Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden is a novel that explores indigenous culture, family ties and identity. I found this to to a powerful story that follows two distinct POVs. The elder voice is that of Will Bird, a retired bush pilot who lies in a coma as his mind is actively going over the events that led to his condition. The younger voice belongs to Annie, Will’s niece who visits with her uncle and tells him of her journey of the past few months as she followed her missing sister’s trail to Toronto, Montreal and New York City before returning home to their small community of Moosonee near the shores of James Bay.

While the story takes us through heartbreak, mysterious disappearances, and violent confrontations what jumped out at me was the strong bond of kinship that these two characters shared. While not directly addressed, as the story advances, the plight of the indigenous people with drugs, alcohol and the death of their traditional way of life is made very clear.

Although there has been some controversy surrounding this author, I chose to simply concentrate on the story and I found it to be powerful, original and unforgettable. My only concern was that the ending seemed rather contrived but overall this was a very rewarding read. ( )

This wasn't an easy book or a fast read. It was a beautifully written and painful story to be savored. The parallel journeys of Will and Annie are fascinating. The descriptions of the natural world and the plight of Canada's First Nations are mean to be pondered. I hadn't ready Boyden's previous book but certainly plan to! ( )

It is impossible not to compare Through Black Spruce with Boyden’s earlier book, Three Day Road. And Through Black Spruce does fall short of the first one.

Boyden again writes with poetic prose, and has well-developed, complex characters. This story could be read as a sequel of the first – although it does stand alone – in an epic historical account of the aboriginal community in Canada through 4 generations, from the great-aunt Niska, a shaman woman in the beginning of the century and her nephew and WWI hero in the first book, then – in the second – his children and grand-children growing up on a reserve and dealing with the aftermaths of aboriginal schools: alcoholism, unemployment, gangs. However, Boyden is too scared to deal with the most natural outcome of such reality for aboriginal women: prostitution. He chooses instead to send the young female characters into the world of advertisement, making then super-models. Unfortunately this is not an environment that is natural to Boyden, and it shows. While his accounts of the North, the cold, the hunts, even the jealousy, friendships and animosities fostered in a small community all sound very true, the accounts of his nieces high life in Montreal and New York is too stereotypical.

Even if aspects of this book did disappoint me, I am still eager to read more of Boyden’s writing, and I am already waiting for his next book. He has a natural voice as a writer; he is perceptive and moving. I hope his next attempt stays truer to his voice.
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Slogging

Joseph Boyden is a Canadian treasure and reading about the lives of a family from Northern Ontario was both thrilling and enthralling. Boyden's deft use of voice is demonstrated so well in this novel, occupying the same world as Three Day Road, and alternates between the perspective of Annie Bird and her uncle, Will Bird. The best parts of the narrative are when Boyden is moving through the lives of the people on James Bay and the breaks of lyricism associated with the landscape and the practices of hunting. I found myself a bit disenchanted with the descriptions of Toronto, Montreal and New York and yearned to be back in James Bay during each interlude away, perhaps this is part of Boyden's intention as his characters all have an inexorable pull to their home. ( )