Five Little Indians,
Michelle Good
Synopsis
Winner of the 2018 HarperCollins/UBC Prize for Best New Fiction Michelle Good’s FIVE LITTLE INDIANS, told from the alternating points of view of five former residential school students as they struggle to survive in 1960s Vancouver—one finding her way into the dangerous world of the American Indian movement; one finding unexpected strength in motherhood; and one unable to escape his demons – and the bonds of friendship that sustain them, inspired by the author’s experiences.
Heather comments
This book is a short quick read but is loaded with a punch. Michelle Good a native lawyer and social worker wrote the book to answer the question “Why can’t residential school survivors just get over it?”
It is a book that all Canadians should read. Not only does it describe the emotional impact of residential school on its’ students but also on their parents and community. By making the story a historical fiction, the author draws the reader into the lives of it’s five characters and helps one understand the personal pressures and strain of having to live in Canadian society without the preparation of family support, conventional education, or cultural support.
It is quite an exceptional story. No wonder it won the Amazon First Novel Award and the 2020 Canadian Governor’s General’s Award for Fiction as well as being on the long list for the Giller Fiction Prize and the Writer’s Trust Fiction Prize.
