Otter Lake is a sleepy Anishnawbe community where little happens. Until the day a handsome stranger pulls up astride a 1953 Indian Chief motorcycle- and turns Otter Lake completely upside down.
Maggie, the Reserve's chief is swept off her feet, but Virgil, her teenage son, is less than enchanted. Suspicious of the stranger's intentions, he teams up with his uncle Wayne- a master of Aboriginal martial arts- to drive the stranger from the Reserve. And it turns out that a band of marauding raccoons is willing to lend a hand.
Gently farcial, culturally illuminating, hilarious and wise, Motorcycles and Sweetgrass establishes Drew Hayden Taylor as a powerful new voice in Canadian fiction.
When I got my list of required texts for the semester and saw this novel, I was intrigued. Now books that are read during class or for school usually have a bad rep, but Drew Hayden Taylor's novel did not disappoint one bit.
Taking place on an Anishnawbe Reserve, the novel obviously touches a lot on Indigenous culture, traditions, and history- good, bad, and ugly. One piece was focused on the Canadian Government's decision to build residential schools, which we all know to be a very controversial subject. Taylor writes it into the novel in a way where it can be talked about without making the reader feel any negativity or upset as to what happened. It's lighthearted and just a part of history. Residential schools and the assimilation of Indigenous culture was foundational for the plot and many of the character's development as the story progressed. For example, one of the girls on the reserve was given a new name, Lillian, seeing as Anishnawbe was a forbidden language at the school. Being denied the ability to speak one's primary language caused for a lot of trouble for a few characters in particular and again, laid down the ground work for the remainder of the plot. Animals are also really symbolic in Indigenous culture and Drew made animals a huge part of the book. Racoons were a focus as the story progressed, but I won't say why or how. You'll have to read the book and see for yourself. Trust me, my opinions of raccoons have changed (for the better) since reading this. Let me know your thoughts!
Let's fastforward a little to when Maggie and "John", our handsome and mysterious stranger meet. Before I go further, I put "John" in quotes for reasons you will understand when you actually read the book, but anyways, lets get back to it. If there is one thing I did not expect from this book, it would deifnitely be the romance. When I read through Maggie's budding feelings for "John", I felt as though I was reading a romance novel. They went through the phases: meet, flirt, develop feelings, deny said feelings, accept feelings, and date. I had mixed opinions about their relationship while I read, but later warmed up to the idea and thoroughly enjoyed reading through their relationship.
Something that also really stuck with me, was how inclusive this books was of other genres. Taylor did an amazing job of incorporating something for everyone. I really think that it made the book worth reading. It allowed for rollercoasters of emotions and countless "OMG" moments, which is always something I look for and appreciate in a book. Books that are able to bring their readers on a journey, are always the best kind. I applaud Taylor for being able to do this so well. Bravo.
The novel also was really relateble in some cases. The scenes where Maggie and Virgil clashed and mother and son was something that I think everyone could relate to. I really liked the mother-son dynamic, and just really had a thing for Virgil and "John." Ultimately, the fight for Maggie's affection between the two males, was really entertaining and really something that happens to a lot of people. The tension that arose between the two of them, and Maggie, really added to the plot and a lot of growth for all of them. I liked that concept a lot.
The pages were a nice length and the style of writing was nice and very easy to follow. Overall, the book really resonated me with me as it was so out of my norm. I would've never seen myself reading anything close to this, even though I do believe in "broadening horizons" and exploring different genres. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to read this, as well as the opportunity to discover one of my favourite books in the process.
I had this copy sent to me by Penguin Random House, so a big thank you goes to them for making this review possible.
Last but certainly not least, a thanks goes to Drew Hayden Taylor himself for writing such a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful novel, that I will remember reaidng, and suggest to others for days to come.
Make sure you all go pick up a copy, and stay tuned for his next novel, Chasing Painted Horses, which will be out in a few weeks. Until next time, my beautiful bookworms...
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