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4.47 AVERAGE
4.47 AVERAGE
emotional
medium-paced
This is an excellent book. The writing is raw, clear, and at times harrowing. I'm not a big hockey fan, but the author takes you into the game with such brilliance I felt like I was on the ice with Saul.
An outstanding story about the horrors of residential schools and how the repercussions are still being felt by so many today. This book should be required reading in secondary school history and English classes as a step toward increasing understanding of First Nations communities and toward Reconciliation.
In an effort to escape the known terrors of residential school, Grandmother leads 8 year-old Saul and his family far into Northern Ontario to God's Lake, the spiritual center for the Indian Horse family. There, Saul learns how to truly live off the land and become at peace with the rhythms of Nature. But this brief experience with his ancestral home and feeling of belonging ends abruptly and he is forcibly taken to St Joseph's Residential School.
But, aside from the atrocities he sees during his five year detainment, he discovers both a passion and a talent for hockey at the school's meager outdoor rink. He takes on the chore of ice-keeper and steals time in the early mornings to teach himself to skate, shoot horse turds and mimic the moves he sees on television. He has an exceptional understanding of the game and develops incredible speed and accuracy on the ice. This gift is his ticket out of the school and he is given the opportunity to play with a competitive Native team and board with a family in town.
For a while, hockey carries Saul forward, filling him with joy and passion but, as he moves higher up the ranks and into bigger cities to play in hockey leagues, he becomes the target for racism, bullying and stereotyping. The joy of the game leaves him and he lowers himself to fighting on the ice. Soon he descends into alcoholism, vagrancy and desperate loneliness. It takes hitting rock bottom for Saul to finally take a long truthful look at his life and begin taking steps to face the dirty truth of what really happened at St Joseph's.
I was enthralled by this book and read it quickly, despite having no interest in my country's favourite past-time. Saul's devastation is palpable and Wagamese does an exceptional job of bringing to life the fierceness of Northern Ontario landscape, the thrill of a hockey game and the brutality of White people towards a talented Native player. It is a weighty topic, as is every account of residential schools, and written with so much depth and compassion. It should be required reading for all Canadians, especially with the Truth and Reconciliation Act in play.
I saw the movie Indian Horse before I read the book. Needless to say, the book is far superior to the movie.
Spoiler
with the death of his brother and abandonment of his parents. Shortly after, he witnesses the death of his dear grandmotherBut, aside from the atrocities he sees during his five year detainment, he discovers both a passion and a talent for hockey at the school's meager outdoor rink. He takes on the chore of ice-keeper and steals time in the early mornings to teach himself to skate, shoot horse turds and mimic the moves he sees on television. He has an exceptional understanding of the game and develops incredible speed and accuracy on the ice. This gift is his ticket out of the school and he is given the opportunity to play with a competitive Native team and board with a family in town.
For a while, hockey carries Saul forward, filling him with joy and passion but, as he moves higher up the ranks and into bigger cities to play in hockey leagues, he becomes the target for racism, bullying and stereotyping. The joy of the game leaves him and he lowers himself to fighting on the ice. Soon he descends into alcoholism, vagrancy and desperate loneliness. It takes hitting rock bottom for Saul to finally take a long truthful look at his life and begin taking steps to face the dirty truth of what really happened at St Joseph's.
I was enthralled by this book and read it quickly, despite having no interest in my country's favourite past-time. Saul's devastation is palpable and Wagamese does an exceptional job of bringing to life the fierceness of Northern Ontario landscape, the thrill of a hockey game and the brutality of White people towards a talented Native player. It is a weighty topic, as is every account of residential schools, and written with so much depth and compassion. It should be required reading for all Canadians, especially with the Truth and Reconciliation Act in play.
I saw the movie Indian Horse before I read the book. Needless to say, the book is far superior to the movie.
One that will stay with me for a long time. Beautifully written, with quiet force. Soft, powerful, heartbreaking, educational, uplifting, soulful, on and on. An important read, especially for Canadians.
I’m not sure what I was expecting. I read Wagamese’s Medicine Walk (and Starlight) and there were some overlapping themes (and storylines) in Indian Horse. Saul as a character had depth and promise. The hope for this character was continuously being extinguished. The phoenix from the ashes theme always works for me.
I didn’t realize there would be so much (or any) hockey in this story. The hockey scenes were a lot of fun to read - despite the connotations for the character.
I KNEW Father Leboutilier was a rapist piece of shit. I just knew it. No way that man was just going to be helping a kid like that for no reason. Just…devastating. Residential schools will always be one of the most horrific things to read about. But we have to keep reading about them.
The pacing was a bit unconventional but in a good way. The last 50 pages or so just kind of unravelled a bunch of years in Saul’s life but the focus having been on his childhood and teenage years made sense.
Hockey is a perfect game.
I didn’t realize there would be so much (or any) hockey in this story. The hockey scenes were a lot of fun to read - despite the connotations for the character.
I KNEW Father Leboutilier was a rapist piece of shit. I just knew it. No way that man was just going to be helping a kid like that for no reason. Just…devastating. Residential schools will always be one of the most horrific things to read about. But we have to keep reading about them.
The pacing was a bit unconventional but in a good way. The last 50 pages or so just kind of unravelled a bunch of years in Saul’s life but the focus having been on his childhood and teenage years made sense.
Hockey is a perfect game.
A heartbreaking and heartwarming story told in a fictitious memoir.
