Synopses & Reviews
Thomas King is a writer of lyrical, comic poignancy, and a best-selling author in Canada. Of his latest novel,
Newsday wrote, "Thomas King has quietly and gorgeously done it again."
Truth and Bright Water tells of a summer in the life of Tecumseh and Lum, young Native-American cousins coming of age in the Montana town of Truth, and the Bright Water Reserve across the river in Alberta. It opens with a mysterious woman with a suitcase, throwing things into the river then jumping in herself. Tecumseh and Lum go to help, but she and her truck have disappeared. Other mysteries puzzle Tecumseh: whether his mom will take his dad back; if his rolling-stone aunt is home to stay; why no one protects Lum from his father's rages. Then Tecumseh gets a job helping an artist Bright Water's most famous son with the project of a lifetime. As Truth and Bright Water prepare for the Indian Days festival, their secrets come together in a climax of tragedy, reconciliation, and love.
Review
"King is perhaps Canada's best-known Native writer. His rich storytelling recommends this book for public libraries, as well as for Native writing collections in academic libraries." Library Journal
Review
"[The] book exhibits the author's keen powers of observation and captures the essence of reservation life with dark humor and cutting satire....This sharp-edged novel is also King's sweetest; there's plenty of magic, yet it's also his most realistic book thus far. Readers familiar with King's work will revel in it, while new readers will discover his extraordinary narrative power." Publishers Weekly
Review
"King elicits a magical beauty from the prairie setting that has mostly escaped his Native American characters. His prose takes a quiet joy in the open spaces, the distant mountains, and the river that divides the two towns....A very well written tragicomic tale." Ted Leventhal, Booklist
Review
"A masterful tale that combines the wit of Sherman Alexie with the old-fashioned storytelling of Olive Ann Burns....King, more interested in being human first and Indian second, accomplishes his aims without 'characters' of mystic eccentricity, violent guilt, racism and self-loathing, and alcoholism being upfront and center." Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
Thomas King is a writer of lyrical, comic poignancy, and a bestseller in Canada. Truth & Bright Water tells of a summer in the life of Tecumseh and Lum, young Native cousins coming of age in the Montana town of Truth, and the Bright Water Reserve across the river in Alberta. It opens with a mysterious woman with a suitcase, throwing things into the river-then jumping in herself. Tecumseh and Lum go to help, but she and her truck have disappeared. Other mysteries puzzle Tecumseh: if his mom will take his dad back; if his rolling-stone aunt is home to stay; why no one protects Lum from his father's rages. Then Tecumseh gets a job helping an artist-Bright Water's most famous son-with the project of a lifetime. As Truth and Bright Water prepare for the Indian Days festival, their secrets come together in a climax of tragedy, reconciliation, and love.