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clanktrees's review
4.0
Enjoyed the magical realism, and the ways the author navigated and balanced heavy trauma with lyrical playfulness.
abigailcrawford's review against another edition
5.0
This book is a very interesting and captivating story. Its a wonderful book and I hope to find the time to reread it.
It traces the impact of Residential Schools and forced assimilation on two brothers, both of which experienced horrific sexual abuse at the hands of a priest, and both of which had wonderful talents, one musically and the other in dance. It shows the way their lives deteriorate as a result of the Residential schools and how much healthier and ambitious they were living and trapping with their parents, as well as how much happier their parents and community were before Reserves.
Ultimately, it explores the homosexuality of one brother and the failure of the other, while at the sane time weaving in Aboriginal traditions and the trickster.
The novel is political, it is heartbreaking, and it is wonderful.
It traces the impact of Residential Schools and forced assimilation on two brothers, both of which experienced horrific sexual abuse at the hands of a priest, and both of which had wonderful talents, one musically and the other in dance. It shows the way their lives deteriorate as a result of the Residential schools and how much healthier and ambitious they were living and trapping with their parents, as well as how much happier their parents and community were before Reserves.
Ultimately, it explores the homosexuality of one brother and the failure of the other, while at the sane time weaving in Aboriginal traditions and the trickster.
The novel is political, it is heartbreaking, and it is wonderful.
teacupsandfirereads's review
4.0
This is such an essential read for all Canadians. It's a hard one though. It covers the long-lasting trauma of indigenous peoples by residential schools. Indigenous writers have a beautiful, circular way of writing that can at times seem haphazard for non-indigenous peoples. I would love to see this as a required reading for high-school students across the country. When this book got though, I just kept going because that is part of the experience. We were not there, we will never know and the only way to have a glimmer of understanding is by reading and educating ourselves.
kukushka's review against another edition
5.0
Kiss of the Fur Queen is the story of two Cree brothers who were taken from their families to be raised in one of Canada’s infamous residential schools. The story follows them as adults as they come to terms with what happened to them.
It’s a magical story that interweaves the compelling story of the brothers and the more mystical elements of Cree tradition. Highway’s style is lyrical, but with a gritty realism that prevents it from ever seeming too purple.
I read Kiss of the Fur Queen as part of my university course on First Nations literature (as the “modern fiction” entry) and it was by far my favourite book of the course, perhaps of the entire year; and the beauty of the novel has stayed with me over the years. I can’t recommend it enough!
It’s a magical story that interweaves the compelling story of the brothers and the more mystical elements of Cree tradition. Highway’s style is lyrical, but with a gritty realism that prevents it from ever seeming too purple.
I read Kiss of the Fur Queen as part of my university course on First Nations literature (as the “modern fiction” entry) and it was by far my favourite book of the course, perhaps of the entire year; and the beauty of the novel has stayed with me over the years. I can’t recommend it enough!
eila's review
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Gorgeous, heartbreaking, and utterly in a league of its own.
inkblotmoon's review
5.0
A truly captivating blend of English narrative and Cree storytelling....it was like one gorgeous fever-dream.
The story of two brothers from northern Manitoba, it was, at times, brutal and distressing (residential schools, the loss and degradation of an ancient culture), it still had undercurrents of utter joy and delight as it followed them from their birth-home through the cruel upheaval of the residential school system and then the fall-out of their stolen lives.
This one will stay with me for a good long while.
The story of two brothers from northern Manitoba, it was, at times, brutal and distressing (residential schools, the loss and degradation of an ancient culture), it still had undercurrents of utter joy and delight as it followed them from their birth-home through the cruel upheaval of the residential school system and then the fall-out of their stolen lives.
This one will stay with me for a good long while.
banana29's review
5.0
I'm not sure why I never read this book when it first came out, but I just found it this year. It is an incredibly moving story of what it was like to attend a residential school. More importantly, it made me feel much more in touch with the complicated issues surrounding native Canadians and the displacement of their culture. A must read for Can Lit fans. This book would be an excellent complement to a reading of The Rez Sisters, also by Tomson Highway.
athenalindia's review
4.0
Different books bring different pleasures. Sometimes it's the plot, tense and urgent and carrying me along. Sometimes it's characters, people I come to love and want to see what happens to, and who make it hurt when bad things come. Most rarely of all, I think, it's the writing itself, the kind of writing that wraps you up and carries you along, that, rather than being at best unobtrusive, leaves me searching for just the right turn of phrase to capture how the prose makes me feel.
Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
holmesstorybooks's review
5.0
If people are looking into human history millennia from now, I hope they find this book. If aliens were to take form and come to my house, I'd hand them this book.
Highway takes the two lives of two young men, Champion (Jeremiah) and Ooneemeetoo (Gabriel) and gives you everything about their lives. The Residential school system, their lives in Mistik lake and the men they become. Jeremiah, afraid of his Indian identity, and Gabriel, battling with his own queerness.
This book is visceral -- it mentions blood, sweat, tears, cum, shit, all without flinching, without looking away. It points out the absurdity of colonialism and dips into one of my favourite things -- pointing out the ridiculousness of the English language. Cree is like a code, spoken softly, spoken secretly, two boys like spies against the world.
Music, in this book, behaves like a language. A language that transcends all barriers. It lifts Jeremiah out of residential school and, after ten years of not playing, lifts him out of his own personal struggles again.
I can see Gabriel so clearly, so vividly, that sometimes, while reading his chapters, I would cry. I feel his presence beside me. I wanted to wrap him up in my arms and protect him and tell him I love him. Every time he danced, I felt it. Every time he smiled, I felt it. Every time his heart hurt, I felt it.
This book is redemption and ruin all at once.
And somewhere, out there, Weesageechak, the trickster, the raven, the coyote, the Fur Queen, is dancing, laughing, singing. And somewhere, out there, Tomson Highway heard.
Highway takes the two lives of two young men, Champion (Jeremiah) and Ooneemeetoo (Gabriel) and gives you everything about their lives. The Residential school system, their lives in Mistik lake and the men they become. Jeremiah, afraid of his Indian identity, and Gabriel, battling with his own queerness.
This book is visceral -- it mentions blood, sweat, tears, cum, shit, all without flinching, without looking away. It points out the absurdity of colonialism and dips into one of my favourite things -- pointing out the ridiculousness of the English language. Cree is like a code, spoken softly, spoken secretly, two boys like spies against the world.
Music, in this book, behaves like a language. A language that transcends all barriers. It lifts Jeremiah out of residential school and, after ten years of not playing, lifts him out of his own personal struggles again.
I can see Gabriel so clearly, so vividly, that sometimes, while reading his chapters, I would cry. I feel his presence beside me. I wanted to wrap him up in my arms and protect him and tell him I love him. Every time he danced, I felt it. Every time he smiled, I felt it. Every time his heart hurt, I felt it.
This book is redemption and ruin all at once.
And somewhere, out there, Weesageechak, the trickster, the raven, the coyote, the Fur Queen, is dancing, laughing, singing. And somewhere, out there, Tomson Highway heard.