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readwithnina 's review for:
Wenjack
by Joseph Boyden
Canada conveys itself as a multicultural and non-racist society; however, racism is evident and deeply embedded in Canadian history as a settler colonial society through Indigenous land dispossession and acts of cultural genocide.
Wenjack is a beautifully written novella by Joseph Boyden about Chanie Wenjack, a residential school student who attempted to escape the unfortunate and harrowing experience in the hands of the pale teachers, or "Fish Bellies". The transition of the narrators in each chapters was excellent. It felt like I was having a one on one conversation with Chanie and the spirits and animals of the forest (beautifully illustrated by Kent Monkman). Wenjack was a quick but not an easy read - and really, no story about the residential school experience should be. It left me immensely heartbroken.
“If the Fish Bellies hear me speak my words they beat me with a stick and make me eat soap.”
The atrocities and forced assimilation by the French and English towards the Indigenous peoples is a relevant issue that every person living in Canada must be aware of.
This is my second book by Joseph Boyden. Three Day Road was a required reading for ENG4U back in high school. I don't really remember much about the plot but I do remember and appreciate Boyden's prose.
Wenjack is a beautifully written novella by Joseph Boyden about Chanie Wenjack, a residential school student who attempted to escape the unfortunate and harrowing experience in the hands of the pale teachers, or "Fish Bellies". The transition of the narrators in each chapters was excellent. It felt like I was having a one on one conversation with Chanie and the spirits and animals of the forest (beautifully illustrated by Kent Monkman). Wenjack was a quick but not an easy read - and really, no story about the residential school experience should be. It left me immensely heartbroken.
“If the Fish Bellies hear me speak my words they beat me with a stick and make me eat soap.”
The atrocities and forced assimilation by the French and English towards the Indigenous peoples is a relevant issue that every person living in Canada must be aware of.
This is my second book by Joseph Boyden. Three Day Road was a required reading for ENG4U back in high school. I don't really remember much about the plot but I do remember and appreciate Boyden's prose.