REAL ONES by katherena vermette

The latest novel from the wonderful Métis writer of The Strangers trilogy.

Real Ones is the latest novel of Canadian Metis author katherena vermette, whose wonderful Strangers trilogy has been one of my favourites in recent years. While not part of the trilogy, this new book is connected through the characters in it. With now four novels connected to the Stranger family, reading this feels comfortable, like visiting with people you know.

The story revolves around June and Lyn, who are Métis on their paternal side and white-Mennonite on their maternal side. Their mother, Renee, has had a patchy life and relationships with her daughters after the end of her relationship with their father. Renee is exposed as an artist for claiming Indigeneity, having received awards and grants, and there is a predicatable uproar. June and Lyn have their own, complex feelings about their mother’s actions, based on their shared and indivdual histories with her, and the impact of her choices (and subsequent exposure) on them, as women with legitimate Indigenous heritage.

False cultural claims pervade the globe - we are not immune to it here in Australia. As an artist, I think deeply and often on the differences between inspiration from cultures outside mine and cultural appropriation. However, I do not believe that one must be a member of a culture or community to write or make art connected to that community. It must be done carefully, respectfully and with strong intellectual analysis and understanding of the space being taken up. I am 100% certain that brighter minds than mine can speak more eloquently and wisely about this than I ever could.

What fascinated me about Real Ones was the emotional journey both sisters take, in relation to their mother’s actions. I am quite sure that in the same position, I would not have been as forgiving or understanding of Renee, in the circumstances, as June and Lyn are. They recognise her trauma and attempt to understand how she came to be where she is, without excusing but with empathy. It’s questionable as to whether Renee deserves this grace from her daughters, particularly as the story unfolds.

The most powerful message in Real Ones is the grace of these two women, in the face of what must feel like a constant assault of cultural denial. Like Indigenous people across the globe, there is constant pressure to assimilate, to forgive, to excuse those who have sought to destroy their cultures. These systemic, institutional pressures are everywhere - even the university that June works at expects free, emotional labour of her, due to her heritage. It’s an issue that is pervasive and needs to be actively worked against.

This is where I fan girl. I first read The Strangers by katherena vermette in December 2022 and since then, I have become a huge fan. In May 2023, katherena was in Australia for the Brisbane Writer’s Festival and I got to meet her, which was a big thrill for me. I suspect that trip impacted vermette when writing this book - characters travelling to and working in Brisbane and Aotearoa (New Zealand)! So when I saw that this novel had been released in Canada, I ordered it (I have not been able to locate it in Australia) and, as expected, I loved it. I think I’d read anything this talented woman writes, but truly her ability to tell stories that emanate from her culture in such honest, beautiful ways…I really just love it. These stories are not easy reads. There is trauma and harm contained within them. But they centre women - the Stranger women - as they are, imperfect and all, and show their immense courage and dignity. These are stories that must be told and must be heard.

Real Ones is another absolute gem from katherene vermette.

(Links to my previous reviews of vermette’s novels are below)

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My previous reviews of the Stranger series can be read here: