This compelling story is a worthy companion to The Break and The Strangers, to complete a trilogy of unforgettable Metis voices. The central event is the release of Phoenix from prison after 6 years confinement for a vicious assault. The implications are profound; stories and memories are revealed from different perspectives so the exquisite writing creates a type of restorative justice circle where both the victimized and accused confront how their lives have been changed. This is masterful writing with an ending that is both heartbreaking and hopeful.
Tag: Katherena Vermette
The Strangers – Katherena Vermette
Like the companion novel The Break, this book begins with a Trigger Warning. The Strangers are a multi-generational Metis family living in Winnipeg: the story focusses on grandmother Margaret, daughter Elsie and children Phoenix and Cedar. Powerful emotions characterize these women: anger, shame in addictions, feeling invisible. Reflecting on sad stories, Margaret concludes (page 316) that “only Indians, Metis … had sorrow built into their bones, who exchanged despair as exclusively as recipes, who had devastation after devastation after dismissal after denial woven into their skin”. Compelling sentiments in the setting of important and necessary stories – a must read for all Canadians.
The Break – Katherine Vermette
It is inexplicable to me that The Break was the first book eliminated from the Canada Reads 2017 competition. Admittedly this is a tough book to read, and the first in my experience that has on the cover page: “TRIGGER WARNING: This book is about recovering and healing from violence. Contains scenes of sexual and physical violence, and depictions of vicarious trauma”. This is a timely book about Indigenous women survivors, specifically 4 generations of women survivors who are flawed and damaged. This is a sisterhood book about resiliency – powerful storytelling but take the trigger warning seriously.
What David Read 