Nobody Cries at Bingo

Another reviewer called it laugh-out-loud, and she was a Canadian. Maybe the Canadian aspects of the humor went over my head. Once you go in understanding that this is a series of vignettes that have humor but may not have you rolling on the floor, then you find that this book is very human and interesting and sensitive, told with affection but not overly sentimental, and it gives you a view into Canadian rez life.

Jan 13, Fischwife rated it really liked it. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from this author. This autobiographical I think novel examines life on the rez and the challenges and joys that entails with sharp wit and a good dollop of compassion.

Dawn's resilience, imagination, and sense of humour see her through some pretty horrifying experiences, and usually leave the reader laughing at circumstances that would otherwise be shocking and sad. As such, Dawn could be a symbol for Aboriginal people on Turtle Islan I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from this author. As such, Dawn could be a symbol for Aboriginal people on Turtle Island, who have survived the horrors of colonization and attempts at cultural genocide through resilience, community and family support broken as that might be , and humour.

More than once, this book brought to mind my favourite Miriam Toews novels, such as The Flying Troutmans. A reader who enoyed that book would also enjoy this one by Dumont. Sep 10, Lester rated it really liked it. So just like it is Dawn Dumont!!! Right at the beginning of this story is this wonderful paragraph: The Canadian government stepped in and created protected reserves for the buffalo where they now grow fat but remain wild. Then they created reserves for the Native people where they grew also fat and remain a little wild.

She followed no buffalo herd; only a desire for a better life that she felt was a hundred miles in the other direction. Please don't judge this book on its absolutely horrible cover. I'm glad I read it because I ended up liking it way more than I expected to. It's an honest, hilarious, and eye-opening look at life on a Canadian reservation.

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I really loved the author's authentic and readable style of writing. Jun 05, Bay rated it really liked it. Was more a collection of stories than a novel. Middle school growing pains with an Indigenous lens. At he end she casually mentions she graduated from law school too! Sep 06, Maree Cox-Baker rated it it was ok Shelves: I started this book with high hopes but was disappointed.

I quickly got bored and found myself speed reading just to get to the end of it. Jan 06, Kristal rated it really liked it Shelves: I really enjoyed this novel.

Nobody Cries at Bingo by Dawn Dumont

I like how each chapter is a different snapshot from Dawn's life on the reserve. I hope she writes another book like this! Wonderfully entertaining and hilarious stories about a young girl growing up on a First Nations reserve. View all 3 comments. Jul 04, Laura Frey Reading in Bed rated it really liked it.

Things that might ordinarily annoy me grammar quirks, random jumping around in time were just charming here. Jan 04, Katherine rated it it was amazing Shelves: I loved this funny, Saskatchewan memoir! Dumont's stories about her childhood and growing up are pretty relatable to, and a neat insight into reservation life. Dec 29, Julia rated it it was amazing Shelves: I have read numerous books on Indigenous life in Canada and the residential schools.

It has all been really hard to read stories, stories of mistreatment and suffering. This book is also about family life on a Reserve in Saskatchewan. The author Dawn Dumont tells of her life growing up as an Indian and she does it in self contained little stories or vignettes. I am so impressed with her writing. She is able to give a good window into her life and does not talk negative about the obvious things t I have read numerous books on Indigenous life in Canada and the residential schools. She is able to give a good window into her life and does not talk negative about the obvious things that go on, but presents them in a humorous and witty way.

The reader gets a good sense of what her life was really like. I laughed out loud at times. She lets the reader in on her own honest hopes and dreams and we can see the deep love within her family and the strong bonds of affection that spread to her extended family as well. Aug 02, Barbara McEwen rated it liked it Shelves: The similarities between our childhoods make it even more sad to hear of the racism she experienced.

We were growing up in such similar situations but we were separated solely because of race. Sadly, it doesn't take much to see that divide still exists today. The individual stories or events described in the book are quite entertaining.

Nobody Cries at Bingo

Although I spoke about racism above that is not the focus o 3. Although I spoke about racism above that is not the focus of the book at all. It is about family and growing up, and has lots of humour. But there is nothing really tying the chapters together and I am not clear on why they were presented in the order they were. It gives the book a bit of a jumpy, disjointed feeling.

That said, I will definitely be reading more of Ms. Jun 08, Kelsey added it. I like Dawn Dumont's writing a lot. This book is funny and compelling. Jun 09, Sarah Insomnia rated it it was ok. This review is an excerpt from a graduate level research paper. The rating stars and the critical review are mutually exclusive; the former simply pertains to my subjective partiality to the story Dawn Dumont paints a vivid picture of average life as a First Nations child and teen in Nobody Cries at Bingo.

In this coming of age tale, Dumont illustrates the reality of reservation life for First Nations children and adolescents in both Manitoba and Saskatchewan via snapshots of their dail NOTE: In this coming of age tale, Dumont illustrates the reality of reservation life for First Nations children and adolescents in both Manitoba and Saskatchewan via snapshots of their daily dealings in life. You are commenting using your Twitter account. You are commenting using your Facebook account. Notify me of new comments via email. May the letters be ever in your favour. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Enter your comment here Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Email required Address never made public.

I love hearing your thoughts! Pages home about contact review policy local book nook. Monday, January 23, Review: Nobody Cries at Bingo by Dawn Dumont. Do not be fooled by the awful cover, this book was great and absolutely hilarious.

I was laughing out loud by the third or fourth page, and I didn't stop laughing for the whole book. The Canadian government stepped in and created protected reserves for the buffalo where they now grow fat but remain wild. Then they created reserves for the Native people where they grew also fat and remain a little wild.