Joseph Boyden’s two novels tell the stories of four generations of the Bird family, Oji-Crees from Northern Ontario. These stories of family and friendship, set against the backdrop of life on a native reserve and the legacy of residential schools are both moving and entertaining. I highly recommend everyone read both of these novels.
Three Day Road (Penguin Canada) tells the stories of Xavier Bird and his aunt Niska. As the book begins, Niska Bird, the last Oji-Cree medicine woman to live off the land in Northern Ontario, travels south to meet her nephew Xavier who has recently returned from fighting in WWI. As the two travel home by canoe, their intertwining stories of hardship and loss each help the other to come to terms with their pasts and to find a path to a better future.
Set in the present day, Boyden’s follow-up novel Through Black Spruce (Viking Canada) tells the stories of Annie Bird and her uncle Will. While each experiences a troubled present, they recall their secret pasts. As each comes to terms with their past actions and experiences, they are able to move forward with new hope for peace and happiness.
Related links:
For more information about Joseph Boyden, visit www.josephboyden.com.
To buy his books, visit www.chapters.ca.
For information about Canada’s residential schools, visit:
CBC – (http://archives.cbc.ca/society/education/topics/692/)
Assembly of First Nations -(http://www.afn.ca/residentialschools/history.html)
Wikipedia -(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Indian_residential_school_system).
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