THE HUNGRY SEASON

T. Greenwood. THE HUNGRY SEASON. Kensington, 2010.

A loaner from a writing group friend. The story of a family in crisis. Sam Mason, a writer; Mena, his actor wife; and Finn, their sixteen-year-old messed up son. All are grieving the loss of Finn's twin sister, Franny. They drive from San Diego to Vermont for the summer where they are disturbed by Sam's agent, Monty, and by an academic/stalker, Dale. Suspense surrounds the mystery of what happened to Franny and what will happen when needs collide. This one I stayed up all weekend to finish.

WHERE'S BURGESS?

 Laurie Elmquist. WHERE'S BURGESS? Orca, 2018.

My first ever "middle years" book which I bought at the library book sale because I have met the writer. Reece copes with change and losses--his missing frog, his parents' trial separation. 

IN A DRY SEASON

Peter Robinson. IN A DRY SEASON. Penguin,1999. 

I so miss Inspector Banks. I wish the television programs would return. Sometimes I cannot remember if I have read a title before of if I just saw it on TV.

This story moves back and forth between the present, 1990s Yorkshire, and the past, WW II, when a Land Girl arrived to help out on a farm. The plot begins when, in a dry season, a reservoir or a man-made lake dries up and in the drowned village which emerges, a body is found. 

A GOOD HOUSE

July 19, 2024

Bonnie Burnard. A GOOD HOUSE. Harper, 1999.

The story of an ordinary small town family from the 1950s to the 1990s. 

p. 152 "[H]e now believed that guilt could not exist without intention." 

NAMWAYUT: A PATHWAY TO RECONCILIATION

July 14, 2024

Chief Robert Joseph. NAMWAYUT: WE ARE ALL ONE. A PATHWAY TO RECONCILIATION. PageTwo, 2022.

Reading this man's life story puts me in awe. What a wonderful person he seems to be. I was aware of the great work his books and his training company do although I still worry that the idea of Reconciliation is used as a way to help companies and corporations convince Indigenous groups to partner with them. There seems to be no suggestion of how Indigenous values may be able to influence resource extraction and land development decisions. 

Let me check my Post-ITS;

p 95 That reconciliation challenges the concept of European superiority and that other people want to become like Europeans and instead accept that Reconciliation means "allowing all of us to be who we authentically are" & to come together and celebrate our differences."

p. 96 "We are more than driftwood. We are an ocean." Stresses the importance of learning to know and love the self and the environment first. 

p. 149 aware of the additional challenges faced by women and girls. Violence. Physical, sexual, and emotional. 

p. 169 suggests that focus on specific issues around land use and claims is a way of NOT addressing the substantive issues--racism, colonialism, fear, and violence. 

p. 178 All the people that come to Canada, every race and religion, "they all have a story to tell. We [IP] like to applaud ourselves for being open to these newcomers despite the wall we have created of wrongful assumptions, prejudice, and racism. This wall exists because we have lost sight that everybody has a story." We caution newcomers: "Be true to yourselves. Do not lose your soul in assimilation in the name of 'being Canadian'. Bring your foreign languages and your ancient rituals and practices with you. We are not frightened nor challenged by your diversity and resourcefulness."  

p. 179 "We have to begin to know that we are not just us alone. ...that we are not just responsible for ourselves, but to everybody else. We have to begin to know that we have to stop the politicization of our responses and become human beings in our ability to listen and learn from each other." 

p. 220 Decolonization means: "Finding our home, living in our own skin, embracing who we are, and honouring our authentic selves are all a critical part of this, so it doesn't matter how much prejudice or wrongful assumptions come your. way. 

You know who you are.

Your values and principles are right there with you. You have a sense of dignity and belonging that will never fade." 

Although these words seem directed towards Indigenous Peoples, they also apply to the rest of us. We all have to know what is important to us, and what we are not willing to permit and tolerate any longer, when we see abuses imposed upon others, including the Indigenous People of Canada. 

COWBOYS and INDIANS

July 9, 2024

Gordon Sinclair Jr. COWBOYS and INDIANS: The SHOOTING of J.J. HARPER. M& S, 1999. 

I cannot believe that I did not add to these few updates. 

Read Sinclair's account of the Winnipeg Police handling of the shooting on the street of a First Nations political leader in late 1980s. I've had the copy for ever, but avoided it because of memories of the incident when I was working in Stony Mountain--the distraught nature of other peace officers when seeming discrimination seems to result in death. My own "Winnipeg" novel In Your Dreams and friends who are also writing about policing issues in the prairie city meant that this was the time to read it.

Sinclair, a Free Press columnist, was dogged, pursuing the story even when warned off by supervisors. 

My takeaways include: poor selection of police candidates--screening for previous impulsive and bullying behaviour; poor training of officers especially about the "use of force" protocols; poor understanding of citizens about "use of force" protocols; poor supervision of officers, going so far as recommending "lies"; no discussion about ways for dedicated law-abiding officers to counter "the thin blue line's" expectation of loyalty above all else to each other, not to the people they are hired, trained, paid to serve. Also, there is no discussion about attitudes towards Indigenous citizens vs attitudes towards others. Or about the causes of crime among disadvantaged groups, and the police role in that and related social issues. 

 

BONE BLACK

Carol Rose Goldeneagle. BONE BLACK. Nightwood, 2019.

I was looking on the cover for some clue, but the only hint is “a novel”. It seems to me more like “horror”.

This is the type of novel found in the basement rooms of men who carry automatic rifles into mosques and elementary schools. Justifications for violence as a solution to their emotional challenges. Shooters who are angry, convinced of their own superiority, rationalizing their criminal acts in whatever arguments best suit their distorted views. Living out their fantasies of revenge and vigilantism. Targeting. Entrapment. Death. Dismemberment. Disposal.

At first I respond to the title as a reference to the main character’s career as a potter, with bone black a glaze she creates for herself. And to the Saskatchewan setting, someone who knows and loves the land, including the Qu’Appelle Valley. Then, I notice the unpolished style. Almost total telling. Slip-sliding between tenses and POVs. Then I begin to think about the characters. Is this husband for real? I ask, Where is the protagonist? There is no character with whom to identify or even really to care about. The main character’s level of moral reasoning is so low as to be non-existent. The level of self-awareness is delusional. The idea that she is grieving, and that being an artist and being pregnant somehow give her a pass? Not to me.

I don’t even want to think about what a detrimental effect this story would have on reconciliation, were too many people to read it. The worst fears realized. That nothing is sacred, and that she does not even realize her desecration.