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But when father, coming to the end of his alcohol-ruined life, reaches out to sixteen-year-old son their first and last journey together begins. Hesitantly, Franklin obliges his dying father's wish—to be buried as a warrior—and together they hazard the rugged and dangerous beauty of the backcountry
to find an appropriate burial site.
Through the fog of pain, Eldon relates to his son the desolate moments in his life, as well as the times of hope—the family history Franklin has never known. As Father tells the tale, the Son, and the reader, live for the stories, in the hope that they will shed light on the mysteries of a tortured past.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
May 7, 2015 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781490671406
- File size: 230944 KB
- Duration: 08:01:07
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Tom Stechschulte's skill in voicing the cadence of Native American characters makes him the perfect narrator for this breathtaking novel about a teen and his alcoholic father, both of Canada's First Nations. Sixteen-year-old Franklin Starlight has been raised by an old man who has taught him to respect the abundance of nature. When Frank is summoned for a visit with his real father, he encounters a man who returned from service in Korea with PTSD and is now dying from years of drinking. Stechschulte sensitively portrays the boy's vulnerability and deep cynicism as the pair embark on a horseback trip into the precipitous backcountry, seeking a burial place for the dying man. The exquisite, almost lyrical, prose is beautifully rendered by Stechschulte as the story takes the listener on a journey of physical struggle and personal redemption. N.M.C. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine -
Starred review from March 9, 2015
Canadian author and memoirist Wagamese (Indian Horse) has penned a complex, rugged, and moving father-son novel. Franklin Starlight, a 16-year-old Ojibway Indian, is summoned to the Canadian mill town of Parson’s Gap by his alcoholic father, Eldon Starlight, to discuss an important matter. Franklin goes reluctantly, since he has a dysfunctional and distant relationship with his dad. (Franklin was raised by a rancher identified only as “the old man.”) Eldon persuades Franklin to take him on a 40-mile journey to an isolated ridge to die (he suffers from a cirrhotic liver) so that he can be buried “in the warrior way.” Wagamese deftly weaves in the backstory as Eldon, racked with heartache and horror, relates different episodes from his past (when he’s lucid enough). Initially, Franklin is unsympathetic to his father’s plight, which seems to be caused by a lifetime of boozing and womanizing. However, as Eldon tells his tales, including that of his harrowing ordeal in the Korean War, which precipitated his chronic drinking, Franklin comes to see his father in a new light. Wagamese’s muscular prose and spare tone complement this gem of a narrative, which examines the bond between father and son.
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