Review by serendipitysbooks - Kukum

serendipitysbooks 's review for:

Kukum by Michel Jean

4.25

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Kukum is the fictionalised account of the life of Almanda Simèon, a young Francophone woman who falls in love with an Innu man, marries him and lives as part of the Pekuakam Innu community. She was also the author's great-grandmother. The first two-thirds of the book recount her meeting Thomas, their marriage and her move to his community, and details of their traditional ways of life - the nomadic lifestyle, hunting, beading, making maple sugar, sharing what they had with others even in hard times. This was fine, certainly interesting, but nothing that was new to me, and the writing and/or translation was fairly basic, even a little stilted. Where the book really shone for me was in the final third when the modernisation of Quebec picked up. This conflicted with the traditional Innu lifestyle, and the reader was brought face to face with colonisation in action through the joint forces of church, state, and business. The growth of forestry prevented the Innu from travelling via river or lake since these were reserved for log driving , while the decimation of the forest habitat meant families could no longer support themselves by hunting. The impact of residential schools was clear at both the community (loss of language among the young leading to a generational divide, the trauma experinced at school contributing to alcoholism and suicides) and individual level (one of Almanda's granddaughters died under mysterious circumstances while at school and her family wasn't even notified until the end of the school year when she was not brought home). I was interested to learn of the impact of motor vehicles on reservations with many children being killed by speeding and/or dangerous driving and little official concern or desire to properly investigate, let alone prosecute drivers. The image of Almanda travelling to Quebec City and refusing to leave the provincial premier met with her and listened to her concerns still makes me smile. And her determination led to footpaths being constructed in the reservation, helping to keep the children safe from cars.

Content Warnings