Knopf Canada, September 6, 2016.
Three Stars
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment