This book involved a bunch of terrible people in terrible situations, but the supernatural aspects of it (a talking raven, a woman with a creature inside of her, cannibalistic river otters) gave me a story line to laugh at, wonder at, and thoroughly enjoy. The story is essentially a coming of age one, where Jared learns more about himself and his family as he deals with the shit show that is his life. However this book was funny, it wasn’t a comedy, but I connected with the main character Jared, even though he is someone I have nothing in common with: he’s a sixteen-year-old alcoholic who gets abused by his mother, deals drugs, skips class and carries a gun. Poverty, drug addition and violence seem to surface in most books about First Nations people, which is why I have to mentally steel myself before diving in. Unfortunately, I typically approach indigenous writing with a bit of apprehension, just because I usually find most of the characters and the situations they find themselves in depressing. I’ve never read any of Eden Robinson‘s work before, but people discuss her books like she is always writing something worth reading, so I had high hopes when I picked up Son of a Trickster.
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