Blue Bear Woman

Blue Bear Woman or Ourse bleueis the first novel in Quebec written by an Indigenous woman. The story of a young Cree woman’s search for her roots and identity, this is also the author’s debut novel, originally published in 2007, and it will be her second book to be published in English. The novel has been described as a “texte de resistance”, showing contemporary Indigenous life and the impact on the Cree of the building of the Eastmain dam in northern Quebec, posited as “virgin” territory, yet which has actually been part of the Cree traditional territory since time immemorial. In search of her roots, Victoria takes a trip to the country of her Cree ancestors with her companion, Daniel. It is a long journey to the north along the shores of James Bay. Colours, smells, and majestic landscapes arouse memories that soon devolve into strange and hauntings dreams at night. In bits and pieces, uncles, aunties, and cousins arrive to tell the story of Victoria’s family and bring with them images of her childhood that are tinged both with joy and sadness. Guided by her totem, the Blue Bear, she returns home to make peace with her soul, as well as release the soul of her great-uncle, a hunter who has been missing in the forest for over twenty years.

1131146186
Blue Bear Woman

Blue Bear Woman or Ourse bleueis the first novel in Quebec written by an Indigenous woman. The story of a young Cree woman’s search for her roots and identity, this is also the author’s debut novel, originally published in 2007, and it will be her second book to be published in English. The novel has been described as a “texte de resistance”, showing contemporary Indigenous life and the impact on the Cree of the building of the Eastmain dam in northern Quebec, posited as “virgin” territory, yet which has actually been part of the Cree traditional territory since time immemorial. In search of her roots, Victoria takes a trip to the country of her Cree ancestors with her companion, Daniel. It is a long journey to the north along the shores of James Bay. Colours, smells, and majestic landscapes arouse memories that soon devolve into strange and hauntings dreams at night. In bits and pieces, uncles, aunties, and cousins arrive to tell the story of Victoria’s family and bring with them images of her childhood that are tinged both with joy and sadness. Guided by her totem, the Blue Bear, she returns home to make peace with her soul, as well as release the soul of her great-uncle, a hunter who has been missing in the forest for over twenty years.

11.99 In Stock
Blue Bear Woman

Blue Bear Woman

by Virginia Pesemapeo Bordeleau
Blue Bear Woman
Add to Wishlist
Blue Bear Woman

Blue Bear Woman

by Virginia Pesemapeo Bordeleau

Overview

Blue Bear Woman or Ourse bleueis the first novel in Quebec written by an Indigenous woman. The story of a young Cree woman’s search for her roots and identity, this is also the author’s debut novel, originally published in 2007, and it will be her second book to be published in English. The novel has been described as a “texte de resistance”, showing contemporary Indigenous life and the impact on the Cree of the building of the Eastmain dam in northern Quebec, posited as “virgin” territory, yet which has actually been part of the Cree traditional territory since time immemorial. In search of her roots, Victoria takes a trip to the country of her Cree ancestors with her companion, Daniel. It is a long journey to the north along the shores of James Bay. Colours, smells, and majestic landscapes arouse memories that soon devolve into strange and hauntings dreams at night. In bits and pieces, uncles, aunties, and cousins arrive to tell the story of Victoria’s family and bring with them images of her childhood that are tinged both with joy and sadness. Guided by her totem, the Blue Bear, she returns home to make peace with her soul, as well as release the soul of her great-uncle, a hunter who has been missing in the forest for over twenty years.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781771336826
Publisher: Inanna Publications
Publication date: 09/15/2019
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
File size: 1 MB

About the Author

Virginia Pesemapeo Bordeleau is an internationally-recognized visual artist and published author of Cree origin. She has published three novels and two poetry collections in French. Born in Rapides-des-Cèdres in 1951, of a Cree mother and a mixed-race Quebecois father, she holds a Fine Arts Baccalaureate and has participated in numerous exhibitions in Quebec, United States, Mexico, Denmark, and received several awards for her art. In 2007, she published her first novel, Ourse blue. Her collection of poetry, De rouge et de blanc (2012) was awarded the Abitibi-Témiscamingue literary prize. Her subsequent novels include L'amant du lac (2013) and L'enfant hiver (2014). She lives in Abitibi, in northwest Quebec.

Susan Ouriou is an award-winning literary translator (French and Spanish to English), fiction writer and conference interpreter. Among her co-translations is Virginia Pesemapeo Bordeleau's first novel published in translation, Winter Child, and Emmanuelle Walter's non-fiction book Stolen Sisters: The Story of Two Missing Girls, Their Families and How Canada Has Failed Indigenous Women, which was shortlisted for the Governor General's award for translation. An earlier translation, Pieces of Me, won that same award. She is the editor of Languages of Our Land: Indigenous Poems and Stories from Quebec and the anthology Beyond Words: Translating the World. For many years, she translated and interpreted for the Banff Centre's Indigenous Writing residency. She has also interpreted for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

Christelle Morelli is a literary translator and teacher in Calgary's Francophone school system. She has translated works of poetry and fiction, including Virginia Pesemapeo Bordeleau's Winter Child and was short-listed for the Governor General's translation award for Stolen Sisters. Born in France, she has lived in Quebec and Western Canada.

From the B&N Reads Blog
Page 1 of

Related Subjects

Fiction
Women's Fiction
Contemporary Women's Fiction - Other
Fiction
Women's Fiction
Contemporary Women's Fiction - Other

Customer Reviews