Monday, December 05, 2022

Book Review on The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson


I am including this book in my blog because of how important land, water, and plants are to the story. It is a novel taking place in southwest Minnesota


Though the main characters in this book were not exactly exciting; one might even say they suffered from dysthymia, I felt compelled to keep reading to learn more about them, especially the main character, Rosalie Iron Wing. Rosalie is a descendant of the Dakota tribe and was raised by her father at the beginning of her life and by white foster families. She marries a white farmer. It's a marriage of convenience, and the two have a son. The book may have had a particular interest to me because I have ancestors from the area of the Dakota Conflict of 1862. (I was especially interested when her white husband took her to New Ulm, and Rosie saw a monument to the whites who had died in the Dakota conflict looking very similar to the monument located at Lake Shetek, where my parents spent recreational time. <br>How Rosalie navigates living her life, the joy she finds in planting the seeds her deceased mother-in-law had saved, and how those seeds connect her to her Dakota heritage is intriguing. This book helps a reader understand the history, attitudes, and struggles of whites and Native Americans in the area. I read it through Audible. I liked the narrator's voice and style. Diane Wilson (Author), Kyla GarcĂ­a (Narrator)