The Break
Ratings13
Average rating4.3
15
Ratings13
Average rating4.3
Winner of the Amazon.ca First Novel Award and a finalist for the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize and the Governor General’s Literary Award, The Break is a stunning and heartbreaking debut novel about a multigenerational Métis–Anishnaabe family dealing with the fallout of a shocking crime in Winnipeg’s North End. When Stella, a young Métis mother, looks out her window one evening and spots someone in trouble on the Break — a barren field on an isolated strip of land outside her house — she calls the police to alert them to a possible crime. In a series of shifting narratives, people who are connected, both directly and indirectly, with the victim — police, family, and friends — tell their personal stories leading up to that fateful night. Lou, a social worker, grapples with the departure of her live-in boyfriend. Cheryl, an artist, mourns the premature death of her sister Rain. Paulina, a single mother, struggles to trust her new partner. Phoenix, a homeless teenager, is released from a youth detention centre. Officer Scott, a Métis policeman, feels caught between two worlds as he patrols the city. Through their various perspectives a larger, more comprehensive story about lives of the residents in Winnipeg’s North End is exposed. A powerful intergenerational family saga, The Break showcases Vermette’s abundant writing talent and positions her as an exciting new voice in Canadian literature.
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Read my review on my blog here:
https://theconsultingbookworm.wordpress.com/2018/01/20/the-break-katherena-vermette/
4.5 stars. This book is a gut punch. A fair comp for readers who liked Tommy Orange's There There.
This is spectacular writing; a true Canadian talent, telling a story about small town Canada and native/metis life that is very powerful and incredibly relevant. It covers some very dark and disturbing issues, but if you're looking for an intimate portrayal of how tough life can be for vulnerable women, few books can compare to the stories of the women in this book.
What struck me first was the sheer quality of writing. The story is written from the perspectives of a number of women (and one man), and swaps perspectives every chapter. Without using excessive description or pontification, the writing instantly makes you see the world through the eyes of the character of focus, understand how they feel, see how they see the people around them. Because this is done so effectively, I got to the point where a number of characters would be together in a room, and I'd instantly understand the dynamics between all of the characters. That really made the book come to life for me.
One thing I found overwhelming was the sheer amount of horrible things that happened to these women. It made me (a sheltered white guy) think “Can things really be that bad?!” My assumption is that the author is writing from experience and that things actually are that bad. A part of me wants to hope she's exaggerating, but deep down I know she probably is not. So the book was definitely an eye opener, but it was hard to take it all in, and I'm still reeling from it.
Set in the North End of Winnipeg, Manitoba, The Break is a heartbreaking and gritty multi-generational story of a Metis family, told through different perspectives that originate in and around the sexual assault of young teenage girl. The voices we hear are mostly women, because it's the women that hold the family structures together, they are the ones that stay. There's crime, drug addiction, lost loved ones, gang violence, and a lot of trauma and hurt handed down from generation to generation.
This book succeeded on so many levels for me. It has the literary fiction appeal, the feminist angle, and all the while also kept me hooked with the plot. Some of the scenes really shook me. Little broken Emily sneaking home without telling anyone, Rain transforming Stella's bedtime fairy-tales so that the princess wouldn't need a prince, Jake fighting tears without being able to open up to his mom.
Rounded up.
