Customer Reviews

KEEPER'N ME

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Keeper 'n me By Sean Powell

Without ones culture Can a man live at peace with his soul for what he actually is? Can a Jew be a Jew without the knowledge of what is a Jew? An Indian trapped in a world where he is the only one with his looks. Can discrimination not take place? A man born Christian must know the ways of his religion before he can call himself Christian. In this novel Keeper ' n me a man must confront his racial color and become what he always was but never wanted to be. The story Keeper ' n is all about letting out feelings about ones culture. Garnet Raven is an Ojibway Indian who was separated from his family when he was just a baby. An innocent young boy taken away from his culture and tossed into a false perceptive of the world outside the reserve. The story progresses as Garnet Raven gains a false illusion of his heritage. He turns white, Hawaiian and black as he masks his real Ojibway feelings. He feels trapped and lonely since he thinks he is the only Indian in a city of blacks and whites. Later on Garnet is tracked down by his family and when released from jail. He manages to build up the courage to return to his family. As his culture is renewed Garnet becomes everything his Ojibway religion is. Keeper is a friend of Garnets family who teaches Garnet about his heritage. In trade for the knowledge Keeper asks Garnet for company and a friend. Keeper creates a meaning that pushes Garnet into an Indian man. A man he always thought he would never be. A true Ojibway. For years Indians through out Canada were forced into foster homes. They were stolen from their parents. I myself can not relate to the feeling of being taken away from my parents and thrown into the hands of foster parents. Richard Waganese who is the author adds a realistic feeling into Keeper ' n me. The richly textured dialogue takes you into the life of the Ravens. I take my hat off to Mr. Waganese for completing a difficult task of putting his speaking style onto paper. With in the novel I noticed a lot of symbolism of Garnets character. Ravens are strong, brave and courageous, those are the characteristics of Garnet. I learned from the novel that the powers of ones love and tradition can with stand any large mountain and over come any fear. Keeper ' n me is a wonderful novel about redemption and tradition. I am a Jew and I have gone through tons of religious aspects of my life not knowing where it would take me. Garnet managed to accomplish a difficult task on becoming what his ancestors were and more. He learned more things about his religion then most of his people knew and they weren't seperated from the reserve for 20 years. Richard Waganese did a marvelous job. A must read for anyone in the need of a laugh, a tear or a good time.

I have just finished reading keeper'n me with my North American literature class. I am in grade 11 at centennial Academy in Montreal, Quebec. This book by Richard Wagamese is a great story about a man named Garnet Raven who goes back to his Indian home after being taken away when he was 3 years old. This story is the journey of a man who is a stranger to his own hometown. He becomes accepted and familiar with his home through the love and support from his family. This book taught me that you should find out who you really are and try not to be afraid of it. You should be proud of your culture and religion because it's a part of who your are. Garnet never felt like he had a place in the world until he went home. Garnet finds himself and learns about his people through an old friend of his grandfathers named keeper. There are all kinds of emotions in this book, sometimes it was funny, sad, or happy. So if your looking for a book that just makes you feel good inside, I definitely recommend Keeper'n me.

I had to read Keeper 'n Me by Richard Wagamese for a North American Literature class at school, and I would have to say it wasn't the best book I ever read. It was humorous at parts, the way the main character, Garnet Raven, tries to get through his life searching for who he is and finally finding himself at twenty-five. What I didn't like about this book was that it was kind of slow moving, and not really the type of book I would usually read. But what I did like about it was the relaxed style in which it was written; it is almost as if the book is talking to you. The story also deals with a great issue in which all of us must face: finding out who we are. Some of us are searching for years to find out who we are, just like Garnet. I can also relate to the spirituality and contact with nature which is part of Garnet's culture, because I am a Mohawk and had knowledge of this sort of culture since I was a little kid. Altogether this book was alright, and my likes outweighed my dislikes, so I give this book 3 stars.

This book gave me a new perspective on what it means to be native, and what it means to honor yourself and who you really are inside. I also appreciated the warmth of the family love contained in the story. This book also inspired me to take on a vision-quest of my own.

A few points in the book really touched my heart and played with my emotions. The phonetic language is cool at first, but gets a tiny bit tired by the end, as the book is all phonetic, every page, all the way through.

Good spiritual lessons, especially for the lost soul. Not a bad book. A very worthwhile one-week read.

Right from the heart Richard like we shared many times before . how are you doing .e-mail me from Donna and M IKE AND KIDS

"no matter how far from home I go i will always want toreturn there. home is not a place you can go to on a boat or a plain,home is a place inside of you." The wizard of Oz I recently read a story for my north American literature class called Keeper'n me. written by Richard Wagames. I found this book very wordy and at times boring but the story itself was very interesting and heartfelt. This story is about a young native American man named Garnet Raven who at three years old was taken away from his family and placed into foster care. AS he grows up and moves from foster home to foster home Young Raven begins to struggle with an identity crisis. Is he white? Hawaiian or is he black. he looks and feels very different from the world around him and begins to ask many questions. years later he receives a letter from his long lost brother he returns home and again struggles with an identity problem. he begind to learn more about his culture and religion and realizes that this is who he is and this is where he belongs. he learned that even though it took him years to go back home it was always inside of him he just had to find it. However this is not perticularly my type of book but it was well written and somewhat humorous.

I loved this book!! Richard Wagamese did an awesome job! i luv the way he writes about first nations culture,it's so true. I love how Keeper explains everything...like how "u cant make a beaver from a bear, nature just dont work that way, gotta be what the Creator made us to be." And when he talks about smudging..When we smudge an purify ourselves our prayers go up with the smoke and into the spirit world, the way he describes everything is so touching. The story line is great, based on true events. Really makes me think of todays culture an todays children an our people..how we can keep livin the traditional life an still be apart of society but in our own way. How we can help our children understand the importance of our culture, language, elders, land. This is a Great Book that just touched my heart and spirit!!!!

I received this book as a gift from my Grandmother,Keewaydinoquay, a gifted author and Ojibwe spiritual leader. KEEPER 'n ME speaks to the heart about coming home to oneself through the love of family and the Mide philosophy. In turn I laughed, cried and reconnected to my own spiritual center. Wagamese gives a good overview of the Midewin ("religion" of the Anishanaabeg) philosophy. This is good for all people to know about in terms of understanding different philosophies. I am so impressed with KEEPER 'n ME that I have tracked down and bought 3 copies to give as gifts. 5 PLUS stars!

"Keeper'n me" is a tale about an Indian's journey back to his roots in hope of discovering who he is. As a child Garnet Raven was abducted from his parents and village by social workers. He lost his culture and connection with his family. In despair he left his foster parents to search for who he is, he traveled from city to city. He reached Toronto he met Lonnie Flower who influenced him to adapt a black life style. It may seem that Garnet has discovered a new home and family until he is taken away from it because of possession of narcotics in which he serves a prison sentence of three years. Throughout those fifth-teen years he has been away from home, his brother Stanley has tracked him down. Garnet was offered to stay in White Dog territory. He accepts his invitation with his mother, he is convinced that it is possible establish the broken connection with his brothers (Stanley, Jackie) , sister (Jane) and his mother. Keeper is a guide to Garnets culture and traditions. In other words Keeper is Garnet's chance to learn how to become a true Indian and making up for the last fifth-teen years. My opinions on this book is that it has a good plot and multiple moral dilemmas that appeal to the youth. They provide several references on past events and what natives have undergone in the past. There are two narrators or "story tellers" in the book. It often led me into confusion most the time since the story was viewed through different perspectives. Another thing that I found difficult was the dialect, in which the writer wrote the whole book. It my shows that the story was authentic since it would read like an Indian would read it. It was quite difficult to understand what the narrator meant and in what way. Dispite how the writer presents the story it is still effective and interesting. He adds humor as a break from all the dramatic and touching scenes to give us a break and something to look forward to in the book. Great changes occurred through out the book, to the main character (Garnet) and the people around him. Overall the book was interesting but, it isn't one that can't put down cause I've been able to drop it many time willing to stop reading. It is mostly in the form of presentation that really disappointed me and brought about confusion.

"no matter how far from home I go i will always want to return there. home is not a place you can go to on a boat or a plain, home is a place inside of you." The wizard of Oz I recently read a story for my north American literature class called Keeper'n me. written by Richard Wagames. I found this book very wordy and at times boring but the story itself was very interesting and heartfelt. This story is about a young native American man named Garnet Raven who at three years old was taken away from his family and placed into foster care. AS he grows up and moves from foster home to foster home Young Raven begins to struggle with an identity crisis. Is he white? Hawaiian or is he black. he looks and feels very different from the world around him and begins to ask many questions. years later he receives a letter from his long lost brother he returns home and again struggles with an identity problem. he begind to learn more about his culture and religion and realizes that this is who he is and this is where he belongs. he learned that even though it took him years to go back home it was always inside of him he just had to find it. However this is not perticularly my type of book but it was well written and somewhat humorous.