This is one of those books that's been hugely influential on modern leftist discourse, and you'll probably recognize a lot of its tenets if you read it. I think it's best treated as a 101 on reciprocity, the gift economy, animism, and indigenous worldviews.

If you do read this book, I strongly recommend AGAINST trying to read it cover-to-cover. Pick a couple chapters you think are interesting and read them. Read something else. If you liked it the first time around, come back and read a few more chapters.

A couple of chapters I liked: - Learning the Grammar of Animacy ― A really cool look on the embeding of animist worldviews into indigenous language - The Consolation of Water Lilies ― A little philosophically boring, but a very cool plant metaphor - Mishkos Kenomagwen: The Teachings of Grass ― An excellent anecdote exploring the importance of braiding new worldviews and ways of knowing into science. Also an excellent primer on Kimmerer's philosophies of reciprocity - The Sacred and the Superfund ― Philosophies of relationship to land