From the mid-century metropolis of Chicago to the windswept ancestral lands of the Dakota people\, to the bleak and brutal Indian boarding schools\, A Council of Dolls is the story of three women\, told in part through the stories of the dolls they carrie d....
\nSissy\, born 1961: Sissy&rsquo\;s relationship with her beau tiful and volatile mother is difficult\, even dangerous\, but her life is also filled with beautiful things\, including a new Christmas present\, a doll called Ethel. Ethel whispers advice and kindness in Sissy&rsquo\;s ea r\, and in one especially terrifying moment\, maybe even saves Sissy&rsquo \;s life.
\nLillian\, born 1925: Born in her ancestral lands in a ti me of terrible change\, Lillian clings to her sister\, Blanche\, and her d oll\, Mae. When the sisters are forced to attend an &ldquo\;Indian school& rdquo\; far from their home\, Blanche refuses to be cowed by the school&rs quo\;s abusive nuns. But when tragedy strikes the sisters\, the doll Mae f inds her way to defend the girls. \; \;
\nCora\, born 1888: Though she was born into the brutal legacy of the &ldquo\;Indian Wars\,&rd quo\; Cora isn&rsquo\;t afraid of the white men who remove her to a school across the country to be &ldquo\;civilized.&rdquo\; When teachers burn he r beloved buckskin and beaded doll Winona\, Cora discovers that the spirit of Winona may not be entirely lost...
\nA modern masterpiece\, A Council of Dolls is gorgeous\, quietly devastating\, and ultimately hopeful\, shining a light on the echoing damage wrought by Indian boardin g schools\, and the historical massacres of Indigenous people. Mona Susan Power weaves a spell of love and healing that comes alive on the page. Reg ister now to join the conversation! \;
\nAbout the Author
\n< p>Mona Susan Power is an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Her novel\, A Council of Dolls\, was longlisted for the National Book Award and the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction. She is the author of three previously published works of fiction\, The Grass Dancer\, which won the Pen/Hemingway Prize\, Sacred Wilderness\, and R oofwalker. Her short stories have been published by The Atlantic Monthly\, The Paris Review\, The Best American Short Sto ries\, and more. Mona is a graduate of Harvard and the University of Iowa Writers&rsquo\; Workshop. She lives in Saint Paul\, Minnesota.\n< hr />\nBrought to you in partnership with the Library Speakers Consortium. Visit our site to see all events\, register and e xplore recordings of past events.
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