CANADA READS 2020 FINALIST
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
More than ten years after her Giller-shortlisted title Monkey Beach, Eden Robinson returns with a striking and precise coming-of-age novel, in which everyday teen existence meets Indigenous beliefs, crazy family dynamics and cannibalistic river otters.
Meet Jared Martin: sixteen-year-old pot cookie dealer, smoker, drinker and son with the scariest mom ever. But Jared's the pot dealer with a heart of gold--really. Compassionate, caring, and nurturing by nature, Jared's determined to help hold his family together--whether that means supporting his dad's new family with the proceeds from his baking or caring for his elderly neighbours. But when it comes to being cared and loved, Jared knows he can't rely on his family. His only source of love and support was his flatulent pit bull Baby, but she's dead. And then there's the talking ravens and the black outs and his grandmother's perpetual suspicion that he is not human, but the son of a trickster.
This novel is just a complete disappointment
"The book is nothing like what you’d expect. The author Eden Robinson, a well-known Indigenous writer, winning multiple awards such as, Writers’ Trust Engel/Findley Award and the University of Victoria’s Distinguished Alumni Award, has disappointed me with her novel that was shortlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Award, Son of a Trickster. This Indigenous story of a 16 year old boy named Jared, highlights his ability to cope with his family struggles, using drugs and alcohol. It starts off fast, introducing lots of different characters BUT, becomes EXTREMELY SLOW! Despite Jared being the son of a Trickster, the only trick the book pulled off was being ¾ done and still no Trickster. It continuously repeats similar events and ideas which had me falling asleep. There are multiple instances when Jared has some lewd interactions with his neighbour Sarah, as well as people drinking, throwing parties, and throwing up afterwards. Throughout pretty much the whole book, it just shows Jared’s many ways of coping with stress because he didn’t really have a family that cared for him. At 16 years old, he was surrounded with things like weed and alcohol, nobody was there to correct him. He even has his own recipe for making weed cookies and selling them to make some money. But, once we FINALLY know all about his family, love life, and interests, they hit us with some random spiritual and supernatural world. Although Jared was seeing talking animals throughout the whole book, at the beginning they were usually dismissed because he was always intoxicated. Animals and spirits play a big role in Indigenous culture and I can see what Robinson was tryna do, but it should’ve been incorporated way differently, or maybe just A LOT earlier. It didn’t add a lot to the story, it just made the message much more confusing. Not only that but, Jared gotta be one of the DUMBEST characters… His decisions are so unrealistic. How does he get caught by some otters after already being warned by his grandmother? Even after he learns more about these spirits and how he’s not completely human. His grandmother, Nana Sophia, specifically told him, “Stay home, Jared. There are things out there looking for you. Things that see you better than you see yourself. ” Yet, he still insists on visiting his neighbour Sarah and risking his life… like bro you’re only 16. If I was told the consequences and knew I could possibly die, I would definitely not be taking that kind of risk. Overall, the book wasn’t too bad, it just leaves you wondering when you’ll ever get to the good part. It definitely had the potential to be a great novel with a hint of magic, but the magic was never a true aspect of the story, only a detail."
