A Council of Dolls
A story told through the eyes of three young girls, each a generation apart, struggling with the impacts of colonialism on Yanktonai Dakota families. The book opens in 1969, with young Sissy navigating a confusing and sometimes dangerous relationship with her mother. We then fall back in time to the 1930s, where we witness Lillian and her sister experience the horrendous treatment given to students at a residential school far from home. Then we join Cora, born in 1888, when they send her across the country to “educate” away her native ways. On the way, she will befriend Jack, a boy who will shape her life and those of her children.
For a time, each of the three girls possesses a doll that can read their hearts, communicate with their souls, and possibly save them at their worst moments. In the last section of the book, Sissy is reunited with the dolls, who once again work their magic to save her from the trauma inherited through many generations of women. The unique structure of storytelling works well in the first few parts. While I liked the idea of the dolls coming together in the end, the last section of the book felt quite different and a bit disconnected from the earlier sections.
Power’s writing is evocative, emotional, and heartrending. Told in the first person from a child’s point of view, her narrative brings you right into the confusion and long-lasting pain that each woman endured. It obviously should come with a trigger warning for a broad range of traumas, and I recommend preparing yourself for the difficult emotions it will evoke. That said, it is such a beautifully written story that touched me deeply. Highly recommended.
