This is an interesting book. Having been interested in Native American history and "history" and comparing/contrasting the two for a long time (the difference between the two being history = native perspective and "history" = European/white american perspective) this book was an especially interesting read for me- it's not entirely explicit which viewpoint the author writes from, sometimes I feel that it's "history" but other times it's unclear. Interesting historical fiction, I like the format of putting the story directly into the voices of the two characters. ( )

Living in upstate New York, I’ve grown up surrounded by the history of the Haudenosaunee (the Iroquois Confederacy). Always fascinated by the history of this area’s native people, over the years I have heard bits and pieces of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha’s life. I’ve driven past the shrine dedicated to her. My sister even has friends who are working to promote Katheri’s canonization by the Roman Catholic Church. Even without that background, I would have enjoyed “The Reason for Crows” by Diane Glancy. It is a fascinating, though fictional, introduction into the world of Mohawks and Jesuit Missionaries through the eyes of Kateri and the priests surrounding her. Often reading more like poetry than prose, the short highly descriptive thoughts and imaginative dreams of Kateri have an air of reality about them. They feel as if they could have been the thoughts of someone learning a foreign language and learning to love a foreign god. As the story moves from ,what is known today as New York, to Quebec along the St. Lawrence River, you can’t help but feel that you are gaining genuine insight into her culture, her physical challenges and her spiritual journey. I highly recommend “The Reason for Crows” to anyone with an interest in Kateri Tekakwitha, the Haudenosaunee, or Jesuit Missionary interactions with Native Americans. ( )

Beautifully written, but somewhat oblique. When reading this it helps to think of it almost as a prose poem, rather than straightforward historical fiction. Definitely worth a read for people interested in Kateri Tekawitha, as so little has been written about her; others may find it baffling (my mother did.) ( )

This was not at all what I was expecting, from the description. A slim volume of traded-off first-person narrative excerpts, the language is heavy and poetic, easily overwhelming an attentive but unprepared reader. The language asks to be spoken in long monologues in a dark theater, a spotlight highlighting just one speaker at a time. All sections are very stream-of-consciousness in construction and language.

I'm missing too much background information on Kateri Tekakwitha, and Catholicism, to get as much out of this book as is there. It does not stand alone, but contains power for anyone in the know. I can't rate the book, because I feel too far out of its intended audience - and therefore unable to judge it on its own terms.

I really anticipated the arrival of this book from the Early Reviewers Group. I have an ongoing fascination with the relationship between Native Americans and Europeans as the Americas were being colonized and, essentially, subdued by the Europeans.

Glancy wrote this book as an historical fiction which takes the form of interspersed journal entries by Kateri Tekakwitha and a number of Jesuit Priests. While it may be initially challenging for readers to follow the format of the material, Glancy effectively presents the levels of frustration and desire of all parties involved in the story. She also weaves a wonderful dichotomy between the aboriginal belief system of the Algonquin and Christianity. The juxtaposition of black-robed Jesuits and crows is wonderful.

However, she chose a story (and genre) that seems extremely difficult to portray in terms of language and individual voice. Disappointingly, she fell far short in her task of combining educated French-speaking priests and an illiterate Native American, in an English journal format. The erudite language used for both the educated and uneducated in this book keeps it from suspending disbelief. Though the language was decorative and descriptive, it was also distracting and disruptive to the story. ( )