Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by nicolebrookswriter
Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese
5.0
First off, it will never cease to amaze me what one group of people think they are justified in doing to another group of people, in the name of their god. Remove the savage Indian from the child? How about remove the corrupt, blind, arrogant faith in a wrathful, small-minded, omnipotent white guy from the Christian? I know that all cultures and religions have their black marks, none are perfect. But the fact that I was born in Canada in 1975 and didn’t learn about the schools until I was well into adulthood shows me the depth of secrecy that was surrounding this issue. It’s shameful.
That out of the way, the beginning of this book didn’t wow me. It was choppy and a bit flat and I had a hard time getting into it. In hindsight, I think it was meant to seem abrupt and disjointed-like the memories of a small child. Things started picking up around the middle and then bam! chapter 39 happened and I just lost it. Everything just fell apart (again) for Saul and it broke my heart. He came so close to having his version of a happy ending, and if anyone deserved it, it’s a child that survived the horror of residential schools. By the time he remembered the true story of what happened at the school near the end of the book, I was a blubbering mess. It takes a lot for me to cry like that with a book. Sure I’ll shed a random tear here and there, but to feel this heartbroken caught me off guard. I think it was because I now know the stories are true. This may be fiction but it was as close to the truth as it can get. I’ll never forget all of those children ripped from their families and forced to endure nothing short of torture. If they managed to get out alive, I’m sure it was with broken spirits. Should be required reading for all Canadians. RIP Richard Wagamese and thank you for writing this story.
That out of the way, the beginning of this book didn’t wow me. It was choppy and a bit flat and I had a hard time getting into it. In hindsight, I think it was meant to seem abrupt and disjointed-like the memories of a small child. Things started picking up around the middle and then bam! chapter 39 happened and I just lost it. Everything just fell apart (again) for Saul and it broke my heart. He came so close to having his version of a happy ending, and if anyone deserved it, it’s a child that survived the horror of residential schools. By the time he remembered the true story of what happened at the school near the end of the book, I was a blubbering mess. It takes a lot for me to cry like that with a book. Sure I’ll shed a random tear here and there, but to feel this heartbroken caught me off guard. I think it was because I now know the stories are true. This may be fiction but it was as close to the truth as it can get. I’ll never forget all of those children ripped from their families and forced to endure nothing short of torture. If they managed to get out alive, I’m sure it was with broken spirits. Should be required reading for all Canadians. RIP Richard Wagamese and thank you for writing this story.