Monday 19 March 2018

Canada Reads: book 2

Book 2: "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline

   What an ominous cover!  It certainly does reflect the tone of the novel.  It is a young adult novel and I compare it to "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy.  They are both post apocalyptic and very dark.
   In this novel, the indigenous people are being hunted AGAIN!  This time for bone marrow to solve the problems of the rest of the world.  A teenage boy, Frenchie, joins a group to escape the "Recruiters" who are rounding them up and taking them to 'marrow-stealing' factories.
  I recognize the value of great story-telling to shed light on important issues.  That is what dystopian novels do for us, but I find them so difficult to read.
  I also recognize that I get too involved in the novel.  At one point in the story, Frenchie listened to the stories of the others in this disparate group of people 'on the run'.  Each individual story was heart-breaking and Frenchie said, "I wanted to throw up.  I felt the bile burn at the base of my throat,  I couldn't take anymore".  At this point in the novel, I understood exactly what he meant.  Every story was so distressing. 
  But I realize that in this novel about 'the hunted trying to hunt', the basic question is: "What does it mean to be human?"
  Lovely to read about the Anishinaabe people.  But so, so sad.


Jully Black

Jully Black is called "Canada's queen of R and B". She will be defending this novel for Canada Reads.  She is known for championing causes and attempts to use her career as a platform to inspire others to celebrate the greatness that is in everyone.
Cherie Dimaline




But I want to also celebrate the author of this book - Cherie Dimaline, a Canadian Metis writer.  This book has won many awards.

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