Through Rushing Water

Through Rushing Waters- by Catherine Richmond

   This is the story of Sophia, a refined young woman with a painful and tremulous past from Russia. Her journey begins after being jilted by her "dream man". Without even knowing how it happened, she ends up as a missionary for the ponca Indians, something she never planned.
   Sophia, while being a real character, is hard to connect too.It's not that she's unlikeable really- she has some good qualities like being quick-witted and loyal-it's just very hard to not feel indifferent towards her character. Because despite being in her head, you feel like you don;t know her because her actions and habits totally don;t fit the way her character is seen by others. Honestly, it seems like she should be stuck up. it creates both confusion and relief when she ends up not being a snob.
   In the same way, it's hard to feel a connection with the character Will. You get the sense that he's meant to be good natured, but the author somehow doesn't capture it and he seems incomplete and his personality in pieces all over the pages, unable to form a complete picture of who he is. The relationship between Will and Sophia is also in pieces. Sometimes they seem immensely close, other times it's like they don't even like each other- or know each other as friends! It's all very confusing, and not in the good, love-struck way.
   The supporting characters are unique, but completely unlikeable and not described- physically or emotionally- very well. The book is dry, but strangely easy to get into. From the historical aspect it's very interesting- it's a time and people not written about much, and you see a very clear and heart-wrenching picture of what it was like for Native Americans on American reserves.