Review: Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden

NOTE: May contain **SPOILERS**

Another great one from my Canadian Literature class!  This book gave me a deeper appreciation of what natives went through in residential schools and how they were treated by colonists.  This is something I was admittedly ignorant of.

The story takes place over three days and slides back and forth with past and present events.  I have decided to stop giving too much of a synopsis of the books I read, and instead share my opinion of the book so that you might be more interested in reading it.  To give you a brief summary, a young man returns from the war quite damaged and over the course of the three day road with his aunt back to his home in the woods, you learn about his experience overseas and the awful consequences of participating in the war.

For someone who doesn't read or seek out war books, this is the second one in a row that I have read and  enjoyed.  It is less about the war and more about native issues, but a lot of the story takes place while two young native men are stationed overseas in the trenches.  I felt that the paralells it pointed out between serving in the military and living in residential schools frightening.  I don't know much about residential schools, but I have no illusions about them being good places.

My favourite part of this book is the regular reference to the lore of the Windigo and how it relates to certain people in the war.  There is something so disturbing about actual canibalism, but when you start to see the similarities that Boyden is showing between actual canibalism and bahivours during the war it is distressing.

I liked this book a lot and recommend it (as I did with Generals) to anyone who might normally hesitate to pick up a war novel like I would but enjoys a good story.   


Title: Three Day Road
Author: Joseph Boyden
Year of publication: 2005
Publisher: Penguin
Rating: 4/5

Review: Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O'neill

This book is heartbreaking.  Lullabies for Little Criminals is Heather O'Neill's debut novel.  It won Canada Reads 2007 plus a slew of other awards, rightly so. 

It's the story of Baby; a young girl growing up in Montreal's Red Light District.  Baby faces realities that "regular" children (even many adults) don't ever come close to experiencing.  Baby's mother died when Baby was very young.  Baby struggles constantly with the idea that she is motherless, questioning it frequently.  Baby's father, Jules, is a young parent and heroin addict who is more nurturing high than clean.  Baby's lack of good guidance is apparent throughout the story especially when Baby's personal reflections intermingle childhood curiosities with adult analogies.  Living sometimes together and sometimes apart, Jules and Baby's living situation changes many many times throughout the book, which seems to span the length of roughly 2 years.  From foster homes, to dingy hotels, to homeless shelters, to rehabs; there is never a place called "home".  This is proof of the instability in Baby's life.  Baby is constantly left to her own devices, most often during times when support and strong role models are most essential to her well being.  She makes many poor choices mostly due to her lack of (good) guidance.  Throughout the story, Baby meets many characters who never become fixtures in her life; kids in a foster home, street kids at a community centre, homeless people, prostitutes, school friends, drug addicts, social workers, etc.  The only two characters who play a constant role in Baby's life are Jules (her father) and Alphonse ** SPOILER ALERT** (her adult lover and eventual pimp).  This seems to cause a lot of tension for Baby considering how different both characters are in regards to the roles that they play in Baby's life. 

The book's ending is somewhat hopeful, although you don't truly feel like Baby will ever recover from what she has been through.  You don't feel like you, the reader, will recover either.  Baby is a representation of all kids in these circumstances, which I am afraid to say is probably more common than we are willing to admit.

This book is not for the faint of heart.  It is graphic, disturbing (especially the detailed descriptions of the physical and sexual abuse of kids), and at times can be uncomfortable to read. Based on my very limited knowledge of street life, it feels like it may also be frighteningly realistic. This book is a mix of the everyday realities of puberty and the world of drugs, prostitution, abuse, and street life for any kid in these.  This is a suggested read for anyone stuck in the bubble like me; sheltered by a life where a support network of great friends and family is a given. This book makes you want to reach out and take care of Baby, and never let her go.

Book Information
Title: Lullabies For Little Criminals
Author: Heather O'neill
Year of publication: 2006
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 352
Awards: Canada Reads 2007
Purchased at: Can't remember
Rating: 4.5 / 5

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

I loved the first book so much I managed to get my hands on an ARC for Catching Fire. I finished the book in one sitting and it is just as extraordinary as the first. It picks up almost right where the first book leaves off with Katniss and Peeta's return home to District 12. This book focuses less on the Games and more on the unrest that Peeta and Katniss' defiance of the Capitol has created throughout most of the Districts. It is just as gut wrenching and heart breaking as the first. The story is chilling and draws the reader into the harsh yet frighteningly realistic dystopian society of Panem. Collins is a magnificent writer and I can't wait to read the third and final book!

Rating 5/5