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A review by careinthelibrary
Kiss of the Fur Queen by Tomson Highway
Kiss of the Fur Queen was my August book that I read for my "long unread" challenge where I read books that have been on my tbr for at least four years. This is a classic of Cree literature and rightfully deserves the reputation and merits it has been awarded.
This was not what I expected. The first portion of the book was spectacular and in line with a lot of other books I've read about residential schools and Indigenous life in twentieth-century rural "Canada". The second portion was so unexpected and unlike anything I've read before. The perspective, timeline, and tonal shifts were a bit hard to follow but the message was there. This incorporates a lot of Cree mythology, spirituality, and traditional storytelling elements which I have never read about before and I'm grateful that they were reproduced and imagined in this novel even if I couldn't grasp the scope of it. The story is powerful, and the characters are memorable. If you haven't read this yet, take your time with it and savour it. It's not a book to be rushed through or half-listened to. It demands full attention to witness the lives of these two brothers. Definitely one that would benefit from a reread one day.
content warnings for: children in danger, residential school abuse (sexual), cultural loss, rape, murder, HIV/AIDS epidemic, religious conversion/religion-motivated prejudice, alcohol/drug use.
This was not what I expected. The first portion of the book was spectacular and in line with a lot of other books I've read about residential schools and Indigenous life in twentieth-century rural "Canada". The second portion was so unexpected and unlike anything I've read before. The perspective, timeline, and tonal shifts were a bit hard to follow but the message was there. This incorporates a lot of Cree mythology, spirituality, and traditional storytelling elements which I have never read about before and I'm grateful that they were reproduced and imagined in this novel even if I couldn't grasp the scope of it. The story is powerful, and the characters are memorable. If you haven't read this yet, take your time with it and savour it. It's not a book to be rushed through or half-listened to. It demands full attention to witness the lives of these two brothers. Definitely one that would benefit from a reread one day.
content warnings for: children in danger, residential school abuse (sexual), cultural loss, rape, murder, HIV/AIDS epidemic, religious conversion/religion-motivated prejudice, alcohol/drug use.