A Grandmother Begins the Story
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Written like a crooked Métis jig, A Grandmother Begins the...
Written like a crooked Métis jig, A Grandmother Begins the Story follows five generations of women and bison as they reach for the stories that could remake their worlds and rebuild their futures.
Carter is a young mother, recently separated. She is curious, angry, and on a quest to find out what the heritage she only learned of in her teens truly means.
Allie, Carter's mother, is trying to make up for the lost years with her first born, and to protect Carter from the hurt she herself suffered from her own mother. Lucie wants the granddaughter she's never met to help her join her ancestors in the Afterlife. And Geneviève is determined to conquer her demons before the fire inside burns her up, with the help of the sister she lost but has never been without. Meanwhile, Mamé, in the Afterlife, knows that all their stories began with her; she must find a way to cut herself from the last threads that keep her tethered to the living, just as they must find their own paths forward.
This extraordinary novel, told by a chorus of vividly realized, funny, wise, confused, struggling characters—including descendants of the bison that once freely roamed the land—heralds the arrival of a stunning new voice in literary fiction.
Audiobook is Read by a Full cast:
- Mamé - Tantoo Cardinal (she/her)
- Geneviève - Jani Lauzon (she/her)
- Velma - Tara Sky (she/they)
- Lucie - Monique Mojica (she/her)
- Allie - Lisa Cromarty (she/her)
- Carter - Jenny Pudavick (she/her)
- Bio Sister - Kiawentiio (she/her)
- Solin - Michelle Porter (she/her)
- Dee - Alison Deon (she/her)
- Tell - Jacob MacInnis (they/them)
- Grasslands - Elle-Màijà Tailfeathers (she/her)
- Perkins - Bernard Starlight (he/him)
- Lottery - Dakota Ray Hebert (she/her)
- Bets (the Volvo) - Yolanda Bonnell (they/she)
- Slavko - Wesley French (he/him)
- Pam - Brefny Caribou (she/her)
Published By Algonquin Books
Format Hardback
Number Of Pages 336
Publication Date 11/07/2023
ISBN 9781643755182
Dimensions 5.85 inches x 8.6 inches
Shortlisted for the Atwood Gibson Prize
“Michelle Porter’s A Grandmother Begins the Story blows the doors off the typical family saga... Beautiful and daring.”
"This singular and visionary debut spectacularly reimagines the epic family saga novel. Touching, evocative and kaleidoscopic."
"Michelle Porter weaves an intricate story out of sparse, interlocking poetic fragments in her fiction debut. … [A] beautiful meditation on the interconnectedness of spirit, land and family."
"[A] beautiful and affecting debut."
"This brilliant debut novel… explores the importance of intergenerational connections and Indigenous storytelling."
"I totally fell in love with Porter’s masterful storytelling… Told with the unique musical cadence of a Métis jig… A Grandmother Begins the Story is a stirring ode to the rhythms of generational exchange."
“In this lyrical book, we follow five Métis women confronting the wounds in their relationships with one another… Their many voices shine through in snippets of a few pages at a time to build a family chorus… This choir really drives home the point that no story stands alone, even when an individual storyteller might feel like no one is listening.”
A “searingly captivating debut… The tender, tough, funny, and heartbreaking voices of the characters will seep into readers’ souls.”
“Many points of view come together in this haunting, gorgeous tale that traces the roots of an indigenous Canadian family through several generations... Porter has published memoir and poetry, and she plays with the beauty of language and the rhythm of music here. The pulsing heart of the Métis people underlies every short section, creating a patchwork of beads not unlike those the women make."
“Memoirist Porter imbues her well-crafted debut novel with her Métis culture’s storytelling traditions… [and] brings a web of interconnected voices to vivid life.”
"Through lyrical, spiritual storytelling, we see five generations of women in Carter and Allie’s family determined to maintain the thread of their connections to each other and grow their legacy into the future."
“A Grandmother Begins the Story is a testament to the living, breathing process of passing stories and songs along across the years. A stirring ode to the rhythms of generational exchange, Porter's debut novel shimmers.”
“[Porter] expertly weaves together voices and stories like a master.”
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