Two Trails Narrow

by Stephen McGregor

Ryman McGregor and Abraham Scott have a lot in common. Both are Algonquin half-breeds unhappily attending St. Xavier's Residential School in Ontario and desperately seeking to escape the harsh hands of the abusive Jesuit priests. One night, the boys―along with Ryman's sister―decide to make a break for it, but RCMP trackers quickly pick up their trail. The runaways barely evade capture and begin the long journey to their respective homes. But years later Ryman's and Abraham's paths cross again. This time as corporals fighting in one of Canada's best military units in Europe during WWII. Set against the residential school experience for Indigenous children and the looming shadow of the Second World War, we see the pain of a young generation of Indigenous people who were pulled into the vortex of forced battle at home and overseas. Through the eyes of two soldiers Two Trails Narrow is a remembrance of the courage and depth of the human spirit in an era of hostilities.

Genres: Indigenous, Canada

300 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2008

Reviews

[Tigerlily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. An adventurous page turner about life, death, soul, war, spirit, humanity. I laughed, I cried, I held my breath, I sighed while reading Stephan's words. Similar to recent Giller winner Joseph Boyden's Three Day Road who offers a nice blurb on the back cover.

Stephan has done his research into the participation o of First Nations people in Canada's war history. He balances this by sharing the experiences of Belle and Brenda and the corps of Canadian nurses also on the battlefields. The pace is swift between the dialogue and storyline covering the history of the aboriginal experience for children growing up in an era of forced assimilation.
My favourite part for certain is the story of Abraham Scott and El Diablo. Stephan had me so gripped in the experience that the house could have started on fire and I would have kept on reading.

[Ann Doyon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephen McGregor’s Two Trails Narrow is an exceptional book. It brings to life the liberation of Holland in World War II as seen from the perspective of two young Aboriginal soldiers, Ryman McGregor and Abraham Scott .
 
As children, Ryman and Abraham were taken from their traditional life on a hunting line and placed in a horrific Jesuit residential school. But they ran away and returned to their families. Later, as men, they crossed paths again as warriors fighting in the war against the Nazis. The action is fierce and brutal as they battle the past and fight for the freedom of others—a freedom denied to them at home.

[Catherine Cooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing...it changed my perception. The ending was very moving. You will be shocked to how little the entertainment industry focuses on Canada's contributions to WW2