by Rosemary Brown
Ontario, ten years after the world has experienced a permanent power outage is the setting for Waubgeshig Rice’s novel Moon of the Turning Leaves, the sequel to Moon of the Crusted Snow.
Waubgeshig, an author and journalist, is from the Wasauksing First Nation near Parry Sound, Ontario. Members of the Indigenous Book club had the privilege of meeting Waubgeshig online to share their thoughts about his book and to ask questions.
Waubgeshig is a wonderful storyteller, and the story he narrates in this book is a classic quest full of challenges and sacrifice. It was hard to put the book down and it ended way too soon.
When the power failed ten years ago, a number of Anishinabe people went north to escape the mayhem and to build a new community. Now ten years later, and as game has become scarce, a small band is sent south to learn what had happened in the past ten years and to seek out any other Anihsinabe groups that have survived. A central character is a young woman who hunts with a bow and arrow and is considered to be one of the best hunters in the community.
Among the challenges she and her companions, including her father, face as they journey southward is the existence of roaming well-armed survivalist militias. A haunting feature of the trek are the abandoned and derelict towns and small cities they pass through.
I do not want to give away what happens on the quest: I leave that for readers to discover and enjoy for themselves. At the same time, I want to address some of the themes that emerged. A key one was the stark contrast between the nature of the white supremacist and misogynist survival militias and that of the Anishinaabe, whether it had to do with the role of women, how the dead were treated, the response to dwindling western technology such as guns, and the contrast between individualistic and collective approaches to survival.
Another key theme was that of the environment, as the Anishinaabe passed many examples of the earth reclaiming itself from the concrete buildings, asphalt roads, and metal structures that dotted the landscape.
In the middle of the quest is a hilarious scene where older members of the band reminisce about the pleasure of eating pizza and wondering if they will find any pizza outlets down south.
Waubgeshig told us that as he worked on the book, he researched what are called “prepper” groups, actively preparing themselves for the end of civilization as we know it. He also visited an abandoned highway up north to see how Mother Earth is reclaiming herself.
Throughout the book, Waubgeshig uses numerous Anishinaabemowin words, and its telling that by the end these words become more frequent. For those who are interested, he has put out a video about how to pronounce the words in his language: go on YouTube and search for “Moon of the Turning Leaves Anishinaabemowin Pronunciation Guide”.
Enjoy!
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