Written by Terese Marie Mailhot
MY RATING: 4 of 5 stars
One great thing about working at an academic institute is that you can take part in fun learning experiences. One of those experiences was being part of an Indigenous book club, where we were provided the book. This slim volume packs a huge amount of raw emotion. I will warn you from the beginning that you will need to put this book down at times as you wrap your mind, and heart, around some of the things you read. If you can give into the feelings there is also another hurdle to read this book – the writing style. The writing style is not consistent, it often flows with the emotion so reminds me of free-flow style. I loved this style as that is my own writing style, and it helped me really get into Mailhot’s mind. This book, and writing, is so powerful because as the writing flows you can see the rawness that Mailhot shares. It is more than reading someone’s diary, but their personal thoughts that only stay within their mind. In part what makes this a difficult read is also Mailhot’s delivery of events. Now this part is my own assertion – recounting trauma, or something difficult, it can be told a million different times and each time have a different emotion. It depends on what you feel at the time of telling it, and also how you have – or haven’t – dealt with it. And, it also depends on how and who you are telling. As readers read this they may find she is not giving it the right emotion, but I think you have to be open when you read memoirs. This is someone’s perception of what has occurred, and as a reader we need to validate them. I know you must be asking yourself, “what is this reviewer saying? Should I read this?” I loved this novel for all the reasons mentioned above, and if you could “enjoy” books like Lucky, The Lovely Bones or Room I would recommend this as your next read!
*This book club would like to keep the number of people attending manageable, and give other people a chance to attend, so this may be one and only review for the Indigenous Book Club*
{Read for VCC’s Staff Indigenous Book Club}
My Novelesque Life 