Review: Well--researched and detailed Canadian historical novel
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 15, 2014
I recieved a copy of Cartier's Ring in exchange for an honest review.This is a well researched historical novel depicting life and conflct between various Canadian Indian tribes, and their trade and transactions with the early French explorers and traders in the 16th century.The first part of the novel tells the story of Myeerah, a young girl who is a ‘foreigner’ in her tribe, and whose ‘husband’ is taken to France, and never seen by her again, while she is kidnapped by her birth tribe. The second part, continues with Myeerah's story jumping forward in long strides, until she is finally seen as an octogenarian grandmother.I found the different names of tribes and people, very confusing. I thought too many characters were mentioned. Also, I didn’t feel I got to know any of them very well. Another confusing aspect was the constant change in narrator, which was first person for some characters and third person for others. The action chops and changes quickly between tribes, and to the French ship, and crew. Ultimately, there was too much information packed into too few pages. A brief introduction with a map and some basic historical information would have been helpful.I think someone who is interested in Canadian history might be drawn into the story, but I found it very hard to relate to the characters and follow the story line.