Here’s what I’ve been reading lately:
Moon of the Crusted Snow, by Waubgeshig Rice
With winter looming, a small northern Anishinaabe community goes dark. Cut off, people become passive and confused. Panic builds as the food supply dwindles. While the band council and a pocket of community members struggle to maintain order, an unexpected visitor arrives, escaping the crumbling society to the south. Soon after, others follow.
Moon of the Turning Leaves, by Waubgeshig Rice
Twelve years after the lights go out . . .
An epic journey to a forgotten homeland
What can I say? These two books are perfect!
When I first started reading the second book (Moon of the Turning Leaves) after years of re-reading the first one, I kept hoping that there would be many more books in this series.
But once I finished, it felt complete. It’s not that there’s nothing left to say or imagine – and maybe Waub will indeed follow up with more – but these two books do the important work of drawing the reader in and compelling them to “imagine otherwise” beyond the scope of the story itself.
Can you see yourself in the world that Rice has created? What would that be like? What kinds of things could you be doing now to avoid the terrible possibilities explored in these stories, and what could you be doing to create resilient and reciprocal communities?
