Hello bbc members! This is the official thread for our April 2014 selection, Joseph Boyden’s The Orenda. Our final discussion will take place on Tuesday April 22nd at 8pm EDT/5pm PDT
Here is a snippet from the book jacket summary of the novel:
The Orenda opens with the kidnapping of Snow Falls, a spirited Iroquois girl with a special gift. Her captor, Bird, is and elder and one of the Huron Nation’s great warriors and statesmen. In Snow Falls, Bird recognized the ghost of his lost daughter; he sees that the girl possesses powerful magic, something useful to him and his people on the troubled road ahead. The Huron Nation has battled the Iroquois for as long as Bird can remember, but both tribes now face a new, more dangerous peril from afar.
Christophe does not see himself as a threat, however. A charismatic Jesit missionary, he has found his calling amongst the Huron. As an emissary from distant lands, he brings much more, though, than his faith to the new world.
As these three souls dance one another through intricately woven acts of duplicity, small battles erupt into bigger wars, and a nation emerges from worlds in flux.
Sounds sufficiently dramatic! I should add that while this book might appear to be an intimidatingly hefty read (it clocks in at 490 pages) it goes by pretty quickly.
Check out the post in bound but not gagged, and learn how to become a bbc member, here.
Read my blog post on The Orenda and Canada Reads here (contains spoilers!)
The Orenda should be widely available in bookstores since it just won Canada Reads a few weeks ago (I know I’ve seen it on sale at the grocery store as well as in regular bookstores). The softcover is $22 and the ebook version is $15. It might be a bit more difficult to get at the library if you live in a bigger city (it currently has 1220 holds at the Toronto Public Library – yikes!) But if you’d prefer not to pay full price for a new copy you can try the following:
- check out used bookstores – the book has been out since September 2013 so a few avid readers have likely already read it and disposed of it. Try Pulp Fiction or the Paper Hound in Vancouver, and Elliot's, Balfour's or Pandemonium in Toronto.
- Ask around! Canada Reads is usually huge for book sales. Chances are someone you know has a copy they're not using.
Looking forward to hearing what you think! Stay tuned throughout the month of April for links to (optional) supplementary reading, questions, etc. Rants and musings from all bbc members are welcomed and warmly encouraged.