This was wonderful…. Simpson’s 25 short stories and poems were lyrical and moving pieces of fiction that reflected many of the themes of mistreatment Indigenous Peoples, namely the First Nations People of Canada, face even today. They were short stories, sometimes only 4 minutes… but I listened to several stories multiple times.

This book is refreshing and much needed during these tumultuous times. The Audiobook is filled with stories and songs and allow us to hear the voices of various characters, emotions, and tones set in various settings.

These beautiful, meaningful stories allow us to feel a wide variety of emotions that need to be heard. We need to listen, to be silent and hear the messages that author Leanne Betasamosake Simpson has crafted so we can understand our connections to each other, the land and our greater existence,

The tone of this audiobook has a vibe that is modern, non traditional and new era. We still get the feeeling of traditional storytelling and songs and view Itin a relatable way.

This book comes at at a time when we need to right today the wrongs of yesterday,

Everyone needs to listen to this audiobook!

Thank you to ECE Press Audio and #NeGalley for the advanced e-copy audiobook

Every story in this book will hit you like an emotional sucker punch to the gut. I was recently given an opportunity by Netgalley to listen to the “Island of Decolonial Love” audiobook. I put off listening to it for a while because I knew it was going to be intense, but I don’t think even now I was fully prepared for it. Every story/poem hits you hard and makes you think deeply about love, life, and quite often about history and humans. I wish I had read the physical book for the sole reason that I wish I could have highlighted all the amazing quotes. There were just so many great lines that I wish I had thought to jot down somewhere. Some of the stories resonated with me very personally and some of them I was honestly just too white for. I think the world would be a much better place if more people read books like this where you have to feel and understand the emotions of others. You can easily read this book in a day, but the impact it will have on you will last for much, much longer.

In regards to the audiobook itself, I would like to say that I thought the narrator was a great pick. Her voice is perfect for the characters in the stories and I felt that she really brought them to life. The pacing was great and I was fully invested in the story the entire time.

This collection brings together some really beautiful poetry and prose from Canadian writer and activist Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, someone who's been publishing amazing work for awhile now but who I don't think is widely read in the States yet. Published in 2013 and recently released on audio (which is what I listened to), this is the first book from this author that I've read in full, and it seems like a good introduction to her work. I'm looking forward to reading more from her (notably Noopiming) and I'd recommend this accessible short work to anyone. Leanne Betasamosake Simpson's authorial voice is melodic, funny, and sharp. The audiobook narration, done by Tantoo Cardinal, does justice to this and is easy to listen to.

Writer and activist Leanne Simpson explores the lives of contemporary Indigenous folks (especially those of her own Nishnaabeg Nation) who have life and love’s normal struggles on top of dealing with the lasting effects and ongoingness of colonialism.

It’s short and moves quickly but is quite deep. I flew through it but would like to revisit, maybe in print, with a finer toothed comb to pick up on some of the subtleties and rich language that I may have missed the first go round.

I’ve seen this floating around my libraries’ Overdrive/Libby collections, so definitely check it out if you have access.

“You are the listener; your job is to listen.”

An absolutely enthralling audio performance and generous work. Listening to this book added the remarkable opportunity to hear the spoken Anishinaabemowin. The images evoked in the listening through this collection of stories and poems are poignant, direct and often flit between laughter and pain in a way that is very emotionally full. I found the use of repetition particularly effective in this audiobook performance. Islands of Decolonial Love is very rich for discussion, but I felt a real quiet after listening. The final section of the book creates such a satisfying tonal finish that I will definitely be thinking about it for a long time. Thank you!

A poetic way to narrate stories that are happening around us especially stories that we don't get to hear or that are so heartbreaking to even comprehend are still happing.

This was strong, bold and right on point walking through the pages of this book learning how many had suffered at the hands of the colonials, "the modernization" destroying lands and even cultures just to bring that so call progress into lands that were supposed to be left that way, but humans constantly feel the need to destroy what doesn't belong to them in order to build their modern skyscrapers and malls...

There are many things happening in this book that are still happening and one of them was the realization of how natives had suffered at the hands of colonials who are determined to conquer and steal lands that don't belong to them and this has been going over and over again. their stories never get heard, Native American women are constantly "lost" never to be found, and still, nothing is happening.

The Narrations by Tantoo Cardinal were great, I really love how much power she gave to the story her voice brought deeper feelings for it.

This was eye-opening and at the same time, it was a masterpiece as it was writing in such a way that will make me feel and enjoy the words.

This was quite an interesting collection of stories. I thought it was interesting to hear all the different perspectives and stories. I don't usually read collections of short stories, but this one drew me in given the native perspectives and general good ratings. I had never heard of this one before, but was excited to give the audiobook a try!

With the audiobook, it got a little confusing to tell when the perspective was changing/when there was a new character. Overall, I liked it and if you like short story collection, you might like this too!

Lyrical, moving short stories and lyrics about cultural- and self- appreciation, appropriation, and preservation in the context of the First Nations in Canada. Lots of interesting themes contrasting western science and indigenous knowledge. The characters in the stories were interesting and my only complaint was that many of the stories were too short - I wanted more time with them!