"sorry" by gail jones

this book is really quite something.  a unique take on the girl-growing-up-with-dysfunctional-family-and-environment, the story takes place in western australia in the 1930's and 40's.

perdita is a lonely child growing up with parents who are indifferent to her existence. she makes her own family of billy, the mute-deaf son of a neighbour, and mary, a "half-caste" aboriginal taken out of a convent to care for perdita when her mother enters an asylum. when perdita's father is murdered, mary confesses and is sent away, and perdita is left alone and with a terrible stutter that renders her almost speechless.

told with tremendous skill and beautiful language, 'sorry' is a book that will stay with me for a while.

"kiss of the fur queen" by tomson highway

oh contemporary fiction....how i miss thee.

the language of this novel is stunning.  1950's cree life in northern manitoba explodes into life with highway's lush and lyrical descriptions.  the narrative jumps between the real world and a spiritual cree world where the fur queen and other fantastical, almost surreal myths exist. 

semi-autobiographical, 'the kiss of the fur queen' is about jeremiah and gabriel okimasis.  the narrative follows these brothers as they go from a magical and rustic life in the north, to a residential school where they're abused by their teachers, and finally to life in the big city of winnipeg.  wherever they are, a trickster figure in guise of a fur queen watches over them as they struggle with balancing their cree heritage with their new world.

i'm always weary of novels like this.  yes, it was terrible what happened to aboriginals at residential schools, but it's not my fault because i'm white.  this novel doesn't place the blame or ask for an apology, but just tells a lovely story that is beautiful, melancholy, funny and clever - everything you require from literature.