A Grandmother Begins the Story: A Novel
Carter is a young mother on a quest to find the true meaning of her heritage, which she only learned of in her teens. Allie is trying to make up for the lost years with her first born and to protect Carter from the hurt she herself suffered from her own mother. Lucie wants the granddaughter she's never met to help her get to her ancestors in the afterlife. And Geneviève is determined to conquer her demons--before the fire inside burns her up--with the help of the sister she lost but has never been without. Meanwhile, Mamé, in the afterlife, knows that all their stories began with her; she must find a way to cut herself from the last threads that keep her tethered to the living, just as they must find their own paths forward. And a young bison wants to understand why he keeps being moved and whether he should make a break for it and run for his life.
This extraordinary novel, told by a chorus of vividly realized, wise, confused, struggling characters attempting to make sense of this life and the next, heralds the arrival of a stunning new voice in literary fiction.
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Community Reviews
The humans in the story are all deeply flawed and the family dysfunction has impacted them all. Genevieve is 81 and an alcoholic. She had been a terrible mother to Lucie, who now wants to die. Allie gave up her firstborn daughter, Carter, for adoption, but now wants to connect with her. Carter is a young mother with a four year old child that she leaves behind with her ex-husband while she gallivants around with other men. Lucie asks Carter to help her kill herself by giving her pills. A rather convoluted story to say the least, but you can see parallels to the lives of the buffalo.
It was easy to read and held my interest, but it was just a tad bit too weird for me. The author did a good job of weaving in the stories and folklore of her people, the Métis.
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