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The Spawning Grounds
The long-awaited new novel by the two-time Giller-shortlisted author is full of the qualities Gail Anderson-Dargatz's fans it's an intimate family saga rooted in the Thompson-Shuswap region of British Columbia, and saturated with the history of the place. A bold new story that bridges Native and white cultures across a bend in a river where the salmon run.
On one side of the river is a ranch once owned by Eugene Robertson, who came in the gold rush around 1860, and stayed on as a homesteader. On the other side is a Shuswap community that has its own tangled history with the river--and the whites. At the heart of the novel are Hannah and Brandon Robertson, teenagers who have been raised by their grandfather after they lost their mother. As the novel opens, the river is dying, its flow reduced to a trickle, and Hannah is carrying salmon past the choke point to the spawning grounds while her childhood best friend, Alex, leads a Native protest against the development further threatening the river. When drowning nearly claims the lives of both Hannah's grandfather and her little brother, their world is thrown into chaos. Hannah, Alex, and most especially Brandon come to doubt their own reality as they are pulled deep into Brandon's numinous visions, which summon the myths of Shuswap culture and tragic family stories of the past.
The novel hovers beautifully in the fluid boundary between past and present, between the ordinary world and the world of the spirit, all disordered by the human and environmental crises that have knit the white and Native worlds together in love, and hate, and tragedy for 150 years. Can Hannah and her brother, and Alex, find a way forward that will neither destroy the river nor themselves?
On one side of the river is a ranch once owned by Eugene Robertson, who came in the gold rush around 1860, and stayed on as a homesteader. On the other side is a Shuswap community that has its own tangled history with the river--and the whites. At the heart of the novel are Hannah and Brandon Robertson, teenagers who have been raised by their grandfather after they lost their mother. As the novel opens, the river is dying, its flow reduced to a trickle, and Hannah is carrying salmon past the choke point to the spawning grounds while her childhood best friend, Alex, leads a Native protest against the development further threatening the river. When drowning nearly claims the lives of both Hannah's grandfather and her little brother, their world is thrown into chaos. Hannah, Alex, and most especially Brandon come to doubt their own reality as they are pulled deep into Brandon's numinous visions, which summon the myths of Shuswap culture and tragic family stories of the past.
The novel hovers beautifully in the fluid boundary between past and present, between the ordinary world and the world of the spirit, all disordered by the human and environmental crises that have knit the white and Native worlds together in love, and hate, and tragedy for 150 years. Can Hannah and her brother, and Alex, find a way forward that will neither destroy the river nor themselves?
320 pages, Hardcover
First published September 6, 2016
18 people are currently reading
1567 people want to read
About the author
Gail Anderson-Dargatz
29 books340 followersWatch for Gail's new novel, The Almost Widow, a thriller, released May 2023.
GAIL ANDERSON-DARGATZ’s first novel, The Cure for Death by Lightning, was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and won the UK’s Betty Trask Award, the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize and the Vancity Book Prize. Her second novel, A Recipe for Bees, was nominated for the International Dublin Literary Award and was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize. The Spawning Grounds was nominated for the Sunburst Award and the Ontario Library Association Evergreen Award and short-listed for the Canadian Authors Association Literary Award for Fiction. Her thriller, The Almost Wife was a national bestseller in 2021, and her most recent novel, The Almost Widow, is out in May 2023.
Gail also writes young adult and hi-lo books for the educational market. Her book Iggy’s World was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection and shortlisted for the Chocolate Lily Book Awards. The Ride Home was short-listed for the Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize, as well as the Red Cedar Fiction Award and the Chocolate Lily Book Award.
She taught for nearly a decade in the MFA program in creative writing at the University of British Columbia and now mentors writers online. Gail Anderson-Dargatz lives in the Shuswap region of British Columbia.
GAIL ANDERSON-DARGATZ’s first novel, The Cure for Death by Lightning, was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and won the UK’s Betty Trask Award, the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize and the Vancity Book Prize. Her second novel, A Recipe for Bees, was nominated for the International Dublin Literary Award and was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize. The Spawning Grounds was nominated for the Sunburst Award and the Ontario Library Association Evergreen Award and short-listed for the Canadian Authors Association Literary Award for Fiction. Her thriller, The Almost Wife was a national bestseller in 2021, and her most recent novel, The Almost Widow, is out in May 2023.
Gail also writes young adult and hi-lo books for the educational market. Her book Iggy’s World was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection and shortlisted for the Chocolate Lily Book Awards. The Ride Home was short-listed for the Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize, as well as the Red Cedar Fiction Award and the Chocolate Lily Book Award.
She taught for nearly a decade in the MFA program in creative writing at the University of British Columbia and now mentors writers online. Gail Anderson-Dargatz lives in the Shuswap region of British Columbia.
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August 13, 2016
With "The Spawning Grounds", Gail Anderson-Dargatz has written a masterpiece of a novel which has her joining the ranks of Isabel Allende and Alice Hoffman, in the realm of magical realism. Without a doubt it is her best novel to date.
Lightening River is the fictional setting for this powerful novel, on an old homestead near Shuswap Lakes and River, British Columbia, Canada which do exist. The Robertson family settled there during the gold rush in 1860; Stewart Robertson, who has been raising his grandkids Hannah and Brandon after a family tragedy, is aging and ill. Developers have bought parcels of the riverfront land and want Stewart to sell. His son Jesse has no interest in the farm and lives elsewhere. Stewart is tired and considers the money, but the teenagers are bereft at the idea of losing their home.
Across the river from them is the Shuswap Native reservation, who have been the river's conservators since time immemorial. Erosion of the riverbanks caused by settlers' land clearing, old log jams left to become dams, livestock wandering freely to pollute the water and weather change patterns which have lowered water levels are endangering their essential resource: the returning salmon's chances to make it back from the ocean to their spawning grounds, and safely reproduce.
Native protests against the developers have stopped heavy equipment being moved across the bridge which traverses the river and emotions are running high. It is spawning season, too, and the exhausted fish are having trouble making their way through shallow eddies to get to the river edges to spawn. When Hannah pushes Brandon to volunteer carrying salmon up river, he trips into the water and feels a powerful force beside him. Their childhood friend Alex, of the Shuswap tribe, tells them the Native legend about "the mystery" in the river, who steals souls if a person falls in and swallows water, a river ghost boy standing glimmering on the water. When the cantankerous Stewart falls off his horse and into the river, Brandon and Hannah rush to save him. Brandon submerges too, and when he is rescued, he is dazed and disoriented. Stew, the grandfather, is sent to the hospital so the kids are on their own.
This is a beautiful tale of the course of inter-generational and cross-cultural wounds finding a common voice through the myth, magic and ancient lessons of indigenous people. Time becomes fluid, wrapped by "the mystery" of the river and its oral history. The people, the river and the salmon are linked in a drama which demands change and reformation to bring the transformation needed for the renewal of life, relationships, love and hope for the future.
It is a gorgeously described story, the landscape as vividly painted as the shimmering mating salmon at its centre. The pace is urgent, making the book impossible to put down once begun, and the layers of emotion and suspense simply enthral. I came to love the characters, especially Hannah with her defensive determination and Gina with her loyal heart, and was sad to leave them.
One final thought: this year, 2016, is the lowest count of returning salmon on record. Salmon fishing is prohibited by sport fishermen and Native fisheries, the latter which has never happened before. The cause of the terribly reduced numbers are thought to be varied, with warming oceans reducing food sources and farmed salmon perhaps bringing fatal disease. The spawning grounds truly have become the most sacred place.
✪✪✪✪✪ Five outstanding, mesmerizing stars! Highly recommended!
* Thank you so much to Goodreads First Reads Giveaways and Penguin Random House Canada for the opportunity to read the advance copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.
Lightening River is the fictional setting for this powerful novel, on an old homestead near Shuswap Lakes and River, British Columbia, Canada which do exist. The Robertson family settled there during the gold rush in 1860; Stewart Robertson, who has been raising his grandkids Hannah and Brandon after a family tragedy, is aging and ill. Developers have bought parcels of the riverfront land and want Stewart to sell. His son Jesse has no interest in the farm and lives elsewhere. Stewart is tired and considers the money, but the teenagers are bereft at the idea of losing their home.
Across the river from them is the Shuswap Native reservation, who have been the river's conservators since time immemorial. Erosion of the riverbanks caused by settlers' land clearing, old log jams left to become dams, livestock wandering freely to pollute the water and weather change patterns which have lowered water levels are endangering their essential resource: the returning salmon's chances to make it back from the ocean to their spawning grounds, and safely reproduce.
Native protests against the developers have stopped heavy equipment being moved across the bridge which traverses the river and emotions are running high. It is spawning season, too, and the exhausted fish are having trouble making their way through shallow eddies to get to the river edges to spawn. When Hannah pushes Brandon to volunteer carrying salmon up river, he trips into the water and feels a powerful force beside him. Their childhood friend Alex, of the Shuswap tribe, tells them the Native legend about "the mystery" in the river, who steals souls if a person falls in and swallows water, a river ghost boy standing glimmering on the water. When the cantankerous Stewart falls off his horse and into the river, Brandon and Hannah rush to save him. Brandon submerges too, and when he is rescued, he is dazed and disoriented. Stew, the grandfather, is sent to the hospital so the kids are on their own.
This is a beautiful tale of the course of inter-generational and cross-cultural wounds finding a common voice through the myth, magic and ancient lessons of indigenous people. Time becomes fluid, wrapped by "the mystery" of the river and its oral history. The people, the river and the salmon are linked in a drama which demands change and reformation to bring the transformation needed for the renewal of life, relationships, love and hope for the future.
It is a gorgeously described story, the landscape as vividly painted as the shimmering mating salmon at its centre. The pace is urgent, making the book impossible to put down once begun, and the layers of emotion and suspense simply enthral. I came to love the characters, especially Hannah with her defensive determination and Gina with her loyal heart, and was sad to leave them.
One final thought: this year, 2016, is the lowest count of returning salmon on record. Salmon fishing is prohibited by sport fishermen and Native fisheries, the latter which has never happened before. The cause of the terribly reduced numbers are thought to be varied, with warming oceans reducing food sources and farmed salmon perhaps bringing fatal disease. The spawning grounds truly have become the most sacred place.
✪✪✪✪✪ Five outstanding, mesmerizing stars! Highly recommended!
* Thank you so much to Goodreads First Reads Giveaways and Penguin Random House Canada for the opportunity to read the advance copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.
May 28, 2016
Wow, being from B.C., this novel has such a striking visual of the region. Gail Anderson-Dargatz is such a fluid writer and this one truly shows her intensity and experience.
October 15, 2025
Gail Anderson-Dargatz has her own unique style of magical realism which is both evocative and spell binding. The Spawning Grounds takes place in the interior of British Colombia like her other books The Cure For Death By Lightning and Turtle Valley and like The others, it combines realistic fiction with myth and happenings in nature that could be interpreted as magical or as real events.
This novel was inspired by a Shuswap, a Canadian First Nation, legend of the Last Salmon Boy, as well as the Arthurian legend the Fisher King. Anderson-Dargatz also explores the subject of mental illness. In this book the reader has the option to choose the magical version or the version where the characters are mentally ill.
Unfortunately, almost all except one of the characters are unlikable. The developing love story between the two characters, the one who believes in the mythical explanation and the other who doubts it, is annoying, nerve racking and predicable. However this compared to the beautiful writing is a small flaw, especially since its not really a love story anyway. This novel is definitely still worth reading!
This novel was inspired by a Shuswap, a Canadian First Nation, legend of the Last Salmon Boy, as well as the Arthurian legend the Fisher King. Anderson-Dargatz also explores the subject of mental illness. In this book the reader has the option to choose the magical version or the version where the characters are mentally ill.
Unfortunately, almost all except one of the characters are unlikable. The developing love story between the two characters, the one who believes in the mythical explanation and the other who doubts it, is annoying, nerve racking and predicable. However this compared to the beautiful writing is a small flaw, especially since its not really a love story anyway. This novel is definitely still worth reading!
May 9, 2017
This wonderful book is set in the Thompson-Shuswap region of British Columbia. This is a book about family tragedy, the dying river that is the spawning ground of sockeye salmon, and a culture clash of the First Nations and white developers.
Hannah is simply trying to help same the salmon in Lightning River but is faced with the near drowning of both her grandfather and brother. Her father also wanders back into their lives set on dismantling their family home and their fragile lives. There fragile family bonds are tested by the apparent madness set in by the near drowning. Alex, a family friend, believes that Shuswap mythology holds the answer to her brothers troubles and her grandfathers rantings.
What does she believe? Fact or myth? Who does she trust? Alex, a native protester she is possibly in love with or her father who left her mother's deathbed for the arms of another woman?
I loved this book! Beautifully written with amazing incite into Secwepemc lore. Another piece of great Canadian fiction that should make anyone's top 100!! It made mine!!
Hannah is simply trying to help same the salmon in Lightning River but is faced with the near drowning of both her grandfather and brother. Her father also wanders back into their lives set on dismantling their family home and their fragile lives. There fragile family bonds are tested by the apparent madness set in by the near drowning. Alex, a family friend, believes that Shuswap mythology holds the answer to her brothers troubles and her grandfathers rantings.
What does she believe? Fact or myth? Who does she trust? Alex, a native protester she is possibly in love with or her father who left her mother's deathbed for the arms of another woman?
I loved this book! Beautifully written with amazing incite into Secwepemc lore. Another piece of great Canadian fiction that should make anyone's top 100!! It made mine!!
November 26, 2017
There was so much to appreciate in this novel by one of Canada's best-known authors: the description of the Shuswap area of beautiful British Columbia, where I also live; the clash between the First Nations community and the white farmers, facing each other down across the river; the natural majesty of the annual salmon spawning, which I have witnessed; the questions raised about the value of environment versus agriculture; and the central mystery of the plot -- is the teenaged boy Brandon mentally ill, or has he indeed been possessed by the spirit of The Salmon Boy, a native legend which seems convincingly real?
August 30, 2016
The Spawning Grounds is a sensitive look at the relationship between a First Nations Community and their white, farming neighbours. While Stew is set to sell his farm to developers, the Secwepenc (Shuswap) community is protesting the encroaching development.
The cultural and spiritual differences of the two groups leads to troubles for both. At risk is the further destruction of the salmon spawning grounds which lie in the river between their settlements. If they could work together to find a way to resolve their differences, create an understanding, then they might save the salmon at the same time.
In the middle of this confusion is Brandon, the grandson of the white land owner. After a near drowning the river, he undergoes a major personality change which his father attributes to mental illness. His neighbour Alex, from across the river, views his illness differently, as a possession by the the mystery, a spirit trapped in the river. He knows that if they can find the reason for the spirit remaining in the river instead of travelling the path of the dead, then they can save Brandon and possibly even save the salmon.
I was drawn into this story from the opening pages. Learning the history of the area and the creation of the mystery seemed in keeping with other First Nations stories I have read. Both sides viewed the issues as them versus us and both were adamant that they were right. It was interesting to see how Brandon's sister Hannah looked at both sides and attempted to find a way to bridge the two belief systems.
While Ms. Anderson-Dargatz is not a First Nations author, she presents both sides in a fair and honest manner. I enjoyed her writing style and look forward to reading some of her earlier works.
Thanks to Penguin Random House for my review copy and for use of the cover image.
The cultural and spiritual differences of the two groups leads to troubles for both. At risk is the further destruction of the salmon spawning grounds which lie in the river between their settlements. If they could work together to find a way to resolve their differences, create an understanding, then they might save the salmon at the same time.
In the middle of this confusion is Brandon, the grandson of the white land owner. After a near drowning the river, he undergoes a major personality change which his father attributes to mental illness. His neighbour Alex, from across the river, views his illness differently, as a possession by the the mystery, a spirit trapped in the river. He knows that if they can find the reason for the spirit remaining in the river instead of travelling the path of the dead, then they can save Brandon and possibly even save the salmon.
I was drawn into this story from the opening pages. Learning the history of the area and the creation of the mystery seemed in keeping with other First Nations stories I have read. Both sides viewed the issues as them versus us and both were adamant that they were right. It was interesting to see how Brandon's sister Hannah looked at both sides and attempted to find a way to bridge the two belief systems.
While Ms. Anderson-Dargatz is not a First Nations author, she presents both sides in a fair and honest manner. I enjoyed her writing style and look forward to reading some of her earlier works.
Thanks to Penguin Random House for my review copy and for use of the cover image.
August 19, 2016
We're all connected. As biological, emotional, and spiritual organisms living on this planet, everything we do creates ripples that reach beyond our perceived borders. The Spawning Grounds, by Gail Anderson-Dargatz, does more than highlight the connection between cultures, legends, and nature: it weaves together all the nuances and struggles of being human within the complicated framework of spirituality.
Raised by their grandfather on land settled by his English ancestors, Hannah and Brandon haven't had the easiest family life. With an absent father, mental illness, and a troublesome history shadowing their childhoods, they strive to find their places in the world, even if it means forging their own paths. Unfortunately, Brandon's life is threatened after nearly drowning in the river. Physically, his body heals, but mentally, he isn't the same boy who fell into the water. Determined to save both her brother and the river, Hannah delves deeper into the past so she can change the outcome of the future.
Anderson-Dargatz delicately entwines First Nations' beliefs with white settler skepticism using her unique brand of story-telling. As the histories of the Shuswap and white settlers unfold through stories told to Hannah, more than "the mystery" of the river is unveiled. We're introduced to the possibilities of a world that can only filter into the consciousness if you're willing to suspend disbelief and simply believe.
I entered a Goodreads Giveaway and was fortunate enough to be gifted with a pre-release copy of The Spawning Grounds by Gail Anderson-Dargatz.
Raised by their grandfather on land settled by his English ancestors, Hannah and Brandon haven't had the easiest family life. With an absent father, mental illness, and a troublesome history shadowing their childhoods, they strive to find their places in the world, even if it means forging their own paths. Unfortunately, Brandon's life is threatened after nearly drowning in the river. Physically, his body heals, but mentally, he isn't the same boy who fell into the water. Determined to save both her brother and the river, Hannah delves deeper into the past so she can change the outcome of the future.
Anderson-Dargatz delicately entwines First Nations' beliefs with white settler skepticism using her unique brand of story-telling. As the histories of the Shuswap and white settlers unfold through stories told to Hannah, more than "the mystery" of the river is unveiled. We're introduced to the possibilities of a world that can only filter into the consciousness if you're willing to suspend disbelief and simply believe.
I entered a Goodreads Giveaway and was fortunate enough to be gifted with a pre-release copy of The Spawning Grounds by Gail Anderson-Dargatz.
June 7, 2016
A homage to the mysteries of love, ancient spirits, death and renewal and how they impact on a Canadian family (Robertsons) in south BC that is struggling to keep the land its ancestor, Eugene Robertson usurped from the local Shuswap tribe. It brings full circle the forces he set in play by not only taking the land from the Shuswap but also an extremely young female member as a bride - without second thought or permission.
The tragedy that befell the son of this unholy union seems to be playing out again with the the current day Robertson family members (the great grandchildren, Brandon and Hannah). They lost their mother to the spell of the river spirit and the spirit is now back for more sacrifice. Their Shuswap friend, Alex attempts to teach, guide and protect Brandon and Hannah from this curse.
These strands of human history are set against the imminent return of the gallant and doomed salmon to their spawning grounds on the magical river. It speaks to the irreversible connection between man and the land he mistreats and takes for granted, at his own peril.
The tragedy that befell the son of this unholy union seems to be playing out again with the the current day Robertson family members (the great grandchildren, Brandon and Hannah). They lost their mother to the spell of the river spirit and the spirit is now back for more sacrifice. Their Shuswap friend, Alex attempts to teach, guide and protect Brandon and Hannah from this curse.
These strands of human history are set against the imminent return of the gallant and doomed salmon to their spawning grounds on the magical river. It speaks to the irreversible connection between man and the land he mistreats and takes for granted, at his own peril.
August 24, 2016
I would like to thank Knopf publishing & Goodreads for my complimentary copy of "The Spawning Grounds".
Such a wonderful story within a story that explores the relationship between people & Nature and it's horrific outcome all set in the extraordinary setting of Shuswap, B.C.-Canada! There's also a love story. The novel is narrated by a white female teenager whom wants to save the river & it's fish and save her dysfunctional family but first needs to understand and accept Native history & folklore.
Gail Anderson-Dargatz is truly a gifted storyteller that takes us on a haunting journey of Native vs White settlers' lives and how each generation can save the 'soul' of the next all told through the "Water Mystery". It's a beautiful piece of literature that should be read by everyone as it explores how all of our lives are interconnected, that we're ultimately responsible to save Nature.
Well deserved 4 stars.
Such a wonderful story within a story that explores the relationship between people & Nature and it's horrific outcome all set in the extraordinary setting of Shuswap, B.C.-Canada! There's also a love story. The novel is narrated by a white female teenager whom wants to save the river & it's fish and save her dysfunctional family but first needs to understand and accept Native history & folklore.
Gail Anderson-Dargatz is truly a gifted storyteller that takes us on a haunting journey of Native vs White settlers' lives and how each generation can save the 'soul' of the next all told through the "Water Mystery". It's a beautiful piece of literature that should be read by everyone as it explores how all of our lives are interconnected, that we're ultimately responsible to save Nature.
Well deserved 4 stars.
February 25, 2017
I'll start off by saying I LOVE Gail AD books. Cure for Death By Lightening is one of my all time favourites, followed closely by Recipe for Bees and Rhinestone. Needless to say I was excited for this book! The storyline is fantastic! The idea of restless spirits and their mixing with our modern world is exactly why I love her books. But unfortunately, I found the writing in this to be somewhat immature somehow. The conversations between characters felt forced and rushed, and I didn't fall in love with any of them. Still a fun read, but I didn't find the depth that I have found in her other books.
August 28, 2016
Thank you Goodreads and Gail Anderson-Dargatz for a free copy of this book. I enjoyed reading about the the salmon and the Shuswap. Being from Alberta and having several close relatives in BC we travel through the Shuswap area a few times every year.
We have visited two different spawning grounds, one in BC and the other in Alaska it was great to read about it in more detail.
The book had me interested right from the beginning, however found it a bit slow.
We have visited two different spawning grounds, one in BC and the other in Alaska it was great to read about it in more detail.
The book had me interested right from the beginning, however found it a bit slow.
September 27, 2016
I really, really enjoyed this book. Set in south-central British Columbia, The Spawning Grounds tells the story of a First Nations community, their white neighbours and a mysterious river that connects them all. I was fascinated by the Native mythology weaved into the plot and I thought Anderson-Dargatz did a great job of highlighting the sacredness of nature. I look forward to reading more of her work in the near future.
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October 24, 2016Ok. All about place/setting for me. The struggle to preserve the natural world especially the salmon. Right in my own backyard - the Shuswap.
September 13, 2016
The events take place near one of the spawning grounds of the sockeye salmon in British Columbia. The river, once teeming with fish, is dying, its flow reduced to a trickle because of erosion caused by human activities like ranching, logging and mining. The main characters, Hannah and Bran, are the descendants of Eugene Robertson, the first white settler to homestead in the area, “the first to take down trees on the thin strip of river plain; the first to put up fences; the first to water his livestock in the river and pollute its waters.”
The novel begins with Bran falling into the river trying to rescue his grandfather, Stew Robertson. When he emerges for the water, Bran is changed. His strange behaviour has some people, including Bran’s father Jesse, arguing that he is schizophrenic, like his deceased mother Elaine. But Alex, Hannah’s Indian love interest, suggests Bran is possessed by a “water mystery,” a river spirit who needs a human body to fulfill a mission.
It is not just the river that needs to be reborn; many of the characters are struggling to renew themselves. Jesse moved from the area once Elaine died years earlier, and left his children to the care of his father Stew. When Stew is hospitalized, Jesse finally returns reluctantly and is faced with trying to answer a question: “’Why would any parent abandon their kid?’” Will he stay and try to re-establish a relationship with his children or will he, as Hannah suspects, run as he did in the past? Hannah, a college student, is described as possessing “the uncertainty of a girl who didn’t yet know herself.” Gina, the Robertsons’ neighbour and one of Jesse’s former lovers, struggles between staying with her husband in an unsatisfactory marriage or reuniting with Jesse who is not known for his faithfulness and commitment.
Central to the story is a Shuswap myth. When Eugene arrived on the river, “one of the Indians had warned him to stay out of these waters or he would be taken by the spirit that haunted the river at this place.” Later, it is explained that the spirit is that of a salmon boy who, angry at the senseless destruction of the salmon, in the past took revenge by “[cleansing] this place of its sickness.” Is it this spirit that has taken control of Bran? Has it come back to take revenge once again?
Unfortunately, the foreshadowing is rather heavy-handed. When Bran emerges from the water, he crawls up “like a lungfish making its clumsy journey onto land” and wheezes “as if breath itself was something foreign to him” and walks “as if his legs were new to him.” The reader must suspend disbelief and accept that there is a gateway to the salmon world in the river and that the salmon boy has taken over Bran’s body, though “it would be sometime before he was strong enough to wrangle full control.” Actually, the reader must believe there is an “assortment of ancient spirits that populated the river valley, all of them part animal and part man.”
Suspense is also created rather heavy-handedly. Alex warns, “’If that water mystery has him, if Brandon’s soul is out walking, he could die.’” This danger is emphasized as flashbacks to the consequences of earlier “possessions” are revealed. Then the suspense is ramped up with statements like, “’it may already be too late for the rest of us as well.” Suspense is also created by withholding information. For example, Alex tells Hannah a story about the water mystery but then says, “’When you’re ready to hear me out . . . I’ll tell you the rest of the story.’” Later, Alex tells her the rest of the story and advises her to “’Ask the mystery’” but withholds crucial information: “’we’ve got to make sure Bran’s spirit is still here first’” After revealing this important step, he adds,” ‘And it may already be too late to do anything.’” This technique left me feeling manipulated.
A major theme is that man and animals have lost their connection. An Indian elder mentioned that in the past, “’when animal and man were still family, a man’s soul could flit away as an owl, or the spirit of a bear could slip under a man’s skin.’” This connection has been severed though, from the beginning, the interdependence of man and animal is emphasized. The narrative is prefaced by a quotation: “Without the salmon, the land and the rivers would only survive as a corpse survives the death of the nervous system and the departure of the spirit.” Later a full explanation is given: “Every living thing around them depended on the return of the salmon [to the spawning grounds where they lay and fertilize the eggs before dying]. The rotting fish would nourish the water this fall and again in early spring when the sun warmed what was left of the sockeye’s frozen bodies. Their flesh would feed the tiny creatures that in turn fed the sockeye fry when they burst from their stone nests come spring. In this way, the sockeye fed their young with their own bodies and were resurrected within their children’s flesh. If not enough sockeye returned during this run, if not enough died here, the river would starve, the lake would starve, the eagles and bears and the land around them would starve.” The novel is like a fable with a moral at the end.
The novel has a message that needs to be heeded, but the delivery of that message lacks subtlety. What needs to be done to help the salmon is obvious from the beginning because Hannah outlines the necessary steps to her father when he first arrives. The unwillingness of people to listen means there is a predictability to the sequence of events, but the ending then seems rather sentimental.
Some of the characterization is problematic. Jesse’s behaviour when his wife was dying and his virtual abandonment of his children for years show him to be an untrustworthy and selfish person, yet Gina , who admits to needing a sense of security, is drawn to him? Stew believes the stories of a native elder, but has little respect for Indians? Hannah “disliked her father when he was high” yet when he offered her a toke, “She took the joint, breathed in deeply and held it before exhaling and handing it back to him. . . . [and] Hannah took the joint from him before he’d offered it again”?
I can see this book being used in literature classes in high school. Students would not have difficulty identifying its themes and analyzing its various elements. The novel has a relevance to today’s issues (e.g. man’s degradation of the environment, relationships between whites and First Nation peoples) and has characters with whom teenaged readers can identify.
Note: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.
Please check out my reader's blog (http://schatjesshelves.blogspot.ca/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski).
The novel begins with Bran falling into the river trying to rescue his grandfather, Stew Robertson. When he emerges for the water, Bran is changed. His strange behaviour has some people, including Bran’s father Jesse, arguing that he is schizophrenic, like his deceased mother Elaine. But Alex, Hannah’s Indian love interest, suggests Bran is possessed by a “water mystery,” a river spirit who needs a human body to fulfill a mission.
It is not just the river that needs to be reborn; many of the characters are struggling to renew themselves. Jesse moved from the area once Elaine died years earlier, and left his children to the care of his father Stew. When Stew is hospitalized, Jesse finally returns reluctantly and is faced with trying to answer a question: “’Why would any parent abandon their kid?’” Will he stay and try to re-establish a relationship with his children or will he, as Hannah suspects, run as he did in the past? Hannah, a college student, is described as possessing “the uncertainty of a girl who didn’t yet know herself.” Gina, the Robertsons’ neighbour and one of Jesse’s former lovers, struggles between staying with her husband in an unsatisfactory marriage or reuniting with Jesse who is not known for his faithfulness and commitment.
Central to the story is a Shuswap myth. When Eugene arrived on the river, “one of the Indians had warned him to stay out of these waters or he would be taken by the spirit that haunted the river at this place.” Later, it is explained that the spirit is that of a salmon boy who, angry at the senseless destruction of the salmon, in the past took revenge by “[cleansing] this place of its sickness.” Is it this spirit that has taken control of Bran? Has it come back to take revenge once again?
Unfortunately, the foreshadowing is rather heavy-handed. When Bran emerges from the water, he crawls up “like a lungfish making its clumsy journey onto land” and wheezes “as if breath itself was something foreign to him” and walks “as if his legs were new to him.” The reader must suspend disbelief and accept that there is a gateway to the salmon world in the river and that the salmon boy has taken over Bran’s body, though “it would be sometime before he was strong enough to wrangle full control.” Actually, the reader must believe there is an “assortment of ancient spirits that populated the river valley, all of them part animal and part man.”
Suspense is also created rather heavy-handedly. Alex warns, “’If that water mystery has him, if Brandon’s soul is out walking, he could die.’” This danger is emphasized as flashbacks to the consequences of earlier “possessions” are revealed. Then the suspense is ramped up with statements like, “’it may already be too late for the rest of us as well.” Suspense is also created by withholding information. For example, Alex tells Hannah a story about the water mystery but then says, “’When you’re ready to hear me out . . . I’ll tell you the rest of the story.’” Later, Alex tells her the rest of the story and advises her to “’Ask the mystery’” but withholds crucial information: “’we’ve got to make sure Bran’s spirit is still here first’” After revealing this important step, he adds,” ‘And it may already be too late to do anything.’” This technique left me feeling manipulated.
A major theme is that man and animals have lost their connection. An Indian elder mentioned that in the past, “’when animal and man were still family, a man’s soul could flit away as an owl, or the spirit of a bear could slip under a man’s skin.’” This connection has been severed though, from the beginning, the interdependence of man and animal is emphasized. The narrative is prefaced by a quotation: “Without the salmon, the land and the rivers would only survive as a corpse survives the death of the nervous system and the departure of the spirit.” Later a full explanation is given: “Every living thing around them depended on the return of the salmon [to the spawning grounds where they lay and fertilize the eggs before dying]. The rotting fish would nourish the water this fall and again in early spring when the sun warmed what was left of the sockeye’s frozen bodies. Their flesh would feed the tiny creatures that in turn fed the sockeye fry when they burst from their stone nests come spring. In this way, the sockeye fed their young with their own bodies and were resurrected within their children’s flesh. If not enough sockeye returned during this run, if not enough died here, the river would starve, the lake would starve, the eagles and bears and the land around them would starve.” The novel is like a fable with a moral at the end.
The novel has a message that needs to be heeded, but the delivery of that message lacks subtlety. What needs to be done to help the salmon is obvious from the beginning because Hannah outlines the necessary steps to her father when he first arrives. The unwillingness of people to listen means there is a predictability to the sequence of events, but the ending then seems rather sentimental.
Some of the characterization is problematic. Jesse’s behaviour when his wife was dying and his virtual abandonment of his children for years show him to be an untrustworthy and selfish person, yet Gina , who admits to needing a sense of security, is drawn to him? Stew believes the stories of a native elder, but has little respect for Indians? Hannah “disliked her father when he was high” yet when he offered her a toke, “She took the joint, breathed in deeply and held it before exhaling and handing it back to him. . . . [and] Hannah took the joint from him before he’d offered it again”?
I can see this book being used in literature classes in high school. Students would not have difficulty identifying its themes and analyzing its various elements. The novel has a relevance to today’s issues (e.g. man’s degradation of the environment, relationships between whites and First Nation peoples) and has characters with whom teenaged readers can identify.
Note: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.
Please check out my reader's blog (http://schatjesshelves.blogspot.ca/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski).
April 2, 2022
The novel begins with a promise of confrontation between the Shuswap, environmentalists and Stew Robertson who farms a piece of land fronting the Lightning River near the spawning grounds for the sockeye salmon. Then it quickly devolves into a lot of discussion about the "water mystery" story of the Secwepemc people with the Robertson family members having little confrontations while one is having episodes of craziness.
The patriarch of this family, Stew Robertson, who is introduced with a bold provocation to the protestors soon has a major health attack, and he is thereon off in hospital. We're left with the two grandchildren, Hannah and Bran, whom he raised when their mother died and their father, Jesse (Stew's son) flaked off. Jesse soon shows up and acts as narcissistic as he obviously was to leave his children with their old grandfather several years ago.
We follow Hannah, his daughter, more closely than Bran, his son. As an environmentally minded 18 yr old, Hannah is the perfect conduit between a white settler offspring and a local Secwepemc son, Alex, with whom she has a blossoming relationship. Yet we never get close enough to her to really feel what it is like to be in her position. Many discussions about the Secwepemc story of mystery salmon boy are "told"--not through straight dialogue (which I feel is a slightly devious way of appropriating Indigenous culture).
Meanwhile Bran, his 15 yr old son, is possibly possessed by the water mystery, or showing the same signs of mental illness that his mother displayed before death. We're never sure whether he is ill or possessed, even at the end it could be one or the other or both. Jesse and Hannah fight over how to treat Brandon's illness. An epic storm is the catalyst to the end of their battle.
I was originally drawn in by the setting of the novel. The well-wrought description of the river reminded me of where I lived as a kid --on the Salmon River in the Shuswap, so these rich descriptions really did give a strong sense of place. The story would have been even richer if we could get that kind of close description of the inner lives of these characters, especially Hannah. Hanging the story off a local Indigenous "magic" just didn't work for me.
The patriarch of this family, Stew Robertson, who is introduced with a bold provocation to the protestors soon has a major health attack, and he is thereon off in hospital. We're left with the two grandchildren, Hannah and Bran, whom he raised when their mother died and their father, Jesse (Stew's son) flaked off. Jesse soon shows up and acts as narcissistic as he obviously was to leave his children with their old grandfather several years ago.
We follow Hannah, his daughter, more closely than Bran, his son. As an environmentally minded 18 yr old, Hannah is the perfect conduit between a white settler offspring and a local Secwepemc son, Alex, with whom she has a blossoming relationship. Yet we never get close enough to her to really feel what it is like to be in her position. Many discussions about the Secwepemc story of mystery salmon boy are "told"--not through straight dialogue (which I feel is a slightly devious way of appropriating Indigenous culture).
Meanwhile Bran, his 15 yr old son, is possibly possessed by the water mystery, or showing the same signs of mental illness that his mother displayed before death. We're never sure whether he is ill or possessed, even at the end it could be one or the other or both. Jesse and Hannah fight over how to treat Brandon's illness. An epic storm is the catalyst to the end of their battle.
I was originally drawn in by the setting of the novel. The well-wrought description of the river reminded me of where I lived as a kid --on the Salmon River in the Shuswap, so these rich descriptions really did give a strong sense of place. The story would have been even richer if we could get that kind of close description of the inner lives of these characters, especially Hannah. Hanging the story off a local Indigenous "magic" just didn't work for me.
January 29, 2022
Very intriguing book with reality intertwined with aboriginal story telling. Highly recommend that you push through the mystery to discover the depths of emotions this book deals with.
June 10, 2019
This book really illustrated the fact that writing is a work of art. Gail Anderson-Dargatz wove this novel like a tapestry, with different time periods as the different colours of fabrics. The story is shrouded in mystery, so you can’t help reading more. Again, it’s like a tapestry in that until the final stitching along the outside is completely finished, (or the final chapter,) it won’t match up perfectly. Amazing read, and great addition to Canadian literature.
November 7, 2016
I really didn't find this book to be anything to rave over.
September 3, 2016
Please read all of my reviews at http://ultraviolentlit.blogspot.ca!
This novel is set in the Thompson-Shuswap region of British Columbia, and it is saturated with the history of the place. Woven throughout with First Nations mythology and spirituality, it is at heart a family history that bridges the white and Native communities that reside on either side of a powerful river.
The story goes back generations to the arrival of a man named Eugene Robertson in 1860 – he came to the fictional Lightning River for the gold rush and stayed as one of the original homesteaders. Throughout the novel, we learn how his life became entwined with that of a First Nations woman, and how their troubled relationship affected the two groups of people for generations to come.
While the gold rush was the beginning of the end for the river, it is now fully entrenched in environmental disaster. In the present day, Hannah and Brandon are sister and brother, descendants of Eugene Robertson. They are struggling to save the river’s ecosystem by carrying salmon across the shallows to their traditional spawning grounds. The group helping the salmon is part of a larger protest against the development of the area, led by their indigenous neighbour Alex. In contrast, Hannah’s grandfather Stew is a staunch supporter of development, and he happens to own the land that is in contention.
When Stew and Brandon almost drown in the river during the protest, both of them are drastically changed. Alex believes that the river’s spirit has taken over Brandon’s body, while his own spirit is lost and wandering. In the world of western medicine, Brandon is diagnosed with schizophrenia, which his mother also supposedly suffered from – however, Alex blames her condition on the spirits as well. In any case, Brandon experiences extreme confusion and begins to doubt his reality. His visions embody the myths and traditions of Shuswap culture, and illustrate a tragic history. For Hannah, it seems like her own family’s mistakes will repeat until they get it right.
Although the Lightning River is fictional and this novel contains elements of magic realism, the ecological crisis in the Thompson-Shuswap area is very real. Hannah, Brandon and Alex represent a younger generation that must work to find a way forward – a way to preserve the river’s ecosystem while blending white and First Nations cultures. The Spawning Grounds explores cross-cultural concerns that are defined by a common cause – the preservation of the spawning salmon and the ecosystem that they represent. There is a transformative path here towards hope for the future, and a way of working together. My only complaint is that the overarching message of the novel eclipses the development of plot and character, but overall, an interesting read.
I received this novel from Knopf Canada and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This novel is set in the Thompson-Shuswap region of British Columbia, and it is saturated with the history of the place. Woven throughout with First Nations mythology and spirituality, it is at heart a family history that bridges the white and Native communities that reside on either side of a powerful river.
The story goes back generations to the arrival of a man named Eugene Robertson in 1860 – he came to the fictional Lightning River for the gold rush and stayed as one of the original homesteaders. Throughout the novel, we learn how his life became entwined with that of a First Nations woman, and how their troubled relationship affected the two groups of people for generations to come.
While the gold rush was the beginning of the end for the river, it is now fully entrenched in environmental disaster. In the present day, Hannah and Brandon are sister and brother, descendants of Eugene Robertson. They are struggling to save the river’s ecosystem by carrying salmon across the shallows to their traditional spawning grounds. The group helping the salmon is part of a larger protest against the development of the area, led by their indigenous neighbour Alex. In contrast, Hannah’s grandfather Stew is a staunch supporter of development, and he happens to own the land that is in contention.
When Stew and Brandon almost drown in the river during the protest, both of them are drastically changed. Alex believes that the river’s spirit has taken over Brandon’s body, while his own spirit is lost and wandering. In the world of western medicine, Brandon is diagnosed with schizophrenia, which his mother also supposedly suffered from – however, Alex blames her condition on the spirits as well. In any case, Brandon experiences extreme confusion and begins to doubt his reality. His visions embody the myths and traditions of Shuswap culture, and illustrate a tragic history. For Hannah, it seems like her own family’s mistakes will repeat until they get it right.
Although the Lightning River is fictional and this novel contains elements of magic realism, the ecological crisis in the Thompson-Shuswap area is very real. Hannah, Brandon and Alex represent a younger generation that must work to find a way forward – a way to preserve the river’s ecosystem while blending white and First Nations cultures. The Spawning Grounds explores cross-cultural concerns that are defined by a common cause – the preservation of the spawning salmon and the ecosystem that they represent. There is a transformative path here towards hope for the future, and a way of working together. My only complaint is that the overarching message of the novel eclipses the development of plot and character, but overall, an interesting read.
I received this novel from Knopf Canada and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
October 14, 2017
https://ayearofbooksblog.com/2017/10/...
The Spawning Grounds has been on my TBR list since meeting Gail Anderson-Dargatz in Grimsby last October. I am not sure why I waited so long to read it and will always regret that I did not purchase a copy and have it signed that night (sadly, sometimes I need to limit my book purchases)! I do have signed copies of A Recipe for Bees, The Cure for Death is Lightning and Turtle Valley on my bookshelf.
If you are looking for a thought-provoking story blending family challenges, nature, mysticism, history and legend this is the book for you! The reader learns about the lives and habits of salmon as Hannah works to save the fish from a dying river. The salmon and the river have been a part of the genealogy and history of those who live on both sides. Hannah and her brother have been supported by their crusty grandfather, a landowner and cattle farmer, since their mother’s suicide and subsequent abandonment by their father who could not handle the grief of losing his wife. As Hannah saves salmon while her friend who lives on the reservation on the other side leads a protest against further development which has been harming the river.
Her brother, Brandon, gets swept away in the river as he saves his grandfather from drowning. After Brandon’s rescue it is clear that he is not himself as he experiences visions, draws pictures and is seen walking naked outside – similar symptoms that his mother had exhibited prior to her suicide. The grandfather ends up in hospital, dad comes home and Hannah learns more of their family history and the story of a young boy, whose bones had been discovered, as she struggles to save her brother. All the characters are impacted by a storm of symptoms, stories and history which escalates along with the weather.
The story is mystical, meandering like the river and leaves the reader pondering the impact of development, the importance of nature and how Canada lives with indigenous people. It is a terrific read which I would recommend!
If you are looking to know more about Gail Anderson-Dargatz, check out Novel Questions or the links above.
The Spawning Grounds has been on my TBR list since meeting Gail Anderson-Dargatz in Grimsby last October. I am not sure why I waited so long to read it and will always regret that I did not purchase a copy and have it signed that night (sadly, sometimes I need to limit my book purchases)! I do have signed copies of A Recipe for Bees, The Cure for Death is Lightning and Turtle Valley on my bookshelf.
If you are looking for a thought-provoking story blending family challenges, nature, mysticism, history and legend this is the book for you! The reader learns about the lives and habits of salmon as Hannah works to save the fish from a dying river. The salmon and the river have been a part of the genealogy and history of those who live on both sides. Hannah and her brother have been supported by their crusty grandfather, a landowner and cattle farmer, since their mother’s suicide and subsequent abandonment by their father who could not handle the grief of losing his wife. As Hannah saves salmon while her friend who lives on the reservation on the other side leads a protest against further development which has been harming the river.
Her brother, Brandon, gets swept away in the river as he saves his grandfather from drowning. After Brandon’s rescue it is clear that he is not himself as he experiences visions, draws pictures and is seen walking naked outside – similar symptoms that his mother had exhibited prior to her suicide. The grandfather ends up in hospital, dad comes home and Hannah learns more of their family history and the story of a young boy, whose bones had been discovered, as she struggles to save her brother. All the characters are impacted by a storm of symptoms, stories and history which escalates along with the weather.
The story is mystical, meandering like the river and leaves the reader pondering the impact of development, the importance of nature and how Canada lives with indigenous people. It is a terrific read which I would recommend!
If you are looking to know more about Gail Anderson-Dargatz, check out Novel Questions or the links above.
October 21, 2016
The Spawning Grounds is a deeply mythical and mystical story of a clash between cultures, and it examines what constitutes progress for First Nations and for their white neighbours.
The river, once teeming with salmon, is dying because of the development of new housing, deforestation and farm animals. The salmon are no longer able to get upstream to their spawning grounds and have to carried in order to fulfill their destiny. First Nations people populate one side of the river and whites inhabit the other - there is a bridge between the two cultures.
Hannah and Brandon are descendants of the first settlers and have friends on the other side. With the spirit of one of their first young ancestors - a water mystery, both teens become aware of the history and power of Indigenous spirituality.
While the climax contains some of the most vivid and exciting imagery I have read, I found the characters of Jesse and Gina (important secondary characters) to be underdeveloped and one dimensional. Otherwise, a great story!
The river, once teeming with salmon, is dying because of the development of new housing, deforestation and farm animals. The salmon are no longer able to get upstream to their spawning grounds and have to carried in order to fulfill their destiny. First Nations people populate one side of the river and whites inhabit the other - there is a bridge between the two cultures.
Hannah and Brandon are descendants of the first settlers and have friends on the other side. With the spirit of one of their first young ancestors - a water mystery, both teens become aware of the history and power of Indigenous spirituality.
While the climax contains some of the most vivid and exciting imagery I have read, I found the characters of Jesse and Gina (important secondary characters) to be underdeveloped and one dimensional. Otherwise, a great story!
September 11, 2016
I received a copy of The Spawning Grounds from Goodreads First Reads. I was hooked from page 1. I loved the Shuswap legends, the story of several generations of the Robertson family and the vivid description of the salmon making their way up river to the spawning ground. In the Spawning Grounds, Hannah Robertson is dealing with many issues. At the beginning of the book, she is helping the returning salmon trying to make their way to the spawning grounds in a dying river. Her grandfather and brother nearly drown in the river and both face a serious battle to recover. The near drowning seems to bring out mental illness in her brother Brandon which their mother battled several years earlier. As she tries to find a way to help her brother, she is torn between dealing with what mental illness professionals advise and the stories that her friend Alex tells her about the Mystery in the river that took over Brandon while he was in the water.
October 19, 2016
Gail Anderson-Dargatz's writing is simple and beautiful. She paints a beautiful picture of the Thompson-Shuswap region of British Columbia (an area that is itself beautiful and her writing does it full justice).
She touches on a lot of themes that are incredibly relevant to those living in British Columbia including the conflict between development and the environment (in the novel this is symbolized by a summer housing development but calls to my mind the current disputes over various pipelines) and relationships between First Nations communities and non-indigenous Canadians. Despite these serious themes, she keeps the book fast-paced and exciting, pulling in mythology and creating a story that has a wonderful balance of supernatural and realism.
She touches on a lot of themes that are incredibly relevant to those living in British Columbia including the conflict between development and the environment (in the novel this is symbolized by a summer housing development but calls to my mind the current disputes over various pipelines) and relationships between First Nations communities and non-indigenous Canadians. Despite these serious themes, she keeps the book fast-paced and exciting, pulling in mythology and creating a story that has a wonderful balance of supernatural and realism.
November 5, 2016
I'm not sure how I feel about this book. I like Gail Anderson-Dargatz's writing, but this book was creepy, and I don't like creepy. Also, I found it put-downable. I didn't really feel engaged with the storyline or with the characters.
As an Indigenous person, I'm also not sure how I feel about some of the elements in the story. Anderson-Dargatz tried to weave in First Nations oral tradition and beliefs, but it came off as more negative and threatening than it should, in my opinion.
The book has an important message, but is maybe a bit too direct about it for fiction.
That said, people who are interested in environmental issues will probably enjoy it.
As an Indigenous person, I'm also not sure how I feel about some of the elements in the story. Anderson-Dargatz tried to weave in First Nations oral tradition and beliefs, but it came off as more negative and threatening than it should, in my opinion.
The book has an important message, but is maybe a bit too direct about it for fiction.
That said, people who are interested in environmental issues will probably enjoy it.
November 7, 2016
I've always loved the way Gail Anderson-Dargatz can stretch our understanding of what is real, bend our expectations so we gain a better understanding of the world. In The Spawning Grounds the characters and the story are wonderful and transported me to a wild, green landscape. But, it was this landscape and the magical beings and events that we meet in the forest and in the river that is so spectacular. This book not only transported me to a river in the middle of BC where a very real conflict between developers and conservationists is going on, but beyond, to a magical place steeped in history beyond my imagination.
February 5, 2017
4.5 stars. As an anthropology major in university, I've always had a weakness for aboriginal stories. The works of Thomson Highway, Thomas King, and others, I've found to be the most beautiful and moving tales. Having loved a cure for death by lightning for what, 20 years now, I was excited to read this novel. It did not disappoint. Mixing Canadiana with aboriginal tales, the metaphors and imagery are spectacular . The only thing I wasn't sure about was the use of the word Indian. In Canada, we have been careful not to use that term for decades, rather preferring First Nations or aboriginal, and I'm wondering on the authors reason for not doing that.
September 2, 2016
Anderson-Dargatz, in the Spawning Grounds, has written a beautiful story based in the Thompson-Shuswap region of BC. It is a gripping tale that bridges indigenous and white cultures across a bend in a river where the salmon run. She has interwoven the myths of the Shuswap culture with the scientific beliefs of the whites in such a way that you believe both sides. The drama draws you in and won't let you go until the story is finished.
August 29, 2016
Thank you for the advanced reader copy of The Spawning Grounds. This book was beautifully written and I couldn't put it down! Living in BC, I really appreciate the local flavour and learning more about another part of my province. The Cure for Death by Lightning has long been one of my favourite books and it's great to see a new novel by Gail Anderson-Dargatz. You can tell her writing has matured and this book was a real pleasure to read.
September 30, 2016
This was the perfect addition to my fall reading list! I'm also really starting to wonder why I don't buy books out of Canada more often. I'm definitely going to put more effort into finding more.
I love that this book is set at the very border of a First Nations reserve, but that isn't necessarily the focus. It's just another layer of every day life. I also hadn't realized there was going to be an environmentalist aspect to this book, but loved that as well.
I love that this book is set at the very border of a First Nations reserve, but that isn't necessarily the focus. It's just another layer of every day life. I also hadn't realized there was going to be an environmentalist aspect to this book, but loved that as well.
October 1, 2016
A love letter to Anderson's beloved BC, her latest book is part family saga, part environmental call to action, part First Nation myth come to life. The Spawning Grounds is full to bursting with magical realism and story. Fans of her previous books will enjoy the Easter Eggs throughout, even as the relationship between First Nations families and their corresponding white neighbours is often difficult and uncomfortably realistic.
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