Richard WagameseRecensioni

An inspirational, spiritual and transformative collection of meditative wisdoms by beloved Indigenous author Richard Wagamese.

In this carefully curated selection of everyday reflections, Richard Wagamese finds lessons in both the mundane and sublime as he muses on the universe, drawing inspiration from working in the bush—sawing and cutting and stacking wood for winter—as well as the smudge ceremony to bring him closer to the Creator. Embers is perhaps Richard Wagamese's most personal volume to date. Honest, evocative and articulate, he explores the various manifestations of grief, joy, recovery, beauty, gratitude, physicality and spirituality—concepts many find hard to express. But for Wagamese, spirituality is multifaceted. Within these pages, readers will find hard-won and concrete wisdom on how to feel the joy in the everyday things. Wagamese does not seek to be a teacher or guru, but these observations made along his own journey to become, as he says, "a spiritual bad-ass," make inspiring reading.

"Life sometimes is hard. There are challenges. There are difficulties. There is pain. As a younger man I sought to avoid them and only ever caused myself more of the same. These days I choose to face life head on—and I have become a comet. I arc across the sky of my life and the harder times are the friction that lets the worn and tired bits drop away. It's a good way to travel; eventually I will wear away all resistance until all there is left of me is light. I can live towards that end." —Richard Wagamese, Embers

-Amazon description

This is such a good book although not one that is easy to get hold of. My copy came all the way from America, although the author is Canadian.

On one level it tells us the story of a father and son, Eldon and Franklin Starlight who do not know each other well but where the father has asked Frank for a favour. To take him deep into the woods and to bury him facing east like a warrior would have been buried as they are both Ojibway, an indiginous group in Canada. Eldon is dying so the journey is not an easy one but part of the reason for doing it is so that Frank can find out more about his father, and his mother who he never knew.

Eldon has three significant events in his life that he has not been able to deal with: leaving his mother with an abusive boyfriend, his role in the death of his best friend Jimmy and the death of his wife, Frank's mother. Eldon used alcohol to 'keep things away' such as dreams and memories and was dying of 'alcohol sickness' and sees the journey as an opportunity to ask for Frank's forgiveness.

There are so many wonderful elements in this book, one of them being the descriptions of the place, backcountry Canada and the love and ease with which Frank exists in it. Raised by 'the Old Man' who is not his father, he can hunt and live off the land on his own at the age of sixteen and has been able to do so for several years.

There were lodgepole pines, birch, aspen and larch. The kid rode easily, smoking and guiding the horse with his knees. They edged around blackberry thickets and stepped gingerly over stumps and stones and the sore-looking red of fallen pines. It was late fall. The dark green of fir leaned to a sullen greyness, and the sudden bursts of colour from the last clinging leaves struck him like the flare of lightning bugs in a darkened field.
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This is where Frank is at home. Contrast this with the description of where his father lives.

The house leaned back toward the shore so that in the encroaching dark it seemed to hover there as though deciding whether to continue hugging land or to simply shrug and surrender itself to the steel-grey muscle of the river. It was as three-storey clapboard and there were pieces of shingle strewn about the yard amid shattered windowpanes and boots and odd bits of clothing and yellowed newspapers that the wind pressed to the chicken-wire fence at its perimeter.
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His father had become distanced from the land and didn't learn the ways to live off it as his family had had to chase work to survive and that ended up being what he knew. Working in the timber mills, moving around for the work and it was hard, physical work guaranteed to ruin a body prematurely.

The walk becomes the medicine as does the time spent together in a place where they were surrounded by trees as they

. . . winked out of view as though the woods had folded itself around them, cocooned them, the chrysalis impermeable, whole, wound of time . . .
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But there is also the medicine provided by the woman they meet in the shack where they wait for the rain to pass. Made from materials found in the woods, it numbs Eldon, reduces his pain and sends him into a more relaxed state of sleep. And then there is the medicine that is story. Stories abound everywhere. 'Tracks were story', there were the cave paintings telling stories that couldn't necessarily be read but were important enough for someone to record, there are the stories that Eldon tells to explain himself and it is these stories that enable Frank to start to understand his father. They are not easy stories to tell or hear and for Eldon, they are the first time he has told them.

This book can also be read as a journey to reconciliation between idiginous peoples, Frank, and settlers or those divorced from the land, Eldon. Eldon asks a couple of times for forgiveness from Frank who responds that forgiveness is not his to give. He refuses to absolve Eldon and at the end when asked again, Frank leaves the question unanswered. Here, the person who is asking for forgiveness has died and so is not even present, so who is forgiven now? I wondered if Wagamese was asking whether we can insist that survivors grant us forgiveness. I think he is saying that the journey is more important than the outcome, that the stories along the way are hard to tell and to listen to and there is no guarantee that forgiveness will be the outcome. Should we even be asking for it, we the colonialists? Through telling the stories we come to understand a little more about the reasons why things were as they were - we don't have to like them, but over time, the stories can bring us closer. It is also interesting whose stories we are listening to.

This book is a fantastic choice for a book club discussion - there is so much to talk about.

Profoundly moving and humble, this book makes me care more and feel more, the best I've read in ages.

I've read a number of Native Canadian stories before, so nothing in this book was new to me in that sense. However, I did appreciate the hockey angle and the discrimination the players felt. This aspect of the story may attract readers who may not have read other Native experinces but will come to understand something of the culture.
I also appreciate the framework of the story, of the alcoholic writing the memoir of his life to help him figure out and deal with his issues. In this sense, the book is universal because so many of us need to deal with buried issues.

It's a tough story to read, but the narrative is straight-forwardly written with very organic images. It's my first introduction to this author, but I would certainly read more.

What an incredible read. Easy to read and addictive, but covering such horrible and difficult to read about events. It breaks my heart that I've only just discovered Richard Wagamese *after* he passed away.

A wringing read, filled with the stories of people we walk past and never see- homeless and alcoholic, down and out. A few of them find themselves together, guided by a native woman who finds them and links them. An unexpected event throws the group into disarray, as each member deals with past hurts and damage in their own way.
Will they find their way back together as a chosen family?
Despite some gruelling scenes, this is a profoundly optimistic and heartwarming book. It is a nice thought that homeless people form families and look after each other, keep each other safe. I’m not sure this happens often. Though I enjoyed the read, I did find some of the characters too stereotypical, and amazingly good-hearted.

“Sometimes ghosts linger. They hover in the furthest corners, and when you least expect it they lurch out, bearing everything they brought to you when they were alive. I didn’t want to be haunted. I’d lived that way for far too long as it was.”

The story-line and main character reminded me of one of my favorite books, [b:When The Legends Die|879299|When The Legends Die|Hal Borland|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320463379l/879299._SY75_.jpg|1145904] I’ve loved that book since I first read it 47 years ago, so it has been the standard by which I compare all books of a similar theme. Not one has risen up to that standard until now.
Wagamese’ story of Saul Indian Horse mirrors the story of Thomas Black Bull in Borland’s masterpiece. Both characters were young Indian boys when they were left by their families to face the odd and dangerous white man’s world alone. Both were held captive by abusive adults in “Indian” schools, and grew up full of anger, shame, and confusion. Both find an outlet through sports--Thomas through rodeo; Saul through ice hockey.
I’m not a fan of hockey, but Wagamese’ crisp writing made it totally relatable.

“We were hockey gypsies, heading down another gravel road every weekend, plowing into the heart of that magnificent northern landscape. We never gave a thought to being deprived as we traveled, to being shut out of the regular league system. We never gave a thought to being Indian. Different. We only thought of the game and the brotherhood that bound us together off the ice, in the van, on the plank floors of reservation houses, in the truck stop diners where if we’d won we had a little to splurge on a burger and soup before we hit the road again. Small joys. All of them tied together, entwined to form an experience we would not have traded for any other. We were a league of nomads, mad for the game, mad for the road, mad for ice and snow, an Arctic wind on our faces and a frozen puck on the blade of our sticks.”

Parts of this book are painful to read, especially when you know that these evil things really did happen to thousands of Indian children, who were “scooped up” (stolen) from their families and carted off to foster homes and residential schools by the Canadian government, so they could be civilized and taught Euro-Canadian and Christian values. The fictional Saul Indian Horse is representative of the 20,000 plus Indigenous children who were removed from their families during the 1950s to the 1980s. So, yes, a lot of this story is heartbreaking.
But, it is also a story of hope, and of the strength of the human spirit. Saul Indian Horse is a superb character to root for. He tells his story in a straightforward manner with crystal observations written simply, making it a breeze to read, even the most painful parts.
It isn’t all heartbreaking though; There are some beautiful people and relationships here too, so tenderly and subtly rendered...

“Erv Sift was an angel. I have no doubt of that. He understood that I bore old wounds and didn’t push me to disclose them. He only offered me security, friendship and the first home I’d had in a long time.”

“‘Now I’m just tired of the way I’ve been living. I want something new built on something old. I wanted to come back. This is the only place I felt like something was possible for me. Don’t know what I want to do. Just want to work on the idea of what’s possible.’ I wrung my hands together and looked at them.
Fred reached over and took Martha’s hand. They smiled at each other. ‘We hoped you would, some day,’ she said. ‘We all wanted to go out and find you, but we knew we couldn’t. We knew you’d have to find your own way. The hardest part was that we knew how hard your road would be--but we had to let you go.’
‘They scooped out our insides, Saul. We’re not responsible for that. We’re not responsible for what happened to us. None of us are,’ Fred said. ‘But our healing--that’s up to us. That’s what saved me. Knowing it was my game.’
‘Could be a long game,’ I said.
‘So what if it is?’ he said. ‘Just keep your stick on the ice and your feet moving. Time will take care of itself.’
‘I know how to do that,’ I said.
‘I know you do,’ he said.”

INDIAN HORSE may not replace WHEN THE LEGENDS DIE as one of my favorite books, but it is a superb work with a wonderful ending. I feel very fortunate to have read it.

A superb piece of writing. I shall be reading more of Wagamese.

Starlight, Richard Wagamese’s unfinished last novel, is a gripping read. There’s suspense and quiet joy all at the same time, and I had to keep turning the pages to find out what happened. Although the novel was unfinished, the publisher included notes about how Wagamese’s circle think it was likely to have ended, as well as a scene from a novella that might have been the basis for the eventual last scene, and an essay by Wagamese that fits the theme of the story. I highly recommend this but you need to read Medicine Walk first.

At its heart, there's nothing new here. Wagamese takes an old, well-worn story, and puts his own voice on it.

And yet, that's where the magic lies. Wagamese's voice. I absolutely adored Medicine Walk and, when I started reading this, my first thought was, it's not going to come close.

I was utterly mistaken.

It's not the same story, but it's equally as good as that preceding novel. It starts with everyone broken, but looking with desperate hope toward the future.

When you figure you've got nothing, moving back and going on can feel like the same direction.

Then, Wagamese just gives you one beautiful scene after another. He's truly a gifted author, and his passing before completion of this novel (or any other works he might have produced) is an utter tragedy.

I won't talk to the plot, because it's best discovered by each reader. But I will say, there's a lot to be found in these pages.

You take the label off a can of beans, it's still a can of beans. Seems to me a label doesn't matter much at all. What counts is what's inside.

I will start off by declaring that I am a huge fan of Richard Wagamese, and Starlight has only strengthened my admiration of this author. I hate the fact that this is his final novel but he certainly left us a wonderful legacy. Starlight is a moving story of love, compassion and mercy as a badly abused young mother and her daughter find a place of safety on a rural farm in a remote corner of British Columbia. Unfortunately the author passed away before he completed the novel, although it is based on a short story that he wrote in 2007 so the publishers have a very good idea of how it is meant to end. I congratulate them for the fact that they didn’t attempt to have an ending written, they simply refer the reader to the original short story.

When Franklin Starlight took Emmy and her daughter Winnie into his home, offering a job and security, he also taught them both survival skills for the wilderness not knowing that the people that are tracking her are coming closer every day. Emmy found herself learning how to replace a lifetime of hurt and anger with the enrichment of nature and a new awareness of her own self-worth. She and Franklin grew closer to each other but a dangerous confrontation with her abusers is on the horizon.

Richard Wagamese was a firm believer in forgiving and moving forward and learning how to leave the hurt behind so there is a strong indication that this novel would lean toward reconciliation and healing. Hopefully Frank’s gentle guidance would influence Emmy to show mercy and allow her and Frank to find peace together. I enjoyed this follow-up story about Frank Starlight who was first introduced in Medicine Walk. Even though unfinished, I am giving this soulful story five stars.

Easily...easily one of my favourite reads this year.

I will admit, this one likely dug deeper under my skin because, like Frank, I also had an alcoholic father who traveled to "follow the work", who overpromised and underdelivered with shocking regularity, who disappointed even more often, and ultimately died leaving less of a mark and more of a stain behind.

So, yeah, this one often hit home with me.

But there's so much more here. Wagamese's writing, his word choices are truly incandescent. When he's talking about Eldon and Jimmy's past exploits, I could feel my pulse increasing. When Eldon meets, then falls in love with Angie, I did too. When Frank was disappointed and frustrated, I was too.

Wagamese takes a story that's been told often, and injects an incredible level of realism into the story. He does not shy away from the awful stuff—and there's a lot of it here.

But more than anything, he builds two mysteries here. There's the slowly revealed mystery of Eldon Starlight, and the mostly unrevealed mystery of his son Franklin Starlight. And that's the secret heart of this novel that Wagamese hides in plain sight. Because there's a point where Eldon is talking about his friend Jimmy, and talks about how Jimmy once told him that human beings are a “Great Mystery” and that the old Indians did everything in order to learn to live with that mystery. They didn’t try to solve it or make sense of it—they just learned to be with it.

That's a powerful message, and it's one I've never really been given before. The reader sees Frank grappling with the great mystery of his father, and we wonder if he'll learn to live with it. Just like, in my own life, I'll never understand the great mystery of my own father. It's something that both saddens and frustrates me, but I can't solve it. I can't make sense of it. But I have, through the years, learned to be with it.

What a phenomenal story. What phenomenal truths Wagamese reveals.

Loved it! The story pulls you in and doesn’t let you go. There’s alot in this book. Very interesting. You can’t help but learn to understand the homeless.

Once again, Richard Wagamese has written a beautiful book.

Medicine Walk, by the same author as Indian Horse, is the story of an estranged father and son who come together as the father is dying. The pair have a complicated, difficult relationship tinged by histories of abuse and alcoholism. Set in B.C., Richard Wagamese writes some stunning descriptions of the landscape, which the pair traverse on their journey. Wagamese's talent for painting scenes is truly incredible. This is a book you need to give time to and sit with. Not a light read.

I got this book through the Goodreads First Reads.

The title includes the words “One Ojibway’s Meditations,” and this perfectly describes the book. It is a series of his personal reflections on stillness, harmony, trust, reverence, persistence, gratitude and joy. It I deep and thoughtful and a wonderful book to refer to when you are in one of these situations. He goes deep into the “meaning of life.” E.g., page 36 – all my relations – focuses us on love and accepting other as they are and not just how you would have them be. He talks about ceremony – how and why to do these acts and about love and finding Creator. A thoroughly good read.
PS. This is one of my favourite books and I have gifted it many times to family, friends and homeless.

The title includes the words “One Ojibway’s Meditations,” and this perfectly describes the book. It is a series of his personal reflections on stillness, harmony, trust, reverence, persistence, gratitude and joy. It I deep and thoughtful and a wonderful book to refer to when you are in one of these situations. He goes deep into the “meaning of life.” E.g., page 36 – all my relations – focuses us on love and accepting other as they are and not just how you would have them be. He talks about ceremony – how and why to do these acts and about love and finding Creator. A thoroughly good read.
PS. This is one of my favourite books and I have gifted it many times to family, friends and homeless.

The title includes the words “One Ojibway’s Meditations,” and this perfectly describes the book. It is a series of his personal reflections on stillness, harmony, trust, reverence, persistence, gratitude and joy. It I deep and thoughtful and a wonderful book to refer to when you are in one of these situations. He goes deep into the “meaning of life.” E.g., page 36 – all my relations – focuses us on love and accepting other as they are and not just how you would have them be. He talks about ceremony – how and why to do these acts and about love and finding Creator. A thoroughly good read.
PS. This is one of my favourite books and I have gifted it many times to family, friends and homeless.

The title includes the words “One Ojibway’s Meditations,” and this perfectly describes the book. It is a series of his personal reflections on stillness, harmony, trust, reverence, persistence, gratitude and joy. It I deep and thoughtful and a wonderful book to refer to when you are in one of these situations. He goes deep into the “meaning of life.” E.g., page 36 – all my relations – focuses us on love and accepting other as they are and not just how you would have them be. He talks about ceremony – how and why to do these acts and about love and finding Creator. A thoroughly good read.
PS. This is one of my favourite books and I have gifted it many times to family, friends and homeless.

The title includes the words “One Ojibway’s Meditations,” and this perfectly describes the book. It is a series of his personal reflections on stillness, harmony, trust, reverence, persistence, gratitude and joy. It I deep and thoughtful and a wonderful book to refer to when you are in one of these situations. He goes deep into the “meaning of life.” E.g., page 36 – all my relations – focuses us on love and accepting other as they are and not just how you would have them be. He talks about ceremony – how and why to do these acts and about love and finding Creator. A thoroughly good read.
PS. This is one of my favourite books and I have gifted it many times to family, friends and homeless.

The title includes the words “One Ojibway’s Meditations,” and this perfectly describes the book. It is a series of his personal reflections on stillness, harmony, trust, reverence, persistence, gratitude and joy. It I deep and thoughtful and a wonderful book to refer to when you are in one of these situations. He goes deep into the “meaning of life.” E.g., page 36 – all my relations – focuses us on love and accepting other as they are and not just how you would have them be. He talks about ceremony – how and why to do these acts and about love and finding Creator. A thoroughly good read.
PS. This is one of my favourite books and I have gifted it many times to family, friends and homeless.

The title includes the words “One Ojibway’s Meditations,” and this perfectly describes the book. It is a series of his personal reflections on stillness, harmony, trust, reverence, persistence, gratitude and joy. It I deep and thoughtful and a wonderful book to refer to when you are in one of these situations. He goes deep into the “meaning of life.” E.g., page 36 – all my relations – focuses us on love and accepting other as they are and not just how you would have them be. He talks about ceremony – how and why to do these acts and about love and finding Creator. A thoroughly good read.
PS. This is one of my favourite books and I have gifted it many times to family, friends and homeless.

The title includes the words “One Ojibway’s Meditations,” and this perfectly describes the book. It is a series of his personal reflections on stillness, harmony, trust, reverence, persistence, gratitude and joy. It I deep and thoughtful and a wonderful book to refer to when you are in one of these situations. He goes deep into the “meaning of life.” E.g., page 36 – all my relations – focuses us on love and accepting other as they are and not just how you would have them be. He talks about ceremony – how and why to do these acts and about love and finding Creator. A thoroughly good read.
PS. This is one of my favourite books and I have gifted it many times to family, friends and homeless.

The title includes the words “One Ojibway’s Meditations,” and this perfectly describes the book. It is a series of his personal reflections on stillness, harmony, trust, reverence, persistence, gratitude and joy. It I deep and thoughtful and a wonderful book to refer to when you are in one of these situations. He goes deep into the “meaning of life.” E.g., page 36 – all my relations – focuses us on love and accepting other as they are and not just how you would have them be. He talks about ceremony – how and why to do these acts and about love and finding Creator. A thoroughly good read.
PS. This is one of my favourite books and I have gifted it many times to family, friends and homeless.

The title includes the words “One Ojibway’s Meditations,” and this perfectly describes the book. It is a series of his personal reflections on stillness, harmony, trust, reverence, persistence, gratitude and joy. It I deep and thoughtful and a wonderful book to refer to when you are in one of these situations. He goes deep into the “meaning of life.” E.g., page 36 – all my relations – focuses us on love and accepting other as they are and not just how you would have them be. He talks about ceremony – how and why to do these acts and about love and finding Creator. A thoroughly good read.
PS. This is one of my favourite books and I have gifted it many times to family, friends and homeless.