THE BREAK by Katherena Vermette
The second in the series by Metis author Katherena Vermette.
The Break is the debut novel of Canadian author Katherena Vermette. I read her second novel, The Strangers, late last year and adored it (you can read my review of that here). The Break introduces some characters that take a more central role in The Strangers, so in hindsight I probably should have read this one first, but I didn’t think it was a major road block as the books are about different families of women - there’s just some cross over with Phoenix.
Vermette writes a novel here centred around four generations of women from one family: Flora (KooKoo), her living daughter Cheryl, Lou and Paul (daughters of Cheryl) and Emily, daughter of Paul. Also pivotal is Stella, daughter of Rain, Flora’s deceased daughter. Also featured are Phoenix and Tommy. All of the characters are Métis, which means they are “half breeds” - half Indian, half white Canadians. Vermette herself is Métis so it is wonderful tor read Canadian Aboriginal stories written by authors of that descent.
The story revolves around a crime committed against Emily and the lead up and aftermath, as seen through the eyes of the various characters (including Tommy, the only male story teller, a Métis police officer learning to come to terms with his heritage and the systemic racism he is seeing in the police). As the characters reckon with their relationships with one another, Emily’s recovery and the nature of the offence against her, much is learned and past trauma informs their responses and their reckonings.
The story is a powerful one, as despite knowing early who is responsible for the offending against Emily, for the reader watching the story unfold and the inbuilt prejudices of these women break down is gut wrenching. This is not an easy read - the story is traumatic in areas and all too familiar for so many. Vermette handles this deftly - she is a wonderful writer who doesn’t shy away from the hard stuff, nor pint her characters as flawless. Yet they are each and all written with empathy and the understanding that no one came to this event in their lives without previous baggage that guides them. It really is a beautiful telling of a challenging topic.
Vermette is coming to Australia in May for the Brisbane Writers Festival and hers was the first session I signed up for - I cannot wait. Both her books are amongst the best I have read in recent years and I am itching to see what she has planned next.
The Break is an incredible book which I highly recommend (read it before The Strangers!).