Review by Booklist Review
Many points of view come together in this haunting, gorgeous tale that traces the roots of an indigenous Canadian family through several generations. Even bison, grasslands, and dogs get a chance to tell their stories. There's Mamé, who has passed on and is learning the contours of the afterlife; her daughter, Geneviève, who has checked into a rehab although she is close to death; and Carter, Geneviève's biological great-granddaughter, who's just discovering the family after escaping an abusive adoptive mother. There's also Dee, a young bison who loses her mother early in life and is trying to find her way alone. Métis traditions touch every character, especially Geneviève, who longs for her young life as a musician. The Métis dance reels accompanied by live music, and Geneviève's father was a master fiddler. She rediscovers her piano as she too approaches the afterlife. Porter has published memoir and poetry, and she plays with the beauty of language and the rhythm of music here. The pulsing heart of the Métis people underlies every short section, creating a patchwork of beads not unlike those the women make. Suggest to fans of Kellie Jo Ford's Crooked Hallelujah (2020) and Emily Habeck's Shark Heart (2023).
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Memoirist Porter (Scratching River) imbues her well-crafted debut novel with her Métis culture's storytelling traditions. Among the many characters who narrate are the spirit of matriarch Mamé, who's having trouble getting settled in the afterlife; her octogenarian daughter Geneviéve, finally dealing with her alcoholism; Carter, Geneviéve's great-granddaughter, a young woman who was given up for adoption as a baby and is now coming to terms with being Métis and getting to know her biological mother and grandmother; Dee, a young bison who ignores her elders as she searches for the male bison that fathered her calf; and Bets, Geneviéve's car, who cares for Geneviéve as they drive to a rehab facility. The author juggles the myriad story lines with élan, touching on family relationships in the human and animal world, the pull of the living on the spirits of the dead, and the stories and songs passed down from generation to generation. This brings a web of interconnected voices to vivid life. (Nov.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Memoirist and poet Porter (Scratching River) offers a groundbreaking debut novel that traces the love and dysfunction running throughout five generations of Métis women. A large cast of narrators, primarily made up of Indigenous people, brings this story to life. Mamé (voiced by Tantoo Cardinal) and her daughter Geneviève, a tough old bird narrated by Jani Lauzon, come to terms with moving on to the afterlife. Lucie (portrayed by Monique Mojica) adamantly insists on dying with the help of a granddaughter she has never met, while Lucie's daughter Allie meekly tries to reconnect to this child whom she placed for adoption. The women cling to their culture and also reject it as they try to repair relationships that may be beyond fixing and search for reasons to go on with life. The women's narratives are joined by the stories of many others, including bison, the grasslands, an old Volvo, and two dogs. A delightful soundtrack, resplendent with fiddle reels and subtle drums, completes an already superb audiobook. VERDICT This is a storyteller's story that speaks landscapes, people, animals, and objects into being through its magic. An unforgettable, enchanting listen.--Laura Trombley
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Family stories echo each other, for good and ill, from one woman all the way down to her great-great-granddaughter. The stories of five generations of Indigenous women weave through this novel, set in western Canada. Mamé has already died but is struggling to negotiate the new norms on the other side. Her daughter Geneviève has checked herself into a rehab center at age 81 after decades of alcoholism. Gen's daughter, Lucie, is dying of cancer and has long been estranged from her own daughter, Allie. But Lucie has asked Allie's daughter, Carter, to help her die by suicide even though Carter and Lucie have never met. All of their stories, past and present, overlap in an intergenerational sweep of families fractured by racism, poverty, misogyny, and substance abuse. But family bonds persist, and for this family the strongest bond is music. The book's structure moves from one character to another, one time period to another, so often that some shifts are confusing. The most interesting stories, and those that get the most space, are Gen's and Carter's. Gen used to play piano at dance halls while her charismatic sister, Velma, played the fiddle, but Velma died years ago. As Gen detoxes, she has visions of Velma visiting so they can play together again. Carter is in the midst of divorcing her husband, a Croatian immigrant, and deciding what to do about her 3-year-old son as she battles addictions of her own--and whether to grant Lucie's request. Some of the book's elements of magical realism work, like Mamé's version of the next life and Gen's visits with Velma. Others, like chapters from the points of view of Gen's dogs and car, seem extraneous. But the book really bogs down in a long, repetitive, intermittent narrative about a lovelorn bison that never clicks with the rest of the story. Several intriguing characters and insightful story lines struggle to emerge from this overstuffed novel. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
