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juniperbranches's review
challenging
dark
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
4.75
It’s 2013, and the Bow River that winds through Calgary, Alberta is about to spill its banks in a 100 year flood. Unfortunately for Shermeto, a middle aged un housed man, this flood is unlike any the city has seen in living history, and the city is unprepared. In order to protect the people he cares about, Shermeto must come face to face with the circumstances that brought him to living rough and find a way to make peace with the future and the past in order to survive.
This hurt to read. In a good way, mostly. This book is set in the city I’ve lived my 27 years in, and I can see each scene unfolding. The author has done a wonderful job at humanizing people living at the margins of society, and I’m so grateful for it. A huge percentage of people on this city and across the country are 1-3 missed away from housing insecurity. Living rough is something that could happen to any of us at any time, and this novel tries to find sense in that. I’ll be thinking about this one for a really long time.
This hurt to read. In a good way, mostly. This book is set in the city I’ve lived my 27 years in, and I can see each scene unfolding. The author has done a wonderful job at humanizing people living at the margins of society, and I’m so grateful for it. A huge percentage of people on this city and across the country are 1-3 missed away from housing insecurity. Living rough is something that could happen to any of us at any time, and this novel tries to find sense in that. I’ll be thinking about this one for a really long time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Abandonment, Suicide, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, and Blood
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Animal death
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