out who was who. The details of torture didn't seem gratuitous as they were central to identifying the void between the two groups' world views.The action scenes are well written and there is a good pace to the story. In think it conveyed the loss of a civilisation very well as well as the motivation of the priest in trying to save the souls of the heathens.