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lorilanefox 's review for:
Wenjack
by Joseph Boyden
I was a young college student when I first heard the story of Charlie/Chanie Wenjack in a song written and sung by Willie Dunn. The haunting lyrics sung in a deep voice that reminded me of my friend, Floyd Red Crow Westerman, stayed with me, and to this day, 30 some years later, I can still hear the song in my head. Fast forward to 2020, the lyrics played through my mind as I read Wenjack by Joseph Boyden, a heartbreaking novella about little Charlie/Chanie and his attempt to run away from the cruelties of enforced boarding school to find his way home. He was one among many children who attempted to run away, and he made it farther than most, but not far enough. He died, cold and alone, along the railroad tracks that he hoped would lead him home, some 600 km away. He did not die in vain, as his death in 1966 sparked the initial investigation that would eventually lead to the closure of Indian boarding schools in Canada 30 years later in 1996. Charlie’s/Chanie’s story is just one among many, heartbreaking not only because of the singularity of his suffering and death, but also because he was just one little boy among the thousands of indigenous children who suffered the same fate. Written from the point of view of the Manitous, the spirits, as they inhabit each of the animals that observe little Charlie/Chanie on his journey, this short but beautifully written novella broke my heart. 5 stars