Historical Fiction

A brilliant read, start to finish. As in real life, the lines between villains and heroes are a bit fuzzy. ( )

This is a book that all Canadians should read, and it certainly should be included in higher education history curriculums. The book is about our Canadian forbearers. They were not the ancestors of the majority of Canadians, as all of our Canadian non-First Nation ancestors were immigrants. Our ancestors were the ones who built this country into the wonderful country it is today--but at what cost to the first settlers in our land? The story is set in 17 century Canada, and is a prequel to Joseph Boyden's Bird Family trilogy. I had read Three Day Road and Through Black Spruce, so now it was time to see where it all began. The book is a masterpiece, and, in true Joseph Borden style, a sweeping saga of history in a small area of Canada near the American border. It tells the story of Bird and his tribe, who were Hurons, who lived in this area. They were a tribe that were farmers and grew crops to feed their people. Surrounded by many enemy tribes, they had to fight constantly in order to survive. Then, along come the Jesuits from Europe who were sent to these foreign lands by their Pope to civilize and convert these heathen nations. The story is told through the eyes of three narrators - Bird who is the Chief of his Huron nation, his adopted daughter Snow Falls who was an Iroquois captive who Bird adopted as a young girl after he had slaughtered her family in a revenge strike to avenge the death of his wife and daughters, and Christophe, a young French Jesuit who arrives in the region where the Hurons are living, while following the orders of his high level priests to go and live among the "sauvages" as they call these native people, and preach the word of God to them. I listened to this book on audiobook, and it is narrated by Graham Rowan and Edorado Ballerina. I'm not sure that listening to this particular audiobook was a good choice for me because there is a lot of war, killing, torture and other very graphic scenes in the book. Having it read is rather uncomfortable and totally shocking. The narrators did a good job of portraying all of the scenes in the book though. History jumps off the pages though, whether you are reading or listening because of Boyden's writing style. It is like being there and watching everything as it is occurring (but from a safe distance). The final battle scene between the Huron and the Iroquois decimates a nation, but even with that, there is hope at the end when the few surviving Huron people manage to get away, and each survivor then finds his or her own way to survive. I highly recommend this book. It's another winner for one of my favourite Canadian authors. ( )

This book tells the history of interactions among the Huron, Iroquois and Jesuits in Canada during the 1600s. The author relates this history through the perspectives of three main characters, each told in first person, of a young Iroquois female (Snow Falls), a Huron warrior (Bird) and a Jesuit missionary (Christophe). I thought the author did an excellent job of showing how differences in perspective can lead to misunderstandings. I enjoyed the descriptions of the physical beauty of the country and the way in which the people lived. The characters were well-developed, and they evolved over time.

I found the book well-written, engrossing, and educational. I recommend this book to those who enjoy historical fiction, or who want to learn more about Canadian history or the lives of native peoples of North America. WARNING: It is EXTREMELY graphic in describing torture of captives of the warring tribes. It depicts a brutality that will likely be disturbing to many readers. ( )

This is a beautifully written book with some extremely difficult scenes showing the harsh realities of Canada when Europeans first started to appear. The story depicts the war between Wendat and Haudenosaunee as group tries to manipulate the French and the English, themselves at war and themselves manipulating warring Indigenous nations.
Set in a background of harsh winters, unforgiving draughts and cruel revenges, this story could easily have become a horror boo. Yet, Boyden manages to capture also beauty, love, friendship, forgiveness and hope. Most unlikely alliances between a Jesuit and a Wendat Chief, a beautiful love story between an abducted Haudenosaunee girl and a Wendat boy, an enchanting Anishinaabe sorceress turn the murderous plot into a multifaceted epic tale full of wonder and grit.
Based on historical events, this book is also a great way to learn more about Canada's early history. ( )