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Just Pretending
From one of Canada's most exciting new Metis voices comes a book whose recurring themes include the complexities of identity, belonging/not belonging, Aboriginal adoption, loss and abandonment, regret and insecurity.
A deadbeat dad tries to reconnect with his daughter after 22 years away. A selfish poet has been scarred by an upbringing that leaves him emotionally distant from his children and spouse. A pot-smoking middle-aged man undertakes a modest quest for meaning following a brush with mortality. A fourteen-year-old girl struggles to come to terms with her feelings of abandonment.
The characters are often fragile, sometimes unlikeable, but ultimately can be identified or sympathized with. At the centre of the stories are notions of identity and belonging, and the complex relationships between children and parents, both those who are real and those who are just pretending.
A deadbeat dad tries to reconnect with his daughter after 22 years away. A selfish poet has been scarred by an upbringing that leaves him emotionally distant from his children and spouse. A pot-smoking middle-aged man undertakes a modest quest for meaning following a brush with mortality. A fourteen-year-old girl struggles to come to terms with her feelings of abandonment.
The characters are often fragile, sometimes unlikeable, but ultimately can be identified or sympathized with. At the centre of the stories are notions of identity and belonging, and the complex relationships between children and parents, both those who are real and those who are just pretending.
222 pages, Paperback
First published April 2, 2013
5 people are currently reading
251 people want to read
About the author
Lisa Bird-Wilson
4 books163 followersLisa Bird-Wilson is a Métis and nêhiyaw (Cree) writer whose work appears in literary magazines and anthologies across Canada. Her fiction book, Just Pretending (2013), was a finalist for the national Danuta Gleed Literary Award and won four Saskatchewan Book Awards, including 2014 Book of the Year. Her new novel, Probably Ruby, is published in Canada by Doubleday (2021) and in the USA by Hogarth/Random House in spring 2022.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 15, 2017
Someones been lying to you. p21
But what if they are just pretending?
Most of the characters in this brilliant collection of short stories are pretending that they are OK.
Lisa Bird-Wilson tells it like it is. Her prose is like clearwater, swift and clean, often agonizing and sometimes helplessly funny.
The story DeeDee especially stood out for me as almost apocryphal as it traces the slow doom of a reunion in a pub.
These were the things he knew, but it didn't stop him from wishing for something to change.
from The Visit p73
But what if they are just pretending?
Most of the characters in this brilliant collection of short stories are pretending that they are OK.
Lisa Bird-Wilson tells it like it is. Her prose is like clearwater, swift and clean, often agonizing and sometimes helplessly funny.
The story DeeDee especially stood out for me as almost apocryphal as it traces the slow doom of a reunion in a pub.
These were the things he knew, but it didn't stop him from wishing for something to change.
from The Visit p73
March 20, 2019
Heartbreaking stories — particularly those about women and loss. I found this to be a difficult read. Had the good fortune to hear the author read from the book when I was about midway through (and had had to stop for a bit because of the subject matter). Hearing the stories in her voice allowed me to see some of the humour she was sharing. Prior to that, I could see no light side or humour.
May 14, 2014
Books are another thing that happen when you’re making other plans. My friend, Maria Meindl, recently recommended I read Union Street, Pat Barker’s first novel. On Maria’s blog, she writes, “When I read The M Word, I thought of the at-times agonizing intimacy of Barker’s book. She portrays the women in a working class neighbourhood in northern England. At first read, I pegged it as taking place just after World War Two, a grittier version of Call the Midwife; then it became disturbingly clear that this was the 1970s. The women’s choices are severely limited, and not surprisingly, the key moments, the defining dramas of their lives are played out on the stage of motherhood.”
So I tracked down a copy, even though it was the worst edition ever, and read it last week while were in Winnipeg. And I’m so grateful to Maria for recommending this book, which is a collection of linked short stories whose different characters (ranging from an 11 year old girl to a Hagar Shipley-ish character not far from death) mark the progression of a woman’s life. The book is gritty, effortlessly daring, disturbing, and ever-surprising. Barker’s women feature levels of complexity not often seen in fiction, and while “the key moments [of] the defining dramas of their lives” are events that we have encountered before, we’ve never encountered them from Barker’s particular angle in which these characters with so little agency are allotted a complicated breadth. These women are not just victims, but they are whole, complicated, flawed and brilliant beings. Their lives are depicted in agonizing detail, what it is to inhabit these bodies which birth, miscarry, are beaten, stand for hours on a factory line (and its a cake factory–the most magnificent detail), which are raped, fucked, rarely loved (but sometimes), tired and weary. But not just bodies–these are people. It’s a truly extraordinary book.
union-streetThe book I turned to next, presuming no connection, was Just Pretending, a short story by Lisa Bird-Wilson, who is a Metis writer from Saskatchewan whose stories have been widely published in prominent Canadian literary journals. Just Pretending had been on my radar for a while, but I took special notice when it recently took multiple prizes at the Saskatchewan Book Awards, including University of Regina Book of the Year. And it soon became clear to me as I started to read that Barker and Bird-Wilson’s books are similar projects, portraying the wholeness of marginalized women’s experiences, experiences which hinge on maternity, on motherhood and daughterhood, and on what happens when these connections are broken.
Many of these stories centre on characters who have been divorced from their heritage. In the first story, “blood memory”, a woman about to give birth to her first child imagines what her birth mother must have experienced at her own birth, and anticipates the awesome, surreal experience of meeting a blood relation for the first time in her life. In “the nirvana principle”, a young girl whose trauma from abandonment is compounded after a difficult experience attempts to outsmart-aleck her psychiatrist. A father in “deedee” visits a bar in a strip-mall, anticipating a reunion with the daughter he hasn’t seen for years, but she never shows and he gets lost to his old demons. In “Julia and Joe”, a young woman is about to give birth to her first child and and navigating complicated terrain as she lives with the father of the boyfriend who has taken off and left her. A woman’s dream of a happy blended family in “oldest sons” is tainted by the disappearance of her stepson. In “Just Pretending”, a teenage girl who is adopted contemplates her “real family”, which hangs her entire present situation in a state of “pretend”, enabling her to take risks with a charismatic older boy which leads to tragic consequences.
In so many of these stories, pregnancies are miscarried, babies stillborn, symbolizing the perpetuation of the disconnection between the future and the past, and also characters’ lack of agency in their own circumstances. Not to mention reflecting reality. Characters also struggle with addiction–a particularly strong story is “drinking wine spo dee o dee”, in which a down-and-out character drinks in a bus station parking lot in Winnipeg. His girlfriend has taken off to Toronto to find the child she gave up for adoption years ago, and he tells his story as testament to her: “Sadie liked me telling stories. ‘It’s how we know who we are,’ she was always saying,” but he points out that his stories were different from hers, which were “ancestors and shit like that. Mine are just life stories. Jokes and life stories.” Just as powerful though.
This story is followed by “hungry”, about a young girl whose abused and deprived experiences in the care of her mother lead to uprootings and trouble in foster care. Desperate for love, for something to call her own, she puts up with the attention of male classmates who end up raping her, and she becomes pregnant. It’s a harrowing but illuminating story, how one thing leads to another, how there is a light inside Bird-Wilson’s Lucy Wingfeather that no amount of trauma can extinguish. It is a story of perpetuating cycles, and then there is a powerful conclusion of connection finally, in which the mother/daughter connection is finally completed, which parallels a similar conclusion in Pat Barker’s story of a woman whose painful existence as an abused wife leaves her despairing at having brought a daughter (another woman) into the world to continue the struggle, and then finally, she recognizes her daughter and there is some kind of catharsis (we hope).
And we do hope. We cling to the moments of light in these stories, the powerful longing and love to cancel out all that gets lost. There is also humour here, both situational and also in the voices which Bird-Wilson evokes to bring her characters to life. There is a real mix of stories in the collection, and my only criticism of the book is that I’d have preferred more careful creation, perhaps fewer stories with the connections between them made implicit. While Bird-Wilson’s considerable talent is clear here, it would have been better highlighted with more selectivity, a nod to the book itself in addition to its stories.
But the stories are strong. It’s true that our stories are how we know who we are, but they’re also how others can know us, how the experiences of other people can be known. So I am glad that Lisa Bird-Wilson and Just Pretending are receiving such deserved attention. These are life stories, and there is is nothing “just” about it. Pun intended.
So I tracked down a copy, even though it was the worst edition ever, and read it last week while were in Winnipeg. And I’m so grateful to Maria for recommending this book, which is a collection of linked short stories whose different characters (ranging from an 11 year old girl to a Hagar Shipley-ish character not far from death) mark the progression of a woman’s life. The book is gritty, effortlessly daring, disturbing, and ever-surprising. Barker’s women feature levels of complexity not often seen in fiction, and while “the key moments [of] the defining dramas of their lives” are events that we have encountered before, we’ve never encountered them from Barker’s particular angle in which these characters with so little agency are allotted a complicated breadth. These women are not just victims, but they are whole, complicated, flawed and brilliant beings. Their lives are depicted in agonizing detail, what it is to inhabit these bodies which birth, miscarry, are beaten, stand for hours on a factory line (and its a cake factory–the most magnificent detail), which are raped, fucked, rarely loved (but sometimes), tired and weary. But not just bodies–these are people. It’s a truly extraordinary book.
union-streetThe book I turned to next, presuming no connection, was Just Pretending, a short story by Lisa Bird-Wilson, who is a Metis writer from Saskatchewan whose stories have been widely published in prominent Canadian literary journals. Just Pretending had been on my radar for a while, but I took special notice when it recently took multiple prizes at the Saskatchewan Book Awards, including University of Regina Book of the Year. And it soon became clear to me as I started to read that Barker and Bird-Wilson’s books are similar projects, portraying the wholeness of marginalized women’s experiences, experiences which hinge on maternity, on motherhood and daughterhood, and on what happens when these connections are broken.
Many of these stories centre on characters who have been divorced from their heritage. In the first story, “blood memory”, a woman about to give birth to her first child imagines what her birth mother must have experienced at her own birth, and anticipates the awesome, surreal experience of meeting a blood relation for the first time in her life. In “the nirvana principle”, a young girl whose trauma from abandonment is compounded after a difficult experience attempts to outsmart-aleck her psychiatrist. A father in “deedee” visits a bar in a strip-mall, anticipating a reunion with the daughter he hasn’t seen for years, but she never shows and he gets lost to his old demons. In “Julia and Joe”, a young woman is about to give birth to her first child and and navigating complicated terrain as she lives with the father of the boyfriend who has taken off and left her. A woman’s dream of a happy blended family in “oldest sons” is tainted by the disappearance of her stepson. In “Just Pretending”, a teenage girl who is adopted contemplates her “real family”, which hangs her entire present situation in a state of “pretend”, enabling her to take risks with a charismatic older boy which leads to tragic consequences.
In so many of these stories, pregnancies are miscarried, babies stillborn, symbolizing the perpetuation of the disconnection between the future and the past, and also characters’ lack of agency in their own circumstances. Not to mention reflecting reality. Characters also struggle with addiction–a particularly strong story is “drinking wine spo dee o dee”, in which a down-and-out character drinks in a bus station parking lot in Winnipeg. His girlfriend has taken off to Toronto to find the child she gave up for adoption years ago, and he tells his story as testament to her: “Sadie liked me telling stories. ‘It’s how we know who we are,’ she was always saying,” but he points out that his stories were different from hers, which were “ancestors and shit like that. Mine are just life stories. Jokes and life stories.” Just as powerful though.
This story is followed by “hungry”, about a young girl whose abused and deprived experiences in the care of her mother lead to uprootings and trouble in foster care. Desperate for love, for something to call her own, she puts up with the attention of male classmates who end up raping her, and she becomes pregnant. It’s a harrowing but illuminating story, how one thing leads to another, how there is a light inside Bird-Wilson’s Lucy Wingfeather that no amount of trauma can extinguish. It is a story of perpetuating cycles, and then there is a powerful conclusion of connection finally, in which the mother/daughter connection is finally completed, which parallels a similar conclusion in Pat Barker’s story of a woman whose painful existence as an abused wife leaves her despairing at having brought a daughter (another woman) into the world to continue the struggle, and then finally, she recognizes her daughter and there is some kind of catharsis (we hope).
And we do hope. We cling to the moments of light in these stories, the powerful longing and love to cancel out all that gets lost. There is also humour here, both situational and also in the voices which Bird-Wilson evokes to bring her characters to life. There is a real mix of stories in the collection, and my only criticism of the book is that I’d have preferred more careful creation, perhaps fewer stories with the connections between them made implicit. While Bird-Wilson’s considerable talent is clear here, it would have been better highlighted with more selectivity, a nod to the book itself in addition to its stories.
But the stories are strong. It’s true that our stories are how we know who we are, but they’re also how others can know us, how the experiences of other people can be known. So I am glad that Lisa Bird-Wilson and Just Pretending are receiving such deserved attention. These are life stories, and there is is nothing “just” about it. Pun intended.
June 6, 2020
Lisa Bird-Wilson, a female Métis author from Saskatchewan, wrote Just Pretending. It is the author’s first book-length work of fiction and is a collection of short stories with a common theme - all told from a Métis character’s perspective. I don’t read too many short story collections because until now I haven’t really been a big fan of this genre. My thorough enjoyment of this book was a very pleasant surprise.
Bird-Wilson's writing is terrific. It is highly skilled, fresh and poignant. All eighteen stories, while told by different people, are each told in the first person narrative. In most cases, I really felt like I was listening to someone telling me a story. I felt like I was experiencing the oral story tradition used so prevalently in First Nations, Inuit and Métis’ cultures to teach, to communicate and to pass along his/herstory.
The stories gave me a real sense of Métis' life - racism, taunting by natives and non-natives alike, alcohol abuse, poverty, physical abuse, young moms, lots of pretending life might be different, lots of love, camaraderie, humour, surprises and really great characters. They were stories from every day people, sometimes about significant events, and at other times just about simple activities in their daily lives. Each story was different but all were interesting, full-of-heart and connected. Bird-Wilson brought the people and stories to life. All the characters felt very authentic and elicited a great range of feelings from me - heartbreak, sadness, humour, joy, anger, love, poignancy.
Bird-Wilson provided stories of significant diversity in the narrators’ age, sex, mental state, dependencies, familial bonds etceteras - a diverse reflection and cross-section of Métis characters. She definitely made the point that there is not a stereotypical Métis nor a mold used to model all Métis in a similar manner. Like all people of any race or heritage there is a wide range of personalities, personal talents and attributes of amongst people of Métis heritage. The commonality for many is their physical circumstances of poverty and the negative impacts of being forced to abandon their traditional way of life immersed in nature, i.e. fishing, hunting, obtaining their food, where they live etc. Unfortunately in many cases they also shared common themes of being subject to racism and living in the lower socio-economic bracket. Like all of us most wanted more for themselves and especially for their families.
At the end of almost all the stories, I was left wondering what would happen later. Would things improve? Would things work out? Would they achieve their dreams? Would they live or die?
I definitely plan to read more of Bird-Wilson’s work. She's a wonderful story teller and has been the recipient of numerous nominations and awards for both her poetry and short stories. Recommendations of the book on the flap are from major authors like Richard Van Camp, J. Jill Robinson and Richard Wagamese. (see below)
Similarly, there was a substantial buzz around the publication of Just Pretending with numerous positive reviews and some interesting interviews. (see below)
Just Pretending is well worth reading. It combines great writing with important information that teaches readers a lot. It also made me feel way down in my core. 4 stars
Book's Cover Choice
Kudos to Couteau Books and Lisa Bird-Wilson for the book’s cover choice. It’s not something I usually comment on but thought it was the perfect choice for the title of the book and what was inside. The cover features the haunting eyes and mouth of two halves of a split face (maybe the same face and maybe not. It’s hard to tell.) It definitely would attract readers who peruse covers and seems to tie in so well to the theme of the short story collection. I suspect a great deal of thought went into this book cover and it shows.
Back Flap Recommendations
"These stories are sung low from the throats of women who know heartache for characters you'll never forget. Lisa Bird-Wilson has the Atwood eye for detail and the ability to deliver that Carver tone. Her’s is a voice to be cherished and respected."
I think the last line was Her voice is a voice to be cherished and respected.
– Richard Van Camp, author of The Lesser Blessed
After reading this emotionally stunning collection, you will never look at the Métis experience in the same way. Bird-Wilson’s knowing, engaging voice is beautiful, and calm; it is the storyteller’s voice: graceful, dark, authentic, funny, and true.
– J. Jill Robinson, author of More in Anger
Beginning of Wagamese’s comments on flap is not included here
Its style is funky and upbeat, like snapping fingers around an oil-barrel fire in some back alley when there’s only song and wine to keep you going.
"Inventive, curious, leading us onward by its meter and its drive, this is storytelling as a doo-wop ballad, touching and instantly recognizable."
– Richard Wagamese, author of Indian Horse
Many Rave Reviews and some Excellent Interview Links:
Interview & Review by Shirley Byers:
http://coteaubooks.com/index.php?id=1052
49th Shelf - Interview by Kerry Clare
https://49thshelf.com/Blog/2014/06/30...
Winnipeg Review of Just Pretending by Brock Peters: http://coteaubooks.com/index/2/713/ju...
All Lit Up - First Fiction Fridays
https://alllitup.ca/Blog/First-Fictio...
Literary Review of Canada by Ibi Kaslik
http://reviewcanada.ca/magazine/2013/...
Briar Patch Magazine by Yutaka Dirks
https://briarpatchmagazine.com/articl...
Prism International by Kim McCullough
http://coteaubooks.com/index/2/713/ju...
Prism International Interview by Nathaniel G. Moore
https://prismmagazine.ca/2017/04/13/i...
The Temz Review - A review by Amy Mitchell
https://www.thetemzreview.com/amy-mit...
Bird-Wilson's writing is terrific. It is highly skilled, fresh and poignant. All eighteen stories, while told by different people, are each told in the first person narrative. In most cases, I really felt like I was listening to someone telling me a story. I felt like I was experiencing the oral story tradition used so prevalently in First Nations, Inuit and Métis’ cultures to teach, to communicate and to pass along his/herstory.
The stories gave me a real sense of Métis' life - racism, taunting by natives and non-natives alike, alcohol abuse, poverty, physical abuse, young moms, lots of pretending life might be different, lots of love, camaraderie, humour, surprises and really great characters. They were stories from every day people, sometimes about significant events, and at other times just about simple activities in their daily lives. Each story was different but all were interesting, full-of-heart and connected. Bird-Wilson brought the people and stories to life. All the characters felt very authentic and elicited a great range of feelings from me - heartbreak, sadness, humour, joy, anger, love, poignancy.
Bird-Wilson provided stories of significant diversity in the narrators’ age, sex, mental state, dependencies, familial bonds etceteras - a diverse reflection and cross-section of Métis characters. She definitely made the point that there is not a stereotypical Métis nor a mold used to model all Métis in a similar manner. Like all people of any race or heritage there is a wide range of personalities, personal talents and attributes of amongst people of Métis heritage. The commonality for many is their physical circumstances of poverty and the negative impacts of being forced to abandon their traditional way of life immersed in nature, i.e. fishing, hunting, obtaining their food, where they live etc. Unfortunately in many cases they also shared common themes of being subject to racism and living in the lower socio-economic bracket. Like all of us most wanted more for themselves and especially for their families.
At the end of almost all the stories, I was left wondering what would happen later. Would things improve? Would things work out? Would they achieve their dreams? Would they live or die?
I definitely plan to read more of Bird-Wilson’s work. She's a wonderful story teller and has been the recipient of numerous nominations and awards for both her poetry and short stories. Recommendations of the book on the flap are from major authors like Richard Van Camp, J. Jill Robinson and Richard Wagamese. (see below)
Similarly, there was a substantial buzz around the publication of Just Pretending with numerous positive reviews and some interesting interviews. (see below)
Just Pretending is well worth reading. It combines great writing with important information that teaches readers a lot. It also made me feel way down in my core. 4 stars
Book's Cover Choice
Kudos to Couteau Books and Lisa Bird-Wilson for the book’s cover choice. It’s not something I usually comment on but thought it was the perfect choice for the title of the book and what was inside. The cover features the haunting eyes and mouth of two halves of a split face (maybe the same face and maybe not. It’s hard to tell.) It definitely would attract readers who peruse covers and seems to tie in so well to the theme of the short story collection. I suspect a great deal of thought went into this book cover and it shows.
Back Flap Recommendations
"These stories are sung low from the throats of women who know heartache for characters you'll never forget. Lisa Bird-Wilson has the Atwood eye for detail and the ability to deliver that Carver tone. Her’s is a voice to be cherished and respected."
I think the last line was Her voice is a voice to be cherished and respected.
– Richard Van Camp, author of The Lesser Blessed
After reading this emotionally stunning collection, you will never look at the Métis experience in the same way. Bird-Wilson’s knowing, engaging voice is beautiful, and calm; it is the storyteller’s voice: graceful, dark, authentic, funny, and true.
– J. Jill Robinson, author of More in Anger
Beginning of Wagamese’s comments on flap is not included here
Its style is funky and upbeat, like snapping fingers around an oil-barrel fire in some back alley when there’s only song and wine to keep you going.
"Inventive, curious, leading us onward by its meter and its drive, this is storytelling as a doo-wop ballad, touching and instantly recognizable."
– Richard Wagamese, author of Indian Horse
Many Rave Reviews and some Excellent Interview Links:
Interview & Review by Shirley Byers:
http://coteaubooks.com/index.php?id=1052
49th Shelf - Interview by Kerry Clare
https://49thshelf.com/Blog/2014/06/30...
Winnipeg Review of Just Pretending by Brock Peters: http://coteaubooks.com/index/2/713/ju...
All Lit Up - First Fiction Fridays
https://alllitup.ca/Blog/First-Fictio...
Literary Review of Canada by Ibi Kaslik
http://reviewcanada.ca/magazine/2013/...
Briar Patch Magazine by Yutaka Dirks
https://briarpatchmagazine.com/articl...
Prism International by Kim McCullough
http://coteaubooks.com/index/2/713/ju...
Prism International Interview by Nathaniel G. Moore
https://prismmagazine.ca/2017/04/13/i...
The Temz Review - A review by Amy Mitchell
https://www.thetemzreview.com/amy-mit...
April 15, 2013
My enthusiasm for Lisa Bird-Wilson’s stories is boundless. With her rich vocabulary and strong narratives Bird-Wilson takes readers into worlds most of us will never experience, and she does so with compassion, guts, and humour. After reading this emotionally stunning—in scope, range, and depth—collection of stories, you will never look at the Metis experience in the same way. The universal themes of love and loss reverberate throughout the collection: children move suddenly and too quickly from innocence to experience. Young women and men, old women and men face dangerous and heart stopping obstacles. And though their situations are often desperate, not one of these characters responds with despair. The reader is left in awe at the inner strength of these individuals, at their resourcefulness and courage. There is not only much to learn here, but to respect.
Bird-Wilson’s knowing, engaging voice is beautiful, and calm; it is the storyteller’s voice: graceful, dark, authentic, funny, and true.
Merged review:
You don't want to miss this superb collection of stories--it's by an amazing Saskatchewan Metis writer--her work will blow you away.
Bird-Wilson’s knowing, engaging voice is beautiful, and calm; it is the storyteller’s voice: graceful, dark, authentic, funny, and true.
Merged review:
You don't want to miss this superb collection of stories--it's by an amazing Saskatchewan Metis writer--her work will blow you away.
November 29, 2013
There were several things I liked about these short stories, most of which feature First Nations or Metis characters in Western Canada. First of all, the author delves into tough themes, such as abandonment, sexual assault, child neglect or abuse, mental illness and prejudice.
But the characters are so well developed that I really cared about what happened to them in each story. And the writer treated them with compassion. I think this is important because otherwise I wouldn't have been inclined to get into such dark subject matter.
There was also a thread of humour running through the book which (besides causing me to almost snort tea through my nose) really illustrated how people use humour as a coping mechanism.
Finally, Lisa's writing style is so smooth that I was able to get into each story and completely believe in the world she created.
Highly recommended.
But the characters are so well developed that I really cared about what happened to them in each story. And the writer treated them with compassion. I think this is important because otherwise I wouldn't have been inclined to get into such dark subject matter.
There was also a thread of humour running through the book which (besides causing me to almost snort tea through my nose) really illustrated how people use humour as a coping mechanism.
Finally, Lisa's writing style is so smooth that I was able to get into each story and completely believe in the world she created.
Highly recommended.
March 31, 2014
Bird-Wilson is a master story crafter/teller. This collection of short stories is infinitely better, timely and more enjoyable than "The Orenda." Writing about Metis people (mostly women), this book focuses a lot on the concept of mother, but also parenting and belonging in general. Bird-Wilson's addressing of racism in Canada is not overtly blunt and is tempered by her movements between characters and stories. By and by, the emotional range is as great as the prairies.
May 25, 2016
Some of these stories are just brutal; others are a little elliptical, more like prose poems; and most are just perfect. Really talented writer.
August 5, 2020
At first, I forgot that this was a collection of short stories..and after reading the first two stories was waiting to make connections to the third.
Funny thing..they actually are ALL connected!!
Connected by life..yesterday, today..and tomorrow.
Lisa Bird-Wilson..thank you so very much for these stories..they are close to my being and living space.
I especially liked 'Oldest Sons' and 'Hungry'..all the stories..though..these two resonated through me for my close ones. 'Hungry' was exceptionally tough..so many like this story..so so so many..still.
Also..thank you for your acknowledgements..where would we all be without family..indifferent, good, not so good..where would we be..?!
Thank you.
Funny thing..they actually are ALL connected!!
Connected by life..yesterday, today..and tomorrow.
Lisa Bird-Wilson..thank you so very much for these stories..they are close to my being and living space.
I especially liked 'Oldest Sons' and 'Hungry'..all the stories..though..these two resonated through me for my close ones. 'Hungry' was exceptionally tough..so many like this story..so so so many..still.
Also..thank you for your acknowledgements..where would we all be without family..indifferent, good, not so good..where would we be..?!
Thank you.
February 27, 2018
Lisa Bird-Wilson was one of Canada's most exciting new Metis voices when this book came out in 2013. I think that means that now, we can just say she one of Canada's most exciting voices. There are so many characters in this book, but Lisa is able to bring totally believable life, pain and humanity to each and every one of them. It's not an easy book to read. But you should totally read it.
November 30, 2020
A wonderful book of short stories.
September 12, 2021
Brilliantly written, absolutely devastating.
February 15, 2015
My read #3 Read Harder 2015, A book that is by or about someone from an indigenous culture (Native Americans, Aboriginals, etc.). Bonus she is also one of the authors coming to Festival of Words, 2015. Good collection of heart tugging stories.
November 11, 2025
Not an easy read. A collection of vignettes; most about First Nations people. A moment in time. Hard stories but worth reading.
I had recommended for our work TRC book club and yes it is that and so much more.
I had recommended for our work TRC book club and yes it is that and so much more.
April 5, 2017
I didn't quite finish it because it got a bit too dark for me. But the stories I read were wonderful.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews