The Orenda
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ISBN 978-0-670-06418-2 (Penguin Group Canada) | | |
Preceded by | Through Black Spruce |
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The Orenda is a
Summary
The novel takes place in what was to become Canada in the early 17th century and is narrated by a
Part one
Bird's family has been murdered by members of the
At Gosling's suggestion, Bird makes a plan to allow Christophe to be murdered by the
Bird's party makes their way to
Meanwhile, Snow Falls is attacked by a French guard, saved from being raped by Christophe. As a punishment, the man who assaulted her is whipped and Bird and his men, taking this as a sign of loyalty, take two more priests on the return voyage to their village. The section ends with the Iroquois attacking the travelling party who are saved by Bird's new gun.
Part two
The second part of the novel begins three years after the end of the last section. Bird's village has been decimated by a plague. The only thing saving their village from being attacked by their enemies is that they too have been infected. It is now a race to see who can recover the quickest.
In the time that has passed Snow Falls has slowly grown accustomed to life in the village. Knowing that soon she will begin menstruating, the women take her in to teach her their customs. She becomes especially close to Gosling, who promises to teach her magic. Snow Falls also develops a crush on a boy around her age, Carries an Axe, but he shows no interest in her. The boy does give Snow Falls a raven he shot as a present, which she and the women of the village preserve.
Meanwhile, Christophe has slowly been collecting a greater audience for his preaching, including an older women he names Delilah and a young boy he names Aaron. The little audience he gains is quickly taken away when Bird and members of a neighbouring village depart for the summer on a trading mission. When a drought nearly destroys the village's three sisters tensions between the villagers and Christophe and his fellow priests quickly escalate. He decides to throw a ten-day mass to pray for rain, and to his surprise he is successful and a few of the villagers return to evening prayers. However, after Gosling cures a sick woman in front of the entire village, the people turn on Christophe and his fellow priests once more. In a desperate move he throws a feast for the entire village, but that too is unsuccessful.
Bird returns from his trading village with three prisoners. The two older men are tortured to death, but Snow Falls begs Bird to adopt the youngest boy into their family and he agrees. The boy becomes strange after watching his clans men tortured. Bird also brings with him news from the governor of New France who informs Christophe and his fellow priests they are to have enough supplies and fellow priests to form a new village. Bird ends up sending his new adoptive son to live with the priests and they also gain a handful of converts from neighbouring villages.
The new arrivals seem to bring with them a plague even worse than the one from three years before. One to two thirds of the members of his village die, Bird sends Snow Falls along with Carries an Axe travel to the colonist's village to protect her. After the plague has passed, on his way to retrieve her, he hears that a huge neighbouring village of allies has been destroyed by the
Part three
The final section of the novel begins with Snow Falls, Gosling and Carries an Axe arriving at the colonists' village. Despite Bird believing it will be a refuge, it is just as diseased and miserable as the other infected villages. Snow Falls desires to leave but Christophe asks that she watch him preach in a neighbouring village before leaving. There she sees her former tribe, the
Bird and Snow Falls leave, but later return to ask for guns and more protection from their French allies. Christophe is unable to give them more aid and is struggling to lead his village after discovering that members of his order may have been raping young converts and are drinking alcohol against his orders. Meanwhile, on this visit, Snow Falls is raped by Aaron who has become addicted to alcohol and shortly after becomes pregnant. She decides to marry Carries an Axe and raise the child as their own despite being unsure who the father of her child is. Shortly thereafter Gosling reveals she is pregnant as well.
After discovering that their corn crop has been infected, leaving them with minimal supplies for winter, Bird, and the rest of his village are forced to go to the colonists' village where supplies are more plentiful.
Soon after arriving, Aaron goes missing and is discovered to have hanged himself. The following winter Snow Falls gives birth to a daughter and news comes that Bird's village has been attacked leaving only 30 or so survivors. The
Christophe is tortured to death. Bird, Gosling and a handful of his village are able to escape and survive on an island in the 'Sweet Water Sea' where Bird buries Snow Falls. Gosling gives birth to twins, a boy and a girl, and tells him that the next summer they will live with her people, the
Reception
The Orenda received positive reviews upon publication. The National Post called it "a timeless [novel]; born a classic".[1] Quill & Quire dubbed it a "magnificent literary beast".[2]
Awards and nominations
The novel was a shortlisted nominee for the
The novel was selected for the 2014 edition of Canada Reads, where it was championed by journalist Wab Kinew. On March 6, 2014, the novel won the competition.[4]
References
- ^ "Book Review: The Orenda, by Joseph Boyden | National Post". Arts.nationalpost.com. Retrieved 2013-10-22.
- ^ Boyden, Joseph (2010-11-25). "Review of The Orenda by Joseph Boyden | Quill & Quire". Quillandquire.com. Retrieved 2013-10-22.
- ^ "Joseph Boyden, Austin Clarke up for Governor General's lit awards". CBC.ca. 2010-10-02. Retrieved 2013-10-23.
- ^ "Joseph Boyden's novel The Orenda wins CBC's Canada Reads contest". Edmonton Journal, March 6, 2014.