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Michael Dorris
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A Yellow Raft in Blue Water: A Novel Paperback – March 5, 2003

by Michael Dorris (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 284 ratings
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Michael Dorris has crafted a fierce saga of three generations of Native American women, beset by hardships and torn by angry secrets, yet inextricably joined by the bonds of kinship. Starting in the present day and moving backward, the novel is told in the voices of the three women: fifteen-year-old part-Black Rayona; her American Indian mother, Christine, consumed by tenderness and resentment toward those she loves; and the fierce and mysterious Ida, mother and grandmother whose haunting secrets, betrayals, and dreams echo through the years, braiding together the strands of the shared past.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    384 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Picador
  4. Publication date
    March 5, 2003
  5. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.96 x 8.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0312421850
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0312421854
  8. Lexile measure
    920L
  9. See all details
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The Amazon Book Review
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Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Earns admiration from first page to last...Suspenseful, constantly gripping, original in its characters and settings, and finally, profoundly moving.” —People

“The writing here is powerful and deeply evocative of scene and place. Michael Dorris has created a set of characters so real that they seem to acquire lives of their own, almost, off the printed page.” —Mademoiselle

“Dazzling.” —San Francisco Chronicle

“Spellbinding.” —Los Angeles Times

“Memorable...Marvelous.” —The Washington Post Book World

“Vivid, intense...straight from the heart.” —Newsday (New York)
-- Review

About the Author

Michael Dorris' fiction includes A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, The Cloud Chamber, The Crown of Columbus, coauthored with Louise Erdrich, and the story collection Working Men. Among his nonfiction works are The Broken Cord, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award, and a collection of essays, Paper Trail.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Picador; First Edition (March 5, 2003)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0312421850
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0312421854
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 920L
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.9 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.96 x 8.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 284 ratings

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Michael Dorris

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
284 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Emily Arellano
5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite book
Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2017
Verified Purchase
This is a lovely read. Three stories weave together flawlessly and force you to look at situations from another person's perspective. Each character is severely flawed and you see why they react they way they do in each situation in the following story. From Rayona's story it is very easy to hate Christine, and from Christine's story it is each to hate Ida. But you don't because when you hear it from their point of view you realize why they made the choices they did. (However, no matter who is telling the story, you will hate Foxy Kennedy Cree, cruel little brat!) I loved the setting and the descriptions of the scenery. I have read this book approximately 8 times and each time I am surprised to find nuances in the stories that I didn't notice before.
5 people found this helpful
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Oralia Durazo
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read!
Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2023
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Paper thickness is very thin. This is my second copy of I prefer the thicker pages for turning
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Janet Zeller
4.0 out of 5 stars I dont know what you want here.
Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2024
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I like that it was shipped so quickly. I liked that it was in good shape. It is a book that our local Book Club is reviewing. Thank you.
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S. Kay Murphy
5.0 out of 5 stars A rare American novel
Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2007
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One of the greatest tragedies regarding this book is that it has become required reading in many English classes. What a shame. Please don't mistake my intention here; one should come to this novel in a wholly voluntary way, with an open heart toward the telling of a good story. Dorris is, certainly, one of America's finest storytellers. This novel is rich with imagery and infused with the colors of Native American life. But it is essentially a novel about people and relationships undefined by race or color. It is a story of heartbreak and redemption, told by a man who knew personally of these things. As a feminist writer, I came to this book with a bias; I resented his presumption that he could tell a woman's story--several women's stories--from a woman's point of view. It taught me a lesson about my own prejudice, and brought me to a place of greater tolerance. Dorris draws together the fabric of three separate lives in this novel... and creates the warm quilt of a shared family history. Those who come to this novel of their own volition will not be disappointed.
15 people found this helpful
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kiddrite
5.0 out of 5 stars Good read
Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2020
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This book is amazing. I read it in high school and I have never forgotten it. The style of this author’s writing is unique. I used to want to be a writer when I was younger and this book was very inspiring to me. The story itself is easy to follow and captivating. You won’t be disappointed!
5 people found this helpful
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Mary
5.0 out of 5 stars WONDERFUL!
Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2013
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Loved this story! Writer engages reader with woven story of family relationships and culture. The characters seem real-life, as they are described from the first-person point of view from each one. Makes for an interesting read to think about their lives woven together from each perspective. Easy to follow and many times easy to relate to real-life issues. Just enough mix of mental health, race and cultural issues explored through the views of the characters.
One person found this helpful
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My 2 Cents
3.0 out of 5 stars Better Suited perhaps for Book Groups and Teens
Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2013
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A Yellow Raft in Blue Water is one of those books that has sat on my book shelf unread for a number of years. I final decided to give it a try, but honestly it just wasn't a story that I enjoyed.

It's a multi-generational story about a family of women living on an Indian reservation in Montana. The family has more skeletons in their closets than most, and each generation is very good at keeping secrets and creating more as well. The story is told in three parts beginning with the very youngest -- Rayona. Then Christine, mother of Rayona and finally Ida, Christine's mother. Each woman is headstrong, yet different, and each faces their own personal struggles. Although their relationships are strained, the ties that bind are still there.

The story begins in the present and flashes back to past events. There are a few twists, a good dose of symbolism, and discussion points that might make this book worth discussing in a high school lit course or book club discussion group. The issues I had with the story was that although I typically like stories about family dysfunction, this story did not have any likeable characters. I kept feeling like I should be feeling sorry for these women, yet that didn't happen. I also need to mention that readers who like to feel a sense of resolution when they finish reading a novel, will probably end up disappointed with how this one ends.

Although this book wasn't right for me, the writing is descriptive, and there were some important social issues addressed, which might make this one a worthy choice for older teens perhaps.
6 people found this helpful
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Reviews by Sandy
5.0 out of 5 stars A YELLOW RAFT IN BLUE WATER by Michael Dorris is ...
Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2015
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A YELLOW RAFT IN BLUE WATER by Michael Dorris is an insight into the lives of three women of American Indian heritage. Life is hard on the reservation with not much of an opportunity to escape poverty. The novel reveals the nature of a rigid culture and a closed society which never changes. It is a sobering narrative; especially Dorris' sensitive portrayal of the plight of members of the Indian nation
4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Toronto
5.0 out of 5 stars We buy all of our school books on Amazon so ...
Reviewed in Canada on January 15, 2018
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We buy all of our school books on Amazon so the kids can make their notes in the books. Very interesting novel, forward thinking pick for high school English.
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L. M. Moorcock
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best!
Reviewed in France on November 14, 2019
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I have read this amazing book more than once. It is a portrayal of the lives of three women and should be on reading lists around the world.
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Janet Galbraith
4.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 11, 2013
Verified Purchase
Worth a read if you enjoy beautiful, lyrical writing, stories about strong but flawed women, or exploring American classics we have less access to in the UK. A lovely story about three generations of women.
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