Book review: Happily ever after?
Martha lived her early years on the land of Cat Lake First Nation. She and her family were shattered by her removal, at the age of six, to attend residential school. In order to survive the divergence between a traditional way of living and life at the school she withdrew into herself. The tragedy of multiple abuses, including the sexual abuse suffered at the hands of a Catholic priest, Father Antoine, was devastating. She was not alone.
Martha returned home permanently at the age of 16 to find that her community mirrored the damage and hurt that she had experienced at school. Unable to reconnect to her former way of life and to reconcile her experiences, she fell into a life of loss and denial. Eventually, Martha struck out for city life in Toronto where she found the strength to build a new life for herself.
When she returned home from the city with her son Spider, she fell into her old patterns of coping. When her daughter Raven reported being part of a suicide pact involving several other youth who had already succumbed, the community initiated a healing circle to overcome the hopelessness that they were experiencing.
The novel covers a remarkable amount of information in a very short read. It is direct in its portrayal of the realities faced by Aboriginal people in Canada. While I found the conclusion somewhat “happily ever after”, the afterword gives the reader a better perspective on the realities of pain, healing and reconciliation.
“As Long as the Rivers Flow” by James Bartleman. Random House of Canada. Paperback. 244 pages. ISBN 978-0-307-39875-8. Copyright 2011 James Bartleman.
– Reviewed by Laura Dokis