One thought on “I Heard the Owl Call My Name”

1. Updated 22 July 2013Well, I ve reread this book that I first read so many years ago and I do believe, well perhaps there were one or two other books in the past that have had the same effect on me, that this is the first book that has left me with a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes when I finished it I went to bed and finally reread the end and thought my.what an incredible wonderful work This is such a simple story but it shines through with all the wonders of our life on this magnificent [...]

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2. I found the topics discussed to be all too simplified The themes are life, death and friendship as well as how modern life is a threat to the traditions and culture of the First Nation people in Canada Through the author s writing I did not perceive the beauty of the land Nature writing is a theme I enjoy, but I personally didn t find it here The language is flat.A character in the book is to die, and the way this is treated is not direct enough for me Heap on the problems Don t give me the solu [...]

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3. When we read Margaret Craven s brilliant and evocative I Heard the Owl Call My Name in junior high and I would consider I Heard the Owl Call my Name while not perhaps suitable for young readers, definitely both appropriate and fitting for anyone above the age of twelve or so , I just and mainly enjoyed and appreciated the author s narrative as a heart warming and in many ways heart wrenching reading experience both sweet and sad at the same time, with a text that has the power to envelop, to mak [...]

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4. She waited as if she had waited all her life, as if she were part of time itself, gently and patiently Did she remember that in the old days the Indian mother of the Kwakiutl band who lost a child kicked the small body three times and said to it, Do not look back Do not turn your head Walk straight on You are going to the land of the owl I was recommended this book for my Canada project Although written by an American, the story is set in British Columbia and tells of a young vicar who is sent t [...]

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5. This was a re read for me, but it might as well have been my first time, I remembered so little Mind you, I think I was in my teens when I read it the first time My only memory of it was a feeling of melancholy.The young vicar, Mark, is sent to the Kwakiutl village of Kingcome by his bishop, who knows Mark has a terminal illness, but chooses not to tell him In our 21st century culture of consent, this just wouldn t happen any No doctor worth his or her salt would let a patient out of the office [...]

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6. This is one of the most powerful novels of the First Nations people I have ever read The natives of Kingcome, where the novel is set, agree with this assessment Surprisingly, it was written by a female American journalist who spent only 5 weeks living in Kingcome Her imagination was captured by a report about Eric Powell, an Anglican priest who was sent to teach the natives in Kingcome but, by his own report, instead learned much from them about the peace that their culture brings to them and co [...]

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7. 5 stars for teaching me about Life.I m so happy they made us read this in 6th grade Of course, that meant that only two other people liked it I m weird, aren t I Everyone loved The Hobbit but me and no one loved this book but me In its pages, I glimpsed something magical and meaningful, some truth about life I think it helped shape who I am, at least a little.

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8. I needed something short and quick to read and picked this up when I saw it at the library I think I read it in junior high, although I may be confusing it with Hal Borland s When the Legends Die both are books about Indians in the woods It s a sweet, sad story about a young vicar with a terminal disease which he is unaware of who is sent to a parish in remote coastal British Columbia No matter how much he does for the Indians, he is told, they will never say thank you, because they have no word [...]

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9. A rather enchanting and beautiful story that captures both the vicar s thinking and the tribe s, somehow, in the words used The language is spare and to the point carved into a story like one of the masks The Bishop is astonishingly wise, which is a bit hard to credit Bishops being usually administrative rather than pastorally talented in my experience But he had done his time there also.I cried at the end not a common event for me I was completely taken by surprise by the people s acceptance of [...]

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10. This is a fifty year old book published first in 1967 in Canada , and I know it has sold a few million copies and that I am coming to the party late However, this book touched me profoundly It s where I am in my life presently longing for a simpler, meaningful existence, making a spiritual connection with people and the world I live in There is a sadness that permeates this material it anticipates and mourns the passing away of old ways and traditions, and looks ahead with resignation if not op [...]

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11. This is the best book ever I read it back in high school a long long time ago It is a power novel that had me crying by the end of the I remember my entire class sitting in pin drop silence when the teacher finished reading I highly recommend this book As I said, the best book.

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12. Craven s simple spiritual style is vaguely reminiscent of Hermann Hesse s writing She captures the spirit of the Kwakiutl, both people and landscape, with a similarly quiet intensity.The story itself is one of a young Anglican priest named Mark who is sent to a remote native village on the British Columbian coast after he is diagnosed with only a couple of years to live He is not aware of it at the time and sets about trying to win the respect of the people whom he must tend to.I was drawn in co [...]

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13. An Anglican bishop sends a young priest to a remote First Nation village in northwest Canada The priest is terminally ill but he doesn t know it yet He has trageditis, the same mysterious disease that killed Beth March along with numerous Dickens characters I think his story turns out to be our own God sends us into a strange world We have a choice Will we be like the Mountie, the teacher, the tourists, and the anthropologist who care only for their own interests and lack any empathy with others [...]

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14. A wonderful historical book about the life and beliefs of the indigenous people in British Columbia and the encroaching Western world This was like reading poetry mixed with philosophy and religion An easy short read with a lot of depth This was one of the few books I remember my mother reading She loved it At the time she worked at SeaTac airport and in the 70 s it was infused with Native American decor and the gift shops were filled with those types of items as souvenirs Sort of brings me back [...]

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15. Was part of our English curriculum in high school.

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16. This is a beautiful short novel, the story told in spare, simple, stark prose, each word evoking the setting, the people, and their emotions I m not ashamed to say I had tears in my eyes in many parts of the novel, and even wept at the conclusion A young Anglican priest, Mark, ailing with what I am guessing is cancer, although we never know for sure , with only two years to live, is sent by his bishop to minister to a Kwakiutl Indian tribe in British Columbia The old canon, Caleb, who accompanie [...]

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17. This book touched me in its calm and unspectular language and pace that matches life in this Indian village where a young vicar finds a whole new world and a home.In my opinion the author himself gives the best review on the final pages of his own book And what had he learned Surely not the truth of the Indian There was no one truth He had learned a little of the truth of one tribe in one village He had seen the sadness, the richness, the tragic poignancy of a way of life that each year, bit by [...]

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18. Lovely A welcome counterpoint to the politically charged First Nations novels I ve been reading so much of lately Sad, but not angry Reminded me of Cather s Death Comes For The Archbishop similarly episodic, lyrical and atmospheric A gorgeous read and a very sympathetic priest whose relationship with the Kwakiutl tribe on the coast of BC, view spoiler dying out slowly as he is, hide spoiler whom he lives with, learns about, and loves, could have been a clich but avoids it by being among the fir [...]

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19. The setting is a young priest sent to work on a native american reservation in the pacific northwest.Once you get past the implausible set up i.e young priest is terminally ill, but will be healthy and symptom free for two years doctor tells the priest s SUPERVISOR bishop this diagnosis but hides it from the priest , it is a pleasant story about friendships that develop across cultures There isn t a lot of action it s just a slice of life but the characters are strong enough to hold interest I [...]

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20. The setting The characters The sentiment Based on comments from one of my friends, I didn t expect to like this book But it was good Maybe it wasn t her type of story.

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21. kinci okuyu um Ge tim k z lderili arkada lar m z , memlekete gidince e meden su i mek bile beni a rt yor Sanki do du umdan beri pet i eden suyumu i ermi im gibi Radyodan dinledim, Yery z Derne i ocuklarla birlikte on dokuz litrelik su damacanalar n n yar s n kesip i inde patates, domates filan yeti tirmi ler Yani biz buralarda hem kendimize hem de topra a o kadar uzak d t k Aray nas l kapataca z bilinmez Bildi im yar m damacanalarla olmaz gibi geliyor bana Bakal m, ne desem uzun

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22. YOYA Code 5Q 3PA Pre Reading I had never heard of this book before this class, so I really didn t know what to think From reading the back cover and studying the cover page, I did not think I would enjoy reading this novel The totem poles on the front made me think of a story that would be dated and have no relevance to me or my students The back cover inspired me to get started because it said something about older and younger generations B During Reading I am reading than five chapters in one [...]

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23. For whatever reason, it took me decades to finally read this book I am sorry I waited so long Margaret Craven s classic novel, I Heard the Owl Call my Name, was written in 1967 is the story of Mark, a young Christian vicar s journey to Kingcome an indigenous Kwakwaka wakw village in the Pacific Northwest He is sent there by the Bishop, who knows that Mark only has a couple of years left to live Kingcome is a difficult and isolated village, yet the bishop feels it is the one that will teach Mark [...]

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24. This is a book I was given as a teen, and just read now I have had it on my bookshelves all of these years It has traveled with me to many placesdifferent places I have called home in various towns and cities I had it all of these years, and I have picked it up and started it than once I finally told myself This is it Mom gave you this for a reason READ IT So I did I really enjoyed it It is always wonderful to come upon a new story that can change your perspective This book features one of the [...]

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25. The I think about it, the I really like this book It s about a priest who goes up north to serve a parish that consists of several Indian villages He doesn t turn native, he doesn t try to turn them white, and he doesn t fall in love with an Indian maiden He is really very Christlike in his approach he lives among the people, respects them, helps them out, and loves them It s beautiful.

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26. Read 40 years ago I liked it at the time, though now details are hazy, except that there was sadness, melancholy, inevitable loss I remember thinking that this was unfair.

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27. This is a sweet read A friend gave it to me as I deal with my sister s death and this story brings a sense of peace that is beautiful

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28. The prose is both spare and lyrical The silences are so eloquent A truly beautiful, meaningful novel.

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29. Kirja on tehnyt minuun suuren vaikutuksen jo 1970 luvulla, eik vuosikymmenet ole vaikutusta v ljent neet Kirja kuuluu samaan kategoriaan kuin nnepalun Paratiisi, jota kulttikirjaksi tituleerataan kirjan takakannessa N ist kahdesta pidin Cravenin kirjasta enemm n.

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30. In his tiny house the teacher heard the running footfalls on the path to the river bank, and he went quickly to the door and could not open it To join the others was to care, and to care was to live and to suffer The cliched though, I believe, still apt advice to show, don t tell is usually given to writers Sometimes, though, it or something similar is given as life advice for instance and, actions speak louder than words And then, in rare instances, the advice itself isn t told but shown It is [...]

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