Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice

Moon of the Turning Leaves

Waubgeshig Rice

Despite the dystopian world in this novel, it’s a story full of hope, love and friendship. The traditional values of the Anishinaabe team of people, who undertake a journey to their ancestral land near Lake Huron, are the starting point of their new life. Don’t let the few indigenous words deter you. I found this a very worthwhile read.

Extract

Late that night, Nangohns was the first to awaken to the sound. It took half a second for her to home in on where they were. And then she smelled the unmistakable spoor. Bolting up from under her red wool blanket, her eyes,  adjusting to the pre-dawn darkness, she spun her head about, frantically scanning the ground around them. Just a few feet beyond the sleeping bodies that lay before her, she saw a hulking black mass moving on the beach. It was repeatedly lunging downward and then rearing up, like it was digging at something. The sound of its snorting grunts sent a chill up her spine.

Parallels
  • The Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
  • Doggerland by Ben Smith
  • The End of the Ocean by Maya Lunde