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Preview — Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson
Son of a Trickster
(Trickster #1)
Eden Robinson
3.83 · Rating details · 3,883 ratings · 625 reviews
With striking originality and precision, Eden Robinson, the Giller-shortlisted author of the classic Monkey Beach and winner of the Writers Trust Engel/Findley Award, blends humour with heartbreak in this compelling coming-of-age novel. Everyday teen existence meets indigenous beliefs, crazy family dynamics, and cannibalistic river otter . . . The exciting first novel in With striking originality and precision, Eden Robinson, the Giller-shortlisted author of the classic Monkey Beach and winner of the Writers Trust Engel/Findley Award, blends humour with heartbreak in this compelling coming-of-age novel. Everyday teen existence meets indigenous beliefs, crazy family dynamics, and cannibalistic river otter . . . The exciting first novel in her trickster trilogy.
Everyone knows a guy like Jared: the burnout kid in high school who sells weed cookies and has a scary mom who's often wasted and wielding some kind of weapon. Jared does smoke and drink too much, and he does make the best cookies in town, and his mom is a mess, but he's also a kid who has an immense capacity for compassion and an impulse to watch over people more than twice his age, and he can't rely on anyone for consistent love and support, except for his flatulent pit bull, Baby Killer (he calls her Baby)--and now she's dead.
Jared can't count on his mom to stay sober and stick around to take care of him. He can't rely on his dad to pay the bills and support his new wife and step-daughter. Jared is only sixteen but feels like he is the one who must stabilize his family's life, even look out for his elderly neighbours. But he struggles to keep everything afloat...and sometimes he blacks out. And he puzzles over why his maternal grandmother has never liked him, why she says he's the son of a trickster, that he isn't human. Mind you, ravens speak to him--even when he's not stoned.
You think you know Jared, but you don't. ...more
Published February 7th 2017 by Knopf Canada
http://penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/532532/son-trickster#9780345810809
Trickster #1
Sunburst Award Nominee for Adult (2018), Scotiabank Giller Prize Nominee (2017), Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize Nominee (2018), Copper Cylinder Award for Adult (2018)
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I heard that this will be a trilogy? Anyone know for sure?
Emma During wordfest in Calgary, Eden Robinson confirmed this was the first in a trilogy. Someone from the audience asked. I was giddy and sad at the news…moreDuring wordfest in Calgary, Eden Robinson confirmed this was the first in a trilogy. Someone from the audience asked. I was giddy and sad at the news because the next books aren't coming out until 2019 and 2021 ish....could be sooner could be later. I would check with the publisher to confirm(less)
Does this book reflect E. Robinson's views of the past and current treatment of indigenous people?
Meredith Her views on the treatment of indigenous people by who? Other Canadian citizens?
Without knowing what her views are, I can't really say if they are…moreHer views on the treatment of indigenous people by who? Other Canadian citizens?
Without knowing what her views are, I can't really say if they are reflected in the book or not. However, I don't think the book delves into what I assume you are asking about. They may be mentioned briefly but just as a passing comment. They are not a theme of the novel. (less)
See all 4 questions about Son of a Trickster…
Best Canadian Aboriginal Literature
2017 Scotiabank Giller Prize Longlist
12 books — 6 voters
· 3,883 ratings · 625 reviews
All LanguagesEnglish (608) Français (1)
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Jan 21, 2018 Erin rated it it was ok
Shelves: library-borrowed
So, this Canadian YA novel that weaves First Nations culture was recommended by a fellow educator. It was purchased along with other books for my classroom library. It has been picked up time and time again by my students, but they have shared that they just haven't been able to get through it. So, I decided I needed to find out for myself. I suspect that part of what might be uncomfortable for them is that the story for some may hit too close to home. Jared, our teenage protagonist is more So, this Canadian YA novel that weaves First Nations culture was recommended by a fellow educator. It was purchased along with other books for my classroom library. It has been picked up time and time again by my students, but they have shared that they just haven't been able to get through it. So, I decided I needed to find out for myself. I suspect that part of what might be uncomfortable for them is that the story for some may hit too close to home. Jared, our teenage protagonist is more responsible for his parents than they are of him. Drug abuse and alcoholism are big factors to the break up of his family. Mix that in with teenage pregnancy, suicide, Idle no More, and residential schools and is a heavy text. There is humor but it is also pretty dark.
But for all its topics, I didn't like the book. I am in the minority because this book has plenty of glowing reviews. The fact that it is a trilogy doesn't interest me either. ...more
Jan 20, 2017 Krista rated it really liked it
Shelves: arc, indigenous, can-con, 2017
The world is hard. You have to be harder.
Author Eden Robinson calls Son of a Trickster "a cognitive screwball gothic with working class people", and that's too precisely perfect a description for me not to just quote her. As the coming-of-age story of a sixteen-year-old Native kid, Jared Martin, this book explores all the familiar anxieties faced by high school kids everywhere (social acceptance, family expectations, drug and sexual experimentation), layers on the less familiar anxieties
Author Eden Robinson calls Son of a Trickster "a cognitive screwball gothic with working class people", and that's too precisely perfect a description for me not to just quote her. As the coming-of-age story of a sixteen-year-old Native kid, Jared Martin, this book explores all the familiar anxieties faced by high school kids everywhere (social acceptance, family expectations, drug and sexual experimentation), layers on the less familiar anxieties particular to his situation (his mom's a violent hothead who exposes her son to a series of psycho boyfriends while denying Jared access to the substance-abusing father who desperately needs his son to help pay rent for him and his new family), and then further layers on the totally unfamiliar anxieties of a kid who is experiencing the thinning of the barriers between this world and that inhabited by his people's traditional bogeymen. I don't always have a lot of patience for magical realism, but this read like classic Stephen King and was absolutely terrifying. I was enchanted by the whole thing.
What works the best throughout this whole book is the believable decency of the main character, Jared – he is generous and empathetic and morally uncorrupted by the chaos around him – and his relationship with his mother: I laughed frequently at the verbal sparring between these two and their closeness radiated from the page. And not incidentally: the texting conversations between Jared and his mom (and a host of other characters) was probably the most believable use of this device I've ever read: why can't authors seem to get this right? Kudos to Robinson for knowing how and when to use texting.
With all the power of technology and science in the world, I would bet you dollars to doughnuts that you still trust a human face to be a human. But come closer and let me speak to the creatures that swim in your ancient oceans, the old ones that sing to you in your dreams. Encoded memories so frayed you think they're extinct, but they wait, coiled and unblinking, in your blood and in your bones.
As the membrane between our earthbound reality and that of Wee'git the Trickster begins to thin for Jared, there are brief interludes in the narrative in which some entity (later become manifest as a swarm of fireflies) attempts to explain magic and altered consciousness through quantum physics; first to us the reader, and then to Jared himself. This sheen of science is useful, I guess, for those who might need convincing that ultradimensional beings are a natural feature of the universe (and not the easy-to-dismiss animism of so-called primitive religions), and I ate it up as simply interesting writing.
Set in Kitimat, B.C. (Robinson's hometown), Jared and his mother live off the Rez, but through school, Jared has contact with many Natives and non-Natives. Living in a party-house (his Mom and her boyfriend are drug-dealers), Jared is frequently given beer and shots, and most of the book sees him getting blackout drunk and showing up on YouTube with smart-mouthed rants and stumbling pratfall compilations. He's the Cookie Dude with the secret touch for baking pot cookies, but he also has a huge heart; helping the needy and taking the weight of the world on his thin shoulders. This book is filled with violence (of the human and supernatural varieties), people throwing their lives away on drugs and alcohol, and nonstop foul language; this view of Native life is totally unflattering. (There is one on-Rez kid, George "call me Crashpad", who is a sober sci-fi geek, and the mostly white granddaughter of Jared's neighbour engages in activism with Idle No More and anti-pipeline protests; but they're definitely the exceptions.) On the other hand, this could be the story of working-class people anywhere, and until the Trickster shows up, nothing much identifies this as a Native story.
So, here's my criticism: I wanted more. The first chapter has Jared's paternal grandmother telling him, "That Trickster's been a huge dink to your mom's family for generations." Yet, we never learn any of the details of what has gone on through the generations. Late in the book, Jared's Mom makes brief reference to events from her youth (and from her own mother's experiences at a Residential School), but no details are provided. Even the ending didn't really tie things up for me. And yet...I was happy to read in an interview with Eden Robinson that she is already at work on a sequel, Trickster Drift, and I can only hope that the blanks will all be filled in eventually. Because I will be picking it up; Robinson is too skilled at world-building for me not to join her there. ...more
Feb 13, 2017 CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian rated it it was amazing
Shelves: canadian, fiction, humour, indigenous, own, vancouver, reading-in-colour, class, 5-stars, magic-realism
Son of a Trickster just came out after too many years without any new fiction from Eden Robinson. This novel is SO worth the wait. It's about Jared, a sixteen-year-old burnout who drinks too much and smokes too much pot and lives on the rez with his mom, who he can't trust to not bail on him and the bills or to not beat up guys who admittedly deserve it. But Jared is not a stereotype and not what an outsider would think: he's also an incredibly compassionate person, to the point that others take Son of a Trickster just came out after too many years without any new fiction from Eden Robinson. This novel is SO worth the wait. It's about Jared, a sixteen-year-old burnout who drinks too much and smokes too much pot and lives on the rez with his mom, who he can't trust to not bail on him and the bills or to not beat up guys who admittedly deserve it. But Jared is not a stereotype and not what an outsider would think: he's also an incredibly compassionate person, to the point that others take advantage of him, and a person simply in search of not wanting to hurt or be hurt. All this coming-of-age story is incredible in and of itself, but the small magical touches that Robinson has sprinkled throughout the story suddenly burst to the forefront of the narrative in a totally unexpected way at the end, making you glad this book is the first in a new trickster trilogy.
It's also, like all her other books, hilarious. Take this excerpt that takes place when the main character Jared is a little kid getting dropped off at his Grandma's house:
"Where's Jim-Bob?" his mom said.
"Whoring," Nana Sophia said.
"Jesus, Mother."
"He's a walking dick these days," Nana Sophia said. "Thank you, Viagra. I hope his heart pops like the cancerous zit it is."
"Jared's right here," his dad said.
"Fine. No cookies and no unpleasant truths. Dry toast and stern lectures for everyone."
Probably surprisingly for readers new to Robinson but not for me, Son of a Trickster also contains passages like this:
Close your eyes. Concentrate on your breath. Remember that you were not always earthbound. Every living creature, every drop of water and every sombre mountain is the by-blow of some bloated, dying star. Deep down, we remember wriggling through the universe as beams of light.
Read it now! I love Eden Robinson so much I wrote this Book Riot article Meet Your New Favorite Darkly Comic, Magical Realist Writer: Eden Robinson ...more
Mar 13, 2017 Lata rated it really liked it
Shelves: poc-actor, auth-f, poc-author, canlit, x2017-read
3.5 to 4ish stars.
I've never read anything by Eden Robinson before, so this was a pleasant surprise. Jared, the main character, lives with his mother. His parents have split up, and his father, a recovering drug addict, has a new family. Jared's mother is scary, and has hurt various boyfriends for threatening or hurting Jared. Jared's mother also has anger issues.
Jared is sixteen years old and a good guy. Jared is struggling in school, and spends much of his time drinking or doing drugs, making 3.5 to 4ish stars.
Jared is sixteen years old and a good guy. Jared is struggling in school, and spends much of his time drinking or doing drugs, making marijuana-laced cookies, or helping others. Jared has been giving his father money while not telling his mother, who tends to rage about her former husband and his new family. Jared also helps his elderly neighbours, clearing snow and other tasks.
Jared's life is fraught with anger, with lonliness, and recently, weirdness. His maternal grandmother has long called him the son of Trickster, and doesn't appear to trust him.
Eden Robinson has crafted a story I could not put down. Jared drifts through his life, avoiding confrontations with his mother, but seemingly unable to avoid them with his peers, thanks to his sarcastic mouth.
At times, thanks to Jared's intoxication or drug use, he wasn't sure if the weird things were real or hallucinations; I like how Eden Robinson walks over that line separating drug-induced and fantastic/mythical.
The characters are fantastic. Even if I found some scary, some dangerous, or some annoying, I felt like I was reading about real people. The conversations between Jared and Nana Sophia were my favourites.
As this is the first of more books about Jared, you're left wondering what else does it mean for Jared being the son of Trickster. ...more
Feb 02, 2017 Jenny (Reading Envy) rated it really liked it
Shelves: location-canada, read2017, tournament-of-books, giller-prize-winners-and-listed
To call this novel a coming of age story is a bit of a misdirection. It has elements of that but there is a lot more going on. I'm still a bit confused by this novel, honestly. Jared is a first nations kid in Canada who sometimes lives on the reservation. He has very little parenting, his grandmother claims he is not completely human and has some trickster in him, and he starts experiencing a realm of the supernatural. But then again, he's also someone who sells pot cookies and drinks more than To call this novel a coming of age story is a bit of a misdirection. It has elements of that but there is a lot more going on. I'm still a bit confused by this novel, honestly. Jared is a first nations kid in Canada who sometimes lives on the reservation. He has very little parenting, his grandmother claims he is not completely human and has some trickster in him, and he starts experiencing a realm of the supernatural. But then again, he's also someone who sells pot cookies and drinks more than he should, so part of my skeptical brain wondered if these experiences weren't just the fallout of chemicals in the brain of a not fully formed teenager.
The people in his life who are most connected to this supernatural world, of witches and spells and general animism, seem to also be the most unreliable, so that begs another question.
At the same time Jared has to bear more responsibility than he should have to. He has to figure out how to keep the power on when his Mom takes off, he ends up caring for an infant when his stepsister takes off, he is rejected by part of his family. So I found myself feeling very empathetic towards him. Near the end he attends a meeting to attempt a journey toward sobriety and it is so ill-received by his friends and family that it is obvious this is going to be a repeated struggle.
The end of the book reveals where (the alleged) book 2 will go, but I'm not sure this book needs a sequel.
I read this when it was longlisted for the Tournament of Books and came up as probably a dark horse. However I did know about it because of its place on the Giller Prize shortlist. ...more
Jul 22, 2018 Matthew Quann rated it it was ok
Shelves: oh-canada, fantasy
Guys, there's no review I hate writing more than that of a book that's disappointed me. I had been really looking forward to getting down with Canadian-fantasy novel Son of a Trickster, which promised an indigenous cast, some teenage antics, and the sort of magical goings-on that usually tickle my fancy. To boot, I was also pumped to read something by Eden Robinson who has been written about in glowing terms by a few Canadian publications. Unfortunately, Son of a Trickster is an extremely Guys, there's no review I hate writing more than that of a book that's disappointed me. I had been really looking forward to getting down with Canadian-fantasy novel Son of a Trickster, which promised an indigenous cast, some teenage antics, and the sort of magical goings-on that usually tickle my fancy. To boot, I was also pumped to read something by Eden Robinson who has been written about in glowing terms by a few Canadian publications. Unfortunately, Son of a Trickster is an extremely unbalanced novel that dabbles a bit in everything without finding its own voice.
Our protagonist, sixteen year-old Jared, is a dude who's had a rough go of it. His mom and dad both have substance abuse issues and since they split, Jared's been subject to a slew of his mom's less-than-stellar boyfriends. Though the reality and voice portrayed in this novel are important ones to have on display in our literature, the realization of the world is banal and the writing isn't all that exciting either. Or, at least the Jared-perspective chapters aren't all that exciting.
What's more, Robinson spends oodles of time introducing a cast of teenage characters whose voices were more cringe-inducing than realistic. The dialogue these kids spout alternates between generic high school TV drama, unconvincing declarations of emotion, "I'm hunting for edibles", and some painful virtue signalling. Robinson also has this tendency to insert a popular song from a few years ago and have the kids sing the song. I'm not sure why this irked me so much--I'm usually a fan of real-world art finding its way into my novels--but it made the book feel forced.
The drinking habits of Jared, his friends, and family also take centre stage for the bulk of the novel. Indeed, there's not many chapters that pass by where the characters draw sober breaths. In the right hands, writing about addiction can be compelling, empathy-inducing, and shocking in equal measure. Instead, the book falls into a tedious routine of having most chapters open with Jared waking up unsure of where he is or how he arrived in that particular predicament. By the time Jared starts to change his ways, the novel had lost most of my good faith.
When I look back on Son of a Trickster, I think of the many great elements of the book that failed to come together for me. Though I didn't touch on it much, the fantasy-aspect of the book really doesn't come into play until the last third of the novel and by then it's too little, too late for Son of a Trickster. It's a real shame that this book fell so flat for me, especially since this books seems to have landed quite well with the press and my fellow Goodreadians. Though I'm not ready to drop the axe on the trilogy as a whole, I doubt I'll be returning to Son of a Trickster's sequel later this year with any urgency. ...more
Feb 10, 2017 Ben Babcock rated it really liked it
Shelves: canadian-author, ebook, indigenous, netgalley, 2019-read, young-adult, urban-fantasy, 2017-read, fantasy
Second review: March 8, 2019
I picked up Trickster Drift when it came out, but I knew I wanted to re-read Son of a Trickster to refresh my memory before I started the sequel. I'm really glad I did. It has given more an extended visit to Jared's world, and what an interesting world this is.
I really love this book, and re-reading it has only increased my appreciation for its depth and the skill of Robinson's writing. My earlier review goes into more detail, and my experience this time around Second review: March 8, 2019
I really love this book, and re-reading it has only increased my appreciation for its depth and the skill of Robinson's writing. My earlier review goes into more detail, and my experience this time around provoked a lot of the same reactions. In particular, Robinson's deft pop culture and SF references are so great.
One thing that changed this time around? In my first review, I was critical of how Robinson mixes magic and quantum mechanics. It's a trope that's so common I feel it's cliché, and I was looking at it through that lens. This time around, though, I've changed my mind. I actually really like how the fireflies, in particular, attempt to explain what's happening to Jared in the best way they can manage with our words. Robinson is really making the point that magic isn't necessarily undiscovered or uncomprehended science; it's actually a wholly different way of examining our world as it relates to other universes. It's something that we ordinary humans just aren't equipped to understand, like a missing sense or organ, but some people, like Jared, are immersed in it.
Highly recommend this book, and the sequel.
First review: February 6, 2017
Son of a Trickster came across my Twitter feed one day and I knew I had to read it. I'm trying to read more books by Indigenous authors, and this one looked really good. Sure enough, it's a smart and savvy novel that delivers great characters and dialogue, never compromising on its message while still remaining entertaining. Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for providing me with an ARC.
Jared, like Eden Robinson herself, is Haisla and Heiltsuk and lives in Kitimat, British Columbia. When we first meet him, as a young boy, his parents are moving west—following work—and his maternal grandmother is being mean to him, claiming his father isn't really his father but that he is instead Wee'git's son, a trickster's son. In contrast, Jared's paternal grandmother showers him with affection and remains a source of support throughout much of the intervening years. Jumping ahead to when Jared is 16, the novel shows us a very different world: Jared lives with his mom, who wants him to have nothing to do with his father, though he is secretly giving money to his father and stepsister. He's basically just trying to keep his head down, get through school, make enough money to help out his family, etc. But people, and other beings, keep getting in the way.
Son of a Trickster does not pull its punches when it comes to the bleakness of its situation. In many ways it reminds me of Lullabies for Little Criminals . In both cases, the protagonist lives in poverty with negligent parents. Jared has somewhat more agency than Baby did, a function of his age, gender, and particular circumstances: he is still in school, and at 16 he has started figuring out how to earn his own cash. But make no mistake: this is not a "feel good" novel of "redemption." There is a lot of swearing and a lot of darkness. Jared seems inexorably to jump from frying pan to fire, and the cloying sheen of the "it gets better" after-school special is nowhere to be seen.
I love Jared as a character. He's just so … 16, but that mature kind of 16 that crops up when you can't rely on your parents. And he is just so good. He could easily embrace crime, start dealing drugs like Richie and his mom want him to, start carrying a gun and becoming a heavy … but he deliberately pushes that out of his life. He goes over to his next-door neighbour to shovel her drive and help her with chores. He works assiduously to earn enough money to help out his dad. Yes, he smokes pot and makes pot cookies for his largest source of income (he also has a paper route). But Robinson captures that paradox of being 16: you're too old to be called a child but too young to be treated fully like an adult.
Jared is still in school, trying to survive Grade 10 in this book, and that's kind of amazing given all the shit he has to deal with. Sometimes he has to take buses across town to give money to his stepsister to pay off his dad's back rent … and still he tries to study and do his homework. Sure, he isn't always successful—but when some kids would drop out, Jared perseveres. And note that I'm not trying to hold up Jared as some kind of anomaly among 16-year-olds—quite the opposite, in fact. I think many authors underestimate adolescents, but that isn't the case here.
Nor is Jared pure. He has his share of flaws, makes his share of mistakes. He drinks, even blacks out, and then others have to fill him in on the poor choices he made (hello, viral videos). But there are also times he doesn't black out, or times he doesn't make the poorer choice, and Robinson shows us those too. The former are just as important as the latter, because it's their contrast that makes him a worthwhile protagonist—and, in the end, it's the choices that Jared makes to confront those past choices that makes him change and grow.
The setting helps to amplify Jared's struggle for the reader. I'm quite harsh on Jared's mom here, because I think she's irresponsible in her parenting, but I am sympathetic to the challenges she faces as a single parent with no stable income. I've seen the effects of poverty on families, especially among First Nations youth in an urban environment. The conditions that Robinson depicts in Son of a Trickster are real. Nevertheless, I've been fortunate enough in my life never to experience poverty myself. I've never known the sensation of not knowing what I'm eating that same day, or lived under the sword of the utility company cutting my power. Jared's precariousness is a constant presence in this novel, and Robinson represents it in a way that underscores its significance for readers who might otherwise be ignorant of its effects.
This is also an extremely tech and culturally savvy novel. It's subtle, but by the end of the book I had really come to appreciate how Robinson weaves these elements throughout the book. Jared corresponds with several people via text or Facebook message; the later is his principal mode of communication with Nana Sophia. Robinson's voice in these moments is very accurate; she captures the atmosphere created by these media. Also, I just love the nerdy references to shows like Doctor Who and Battlestar Galactica, most of which originate from a rez kid, George, who insists Jared start calling him by the "callsign" of Crashpad. Indigenous people, particularly Indigenous youth, are underrepresented as it is in literature—but when they do put in an appearance, there is a tendency to ground them almost exclusively in Indigenous iconography (and often generic or mistaken iconography at that). These stereotypes are so pervasive that our Prime Minister recently commented at a town hall that the youth he spoke with want "canoe storage" over rec centres with WiFi. (Insert audible eyerolling here.) Robinson combats this stereotype quite neatly here, for Crashpad might live on the reserve, but he and his friends are just as phone-obsessed, Internet binging, sci-fi watching as teenagers of any stripe.
When Haisla/Heiltsuk traditions and history are referenced, it's because it relates to the plot or characters in some way. Jared learns a little bit about how his maternal grandmother's experiences at residential school affected her. Several of the women in his life, from his mother to Nana Sophia to some others I won't spoil, are "witches" with access to powers and spells; other characters share with Jared a heritage that is more-than-human. There's a bit of an American Gods vibe happening here, although I recognize the latter is a pastiche of various religions and mythologies whereas this one is much more about Jared's personal journey through the cultures that lay claim to him.
As I don't have the cultural background necessary to critique how Robinson portrays these elements, I'm not going to go into much detail there. However, I wasn't sold on the way she uses the firefly beings that Jared sees to try to syncretize the magic with quantum mechanics. Any time someone tries to use quantum mechanics as an excuse for magic, a little alarm bell labelled "what the bleep to we know" goes off in my brain. It's not that I'm against attempts to explain magic in pseudoscientific ways—that can be fun, because this is, after all, fiction. Nevertheless, these kinds of attempts at equivalency tend to muddle what is already a muddy subject, because quantum mechanics is counter-intuitive and poorly explained, let alone understood. I think I get why Robinson did this, but I could have done without that entire element. Thankfully, it isn't a huge part of the plot and is easy enough to ignore.
In addition to the tech/culture savviness, I love the subversive moments, like this one where Robinson has characters confront the gender binary. For all that I loved most of the dialogue, I actually only highlighted one passage in this book:
"No, you don't understand. I'm not regretting it. I'm saying I don't believe in monogamy, but I don't fall in the sack with just anyone. And I certainly don't believe in gender the way you do, and you've made it clear that you find my ways 'pervy.'"
"I'm normally attracted to people willing to push heteronormative boundaries."
Jacob felt his eye twitching. "So you're gay?"
"There you go," Sarah said. "Thinking in Western binaries again."
"So you're not gay."
"It's like talking to a wall," Sarah said through gritted teeth. "Do you even listen to anything I say?"
"But what does that mean? For us?"
"It means you confuse the hell out of me. I'm frustrated."
"Well, that's a big ditto."
"You're so retro. How can I be with someone who still defines himself as strictly male?"
"So you like chicks? Or guys … or both? Is that, like, the trans one or the bi?"
Sarah stopped swinging her legs and coolly considered him. She hopped down. "You're so not getting laid tonight."
I'm so-so on Sarah as a character, but I like the romance/not-a-romance between her and Jared. Again, it feels a lot less contrived or stereotypical than how these kinds of relationships are so often portrayed in books featuring young adults.
As far as classifying this book, I suppose it might be called a "young adult novel", though this is an example of how that label never really feels appropriate. This is a book adults should be reading, and a book that adolescents could read and enjoy too. Yes, there is sex and swearing and drugs and drinking in it. If you think your adolescent isn't aware of these things among their peers and even participating in such things themselves, I have a pipeline I can sell to you.
I like the ending. I said before that this is not a novel of redemption, and I stand by that. This is a bleak book—but it's bleakness with a hopeful ending. Like many such novels, it hits us hard and fast with so much that can go wrong in an adolescent's life—and then it reminds us that there is always still hope. And I like that, for all that this book is about Jared's potential link to a Trickster figure, the conclusion is ultimately about Jared becoming more of who he already is rather than trying to shape-shift his identity to match something he is not.
Son of a Trickster, then, is fantastic. I like its representation of an Indigenous teen (for what my opinion as a settler is worth), not that this is surprising considering its #ownvoices origin. Beyond this cultural dimension, though, I just love the book itself. The plot, setting, and characters all come together to deliver a breathtaking and beautiful book, and this is me holding my hand out saying, "Um, sequel please!"
Nov 25, 2017 jo rated it it was amazing
Shelves: canada, blew-my-mind, native-north-american
[useless noodling; skip this paragraph if you want to get to the review!] there is a chinese wall between american readers and canadian literature. the only titan strong enough to have made a breach (but, see, it's her breach, no one but she can cross over, just like in kafka's parable!) is Margaret Atwood. even nobel prize winner Alice Munro is not a household name among american readers. Miriam Toews -- i haven't dug into numbers, but this is what it seems to me -- is more popular in italy [useless noodling; skip this paragraph if you want to get to the review!] there is a chinese wall between american readers and canadian literature. the only titan strong enough to have made a breach (but, see, it's her breach, no one but she can cross over, just like in kafka's parable!) is Margaret Atwood. even nobel prize winner Alice Munro is not a household name among american readers. Miriam Toews -- i haven't dug into numbers, but this is what it seems to me -- is more popular in italy than she is south of the border. and sure, there are Carol Shields and Michael Ondaatje, but here is the catch: i bet that a good number of those who have heard of them do not know that they are canadian. even atwood. please prove me wrong.
this books is amazing.
it took Eden Robinson eight years to write Son of a Trickster and it shows. from the first page what struck me about it is how perfect it is, how precise, how carefully built, sentence by little sentence, with that effortlessness that is always the product of painstaking labor. this precision in the language is juxtaposed to a whole lot of mess -- messy lives, messy hygiene, messy love, messy gastroenterology (lots of bad eating, not eating, and bad drinking, and TONS of throwing up). and, on a more technical level, seemingly (but in fact not) messy timelines and storylines. the language, it seems to me, is the one rigorous thing that holds everything together supple tendons superglue. it even keeps together jared, the adorable teenage protagonist, who speaks carefully, corrects those who speak imprecisely, and uses language in that fast, über-clever teen snark you wish you had had when you were a teen. needless to say, none of this makes him the most popular boy in town, but, miraculously, jared possesses that old-soul self-containedness some kids have (that, too, is something you wish you had had when you were a teen!) that allows them genuinely not to care.
a lot of the language is (teen?) jargon and shorthand and this, more than other things (this book is not big on descriptions and explanations) do the work of giving the reader a sense of the place, the time and the human climate. not all of it is immediately understandable to the non-local, non-teenage reader, but, like all good writers, robinson lets you figure it out on your own. jared, the son of a trickster (the formulation is meant to sounds a bit like son of a bitch, i.e. like a curse or insult, both of which it is, in a way), is the kind of kid who takes upon himself the job of keeping the adults of his family in house and home. he is no saint, but he's got a clear set of morals, and he won't be budged. jared does what needs to be done, damned the consequences.
this is not marketed as a YA book, but if you know a teen who is having a shitty time and who won't get traumatized by talk of sex and drugs, jared's solid decency in the face of a decidedly shitty life may be something they might find solace in.
the key features of jared's surroundings are poverty and lack of resources of all kinds. the entire community seems to consist of: more or less put-together habitations, some kind of all-purpose store, a liquor store, a church, a school. also, the beach, which is used mostly to party (but we do see this from a teen's point of view, so maybe there is a whole other lot going on there too, though one is hard pressed to imagine what). partying at the beach equals getting high on booze and substances of all kinds. the kids and the adults in jared's world all seem to find entertainment only in getting high, watching tv, gaming, and boning each other.
we know that some characters are natives and some are not, but robinson doesn't seem that interested in demarcating exactly who is what. likewise, even though the town straddles the reservation, she is not interested in telling us what lies on which side.
the brutality of jared's life is highlighted by the way the novel starts, which is idyllically, with loving mom, dad and child jared setting out to move because of dad's new job. robinson doesn't tell us why things go so dramatically sideways in the next chapter, which takes place some ten years later, but after a bit you get a sense.
i am as far from a working class native american as i can possibly be (being, as i am, a white italian immigrant, educated and middle class, born, raised and educated in italy, barely assimilated yet somehow no longer properly italian either), but when the magic stuff, which is just as magic as it is theological, starts playing a stronger role in the novel, i sort of get something, and this something may be entirely wrong, but i feel i owe it robinson and the jareds of the world to try to say it what it is.
what i get is that cultures live in an always precarious equilibrium, and this equilibrium is, among other things, predicated on how they make sense of, partition if you will, good and evil. in other words, a culture is solid when people tend to agree on what is good and what is bad (in this particular time in the united states this agreement is getting more and more undermined and this is causing a tremendous cultural crisis). jared's community, like, arguably, most communities, relies for its understanding of good and evil on a solid relationship with the divine. this is a theme that recurs in native literature so i don't think i'm too far off. if this connection with the divine gets wobbly enough evil (a supernatural force according to pretty much all religions) has no balancing (good) force with which to be held at bay (in Son of a Trickster is certainly evil and damaging and corrosive, but also, via the figure of the trickster, it is mischievous and able to be bent to do the right thing).
this is why the religious aspect is so brilliantly essential to the book, and i must say that robinson does it so darn well, with humor and that playful irreverence we often encounter in literature by people of color (cuz you've gotta laugh, dontcha? i mean, you can and will cry, but humor is what, at the end of the day, will keep you alive).
you cannot starve a people, rob it of their jobs, rob it of land and prospects, rob of it the material makings of dignity and autonomy, and expect them to keep their culture alive. cultures need to be fed. they need food in the belly -- not any old crap food, but decent food, cuz the shitty food that doesn't give real nourishment will make one puke, and puke, and puke, all book long. ...more
May 31, 2017 Carole rated it really liked it
Great read, Jared is a very believable character with whom you can easily empathize. I would have given this five stars but I struggled with the supernatural aspect.
Feb 26, 2018 Michelle rated it really liked it
Shelves: 2018, canadian, indigenous, young-adult, magical-realism
For the first 2/3rds of this book I was wondering what exactly I was reading - I mean, I really liked the characters and story but it wasn't living up to what the jacket made me think I was getting. Then the magical realism started and I was even more confused. It didn't use the Trickster myth in the way I've seen it used in other Indigenous writing so that left me scratching my head. All that said, this was a very memorable and absorbing book. I loved how deep and real all the characters were, For the first 2/3rds of this book I was wondering what exactly I was reading - I mean, I really liked the characters and story but it wasn't living up to what the jacket made me think I was getting. Then the magical realism started and I was even more confused. It didn't use the Trickster myth in the way I've seen it used in other Indigenous writing so that left me scratching my head. All that said, this was a very memorable and absorbing book. I loved how deep and real all the characters were, I loved that no one was 100% good or evil and just did good and shitty things. The magical elements were minor as compared to the bonds created between characters, the will to overcome circumstances, the love that was flawed but deep. I'll be mulling on this one for years to come. ...more
Dec 14, 2017 Lark Benobi rated it really liked it
Shelves: 2017, canada
This novel rings brilliant changes on topics such as vomit--"The stew-like puddle stank beside the mattress"--and it does a wonderful job of representing characters whose main way of spending their lives is to grow stupefied together on booze or drugs or occasionally sex. All the characters speak in a witty-gritty way that I admire, but it almost felt as if Robinson is so good at all of the above--especially good at drunken dialog, for instance, or of writing characters who make stupid choices, This novel rings brilliant changes on topics such as vomit--"The stew-like puddle stank beside the mattress"--and it does a wonderful job of representing characters whose main way of spending their lives is to grow stupefied together on booze or drugs or occasionally sex. All the characters speak in a witty-gritty way that I admire, but it almost felt as if Robinson is so good at all of the above--especially good at drunken dialog, for instance, or of writing characters who make stupid choices, or writing scenes that ignite with a sudden flash of violence--that it got to be too much for me, where it was a story that moved in circles rather than forward. I'm still a big fan but I felt Robinson's writing strengths eventually overwhelmed the actual story. ...more
Dec 17, 2017 Jan rated it it was amazing
Reminds me of The Animators in the way it starts out as one thing and then takes an unexpected turn and becomes something completely different. Not an all-time favorite book or anything, but still an easy five stars for the character of Jared plus humor plus First Peoples mythology.
Oct 11, 2017 Jalilah rated it it was amazing
Shelves: mythic-fiction, into-the-forest-2018-challenge, first-nation-native-american
5 stars for this enchanting Bildungsroman! I couldn't put it down and had to immediately reread it as soon as I finished! Son of a Trickster is both realistic and gritty, beautiful and magical, terrifying and funny, endearing and tragic all at the same time!
16 year old Jared, aka "Cookie Dude" amongst his peers, has a snarky mouth that often gets him into trouble. His maternal grandmother hates him, believing he is not human, rather a "Wee'git", a raven trickster from Pacific Northwest First 5 stars for this enchanting Bildungsroman! I couldn't put it down and had to immediately reread it as soon as I finished! Son of a Trickster is both realistic and gritty, beautiful and magical, terrifying and funny, endearing and tragic all at the same time!
16 year old Jared, aka "Cookie Dude" amongst his peers, has a snarky mouth that often gets him into trouble. His maternal grandmother hates him, believing he is not human, rather a "Wee'git", a raven trickster from Pacific Northwest First Nation's mythology. He also has a heart of gold. Jared gives all the money he earns from baking and selling his cannabis enhanced cookies to help support his divorced parents. His father, unemployed since a work related back injury, is addicted to Oxy. His mom, an alcoholic, often disappears weeks at a time with her drug dealer boyfriend. He takes care of his elderly neighbours and will always defend the outcasts who are bullied.
Strange things start happening that Jared doesn't understand; Ravens are talking to him, he meets people in his dreams, he sees monsters underneath people's skin. Is he partying too much and taking too many drugs? Or is there some truth to what his grandmother says, that he's not really human? This is a spoiler free review, so you'll just have to read this book to find out! And everyone should read it because it wonderful! ...more
Oct 02, 2017 Allison ༻hikes the bookwoods༺ rated it really liked it
Shelves: canadian, set-2000-onward, poc-author, indigenous-author, giller-shortlist
I'm generally not a fan of magical realism, but Eden Robinson makes it work here in the best kind of way. This was my first read from the 2017 Giller Prize short-list and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I really liked the protagonist, Jared, and his development throughout. I also noticed threads of similarity between this novel and The Goldfinch, another book I really liked - that also happened to win a Pulitzer!
Jan 20, 2019 Emily Cait rated it really liked it · review of another edition
A rough start. I almost gave up on this, but the ending blew me away. I had to jump straight into the sequel!
Jan 20, 2017 ❀ Susan G rated it really liked it
Shelves: 2017-reads
https://ayearofbooksblog.com/2017/04/...
I have to admit that I almost did not buy a copy of Son of a Trickster! I am ok with swearing and graphic language but really struggle with that "c"word which is sprinkled throughout the first chapter. During the author event at Laurier University, I cringed hearing that word during the reading. The author shared that she herself does not swear much but her characters do! Lucky for me, I kept an open mind and got carried away with the infections laughter https://ayearofbooksblog.com/2017/04/...
I have to admit that I almost did not buy a copy of Son of a Trickster! I am ok with swearing and graphic language but really struggle with that "c"word which is sprinkled throughout the first chapter. During the author event at Laurier University, I cringed hearing that word during the reading. The author shared that she herself does not swear much but her characters do! Lucky for me, I kept an open mind and got carried away with the infections laughter and engaging storytelling of Eden Robinson.
Son of a Trickster is a coming of age story describing the challenging teenage years of Jared who lives in a home of drugs, alcohol, parties and poverty. His parents are separated, he has been physically abused, he lives in a basement, has few friends and his beloved dog just died. He kindly supports his elderly neighbour, Mrs. Jaks who has been diagnosed with cancer and is the caregiver of her spouse with dementia.
School is a challenge and he to supported his family selling weed cookies which led to more problems. His life is a blur of alcohol and drama when he starts blacking out, then seeing images of a bear, fireflies and even dangerous otters. He bounces through relationships with other students, the neighbour's granddaughter and other family as he comes to terms with his own situation.
As Jared reflects on his childhood and learns more about his family and his indigenous heritage he must make choices which will impact his future. This is a difficult story to read but sadly, there are likely many teens living in such situations. Eden Robinson has made the tale real and introduced indigenous heritage and mysticism into the story. She shared that this is the first book in a trilogy and I will look forward to reading what comes next for Jared… and hopefully hearing her speak (and her hearty laugh) again! ...more
Jul 22, 2017 Dynah Thirst rated it did not like it
Shelves: abandoned
This book was all over the place. Lots of inconsistencies in grammar that were confusing. Ex. Guy releases his two dogs, then the story said he followed his dog to see the action. I had to go back a couple of times to make sure he had two dogs to start with. Things like that drive me crazy - it completely takes me out of the story. Characters were described without using their names and then referred to by just their names, which was confusing. Characters appeared out of nowhere with no past This book was all over the place. Lots of inconsistencies in grammar that were confusing. Ex. Guy releases his two dogs, then the story said he followed his dog to see the action. I had to go back a couple of times to make sure he had two dogs to start with. Things like that drive me crazy - it completely takes me out of the story. Characters were described without using their names and then referred to by just their names, which was confusing. Characters appeared out of nowhere with no past context. This book is a mess. ...more
Nov 01, 2016 Kristi rated it really liked it
Definite contender for Giller 2017 (yes, I know Giller 2016 hasn't even been announced yet). More thoughtful review to come.
Dec 07, 2016 Daniella Armstrong rated it really liked it
Last year, I read only one magical realism novel and I lamented the fact that I hadn't found more. This year, I'm starting with one in the hopes that it will bring more my way! Wishful thinking, maybe, but it certainly can't hurt.
First, much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read this fantastic book pre-publication!
Son of a Trickster will be published on February 7th, and it certainly fits the bleak tone of the month. Jared, the main character, is a teen with a Last year, I read only one magical realism novel and I lamented the fact that I hadn't found more. This year, I'm starting with one in the hopes that it will bring more my way! Wishful thinking, maybe, but it certainly can't hurt.
Son of a Trickster will be published on February 7th, and it certainly fits the bleak tone of the month. Jared, the main character, is a teen with a damn hard life. With a grandmother who thinks he's a trickster in disguise and a mom bouncing around with a drug-dealing boyfriend, things are certainly not rainbows and roses.
Here's the thing though: it works. It works so incredibly well. This is the most realistic magical realism novel I've ever read. The characters seem like they could have walked out of any small town, and the stoner community and mindset were super accurate. People sometimes have hard lives. That's just the way it is. It was a great change to read about such a realistic teen who is also such a good person.
I think it's also worth noting that Jared is Native American, as are most of the characters in the book. So is the author herself – which makes this an #ownvoices read that I was happy to pick up. I rarely get to read YA with Native protagonists, which is really a shame.
Characters were complex and believable. Everyone is dealing with their own issues and they often complicate each other's lives without even trying. Jared's mom has a mantra that is often repeated throughout – and rings both true and false.
I'll say right out that this isn't the book for you if you take a critical view of underage swearing, drinking, drug use or sex. Maybe you should reconsider what you know of teenagers if you think their lives don't include those things though.
I was interested to see how the magic would function as I expected it to stem from Indigenous beliefs, and I was pretty mesmerised by what was included. (Those otters, though. For real.) I'm really eager for more! The small hints of the fantastic are included from the very start, but they never overwhelm the narrative. The clear existence of a mystical world just sitting alongside our own was pretty shocking, but in the best possible way.
(Also – Jared's reaction to weird shit (read: magic) was always spot on. A+ to that.)
Though there was a focus on the 'realism' aspect of this book, it was still steeped in magic, even when the characters were blitzed out of their minds. Despite their utter strangeness, the magical aspects of the book were totally believable. They were perhaps more believable because the reader is left to focus on the aspects themselves rather than the 'why' behind them.
The strange short interludes in italics were an interesting addition to the book, and a welcome one.
I was ultimately satisfied with the ending of the book when I took some time to mull it over. I learned that this is the first in a series, which means that the elements of magic that were briefly touched on may get more screen time in the next book.
I can't wait to read more from Eden Robinson, and considering this book, I know that she won't disappoint! ...more
Oct 23, 2017 Jennifer rated it it was ok
Shelves: 2017-books, canadian
2.5-stars, if we could.
there were parts of this story i really enjoyed, but there were other parts i found a bit clunky. robinson is an interesting storyteller, and she packs a lot into her books. but i find myself wondering if she tries to do too much? her characters and settings are very vivid, and the magical realism is interesting - though MR does tend to be something i struggle with as a reader, generally.
Jan 08, 2018 Jennifer (aka EM) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: idle-no-more, maple-flavoured
The word 'inventive' gets bandied about for a lot of books, not always deservedly, but dang: this book is all that and more. It's inventive, it's clever, it's genre-bending, it's fantastic.
If you want to read a review with tons of nuance and deep, smart things to say about it, check out jo's.
The one thing I will add is that, for me, this book is all about inter-generational trauma of the type to which Indigenous folk have been subjected since first contact. Trauma and its effects are both overt The word 'inventive' gets bandied about for a lot of books, not always deservedly, but dang: this book is all that and more. It's inventive, it's clever, it's genre-bending, it's fantastic.
The one thing I will add is that, for me, this book is all about inter-generational trauma of the type to which Indigenous folk have been subjected since first contact. Trauma and its effects are both overt (in the poverty, the violence, the abuse, the addiction) and subtle (in the references to residential schools, and in Jared's girlfriend's political commentary). Most of all, though - and most compellingly and powerfully - inter-generational trauma is symbolic, both a force of darkness as well as a tenacious, shape-shifting force of, if not good, at least of resilience, of tenacity, of survival. The world is hard, you have to be harder, says Jared's mom, over and over again.
Come for the raw, unflinching coming-of-age story; stay for the magic and mythology, the world-building, the layers and layers of carefully-constructed meaning, the black humour, and the immensely complex, rich characters. ...more
Jan 17, 2019 Scott Neigh added it · review of another edition
Coming of age novel with a late-revealed sprinkling of what would conventionally at least be understood as the fantastical. Set in northern British Columbia and centred on an Indigenous guy the same age as my own kid as he navigates messy family stuff, messy friendships, selling weed cookies, helping out the older couple next door, drinking rather a lot, missing his dog, that voice he sometimes hears, and just doing his damn best. Great writing. I particularly appreciated how skilfully it Coming of age novel with a late-revealed sprinkling of what would conventionally at least be understood as the fantastical. Set in northern British Columbia and centred on an Indigenous guy the same age as my own kid as he navigates messy family stuff, messy friendships, selling weed cookies, helping out the older couple next door, drinking rather a lot, missing his dog, that voice he sometimes hears, and just doing his damn best. Great writing. I particularly appreciated how skilfully it portrayed the main character's chaotic circumstances – unflinchingly yet with great compassion – and the main character himself – flawed, troubled, and a really good kid. Really, really good book. ...more
Jun 03, 2017 Magdelanye rated it it was amazing
Shelves: social-history, coming-of-age-initiation, postmodern-fiction, favorite, magdelanyebingo, native-pride
ConsiderIng that I did not appreciate Monkey Beach, I really was not prepared to be so blown away by this book. ERs skill in weaving together the glowing threads of this archetypal story kept me up late and has me hotly anticipating the next installment.
Our universe is a membrane,a hologram, a soap bubble. We don't go through the looking glass. We are the looking glass. p221
The divine in all of us...remembers being light. p264
Nov 01, 2018 Rhonda rated it it was amazing
I loved this book. The voice, the characters, the magic, the plot... it was all awesome. I can't wait to read the sequel.
Jan 17, 2020 Gail Amendt rated it it was amazing
I read this in a day and a half, which says a lot. This book slowly grew on me, and soon I couldn't put it down. It was pretty disturbing at first. The protagonist, Jared, is a sixteen year old native boy in Kitimat, B.C. His family life is very dysfunctional. His parents, who are no longer together, both have substance abuse problems. He has spent his youth living with his angry, drug dealing mother and a series of boyfriends, some of whom have been abusive. Jared has turned to selling pot I read this in a day and a half, which says a lot. This book slowly grew on me, and soon I couldn't put it down. It was pretty disturbing at first. The protagonist, Jared, is a sixteen year old native boy in Kitimat, B.C. His family life is very dysfunctional. His parents, who are no longer together, both have substance abuse problems. He has spent his youth living with his angry, drug dealing mother and a series of boyfriends, some of whom have been abusive. Jared has turned to selling pot cookies to help his addict father pay his rent. The only positive influences in his life are his paternal grandmother, whom he rarely sees but regularly speaks to by text message, and a kind neighbor who now has problems of her own. Somehow, he is still in school and making decent grades, but is spiraling into substance abuse issues of his own. Miraculously, he is actually quite caring and responsible, and seems to feel he has to take care of everyone else. The mother in me just wanted to take care of this poor boy. The surprising thing is that Eden Robinson managed to make this dark story funny and hopeful. Jared is sarcastic and mouthy, and comes out with some of the best one liners and cynical observations. You can't help loving him.
This novel does take a turn for the supernatural, and while I am not usually a fan of magical realism, it works here. At first it appears that Jared is hallucinating due to his drug use, but it later become apparent that there are spirits lurking, and that the voice in his head is more than just his sub-conscious talking. I think that the other books in the trilogy will probably explore this more.
Eden Robinson has a very readable writing style. She sets her novels in her home town, and writes about it well. I have spent a fair bit of time in the Kitimat/Terrace/Prince Rupert area, as my husband and I enjoy salmon fishing. Her writing makes me feel like I am there. She writes about native issues with much insight. Something that I find interesting is that she sometimes leaves us wondering about character's racial identity. There are native and white characters in this novel, and numerous characters that could be either, or possibly neither. She doesn't tell us, and it doesn't matter.
For most of this novel, I was planning to give it four stars, but the ending blew me away. ...more
Jan 20, 2018 Tara rated it it was amazing
Shelves: 2018, 2017-gilles-long-list
Robinson tells a great story but for me, this book was all about the characters. Jared is a warm, broken, oddly mature and caring young man who brought out my mothering instincts. there were several moments when I wanted to jump in the book and simply make him a grilled cheese sandwich and a mug of tea. His mother and her actions may be frustrating but I could feel the love for her son. I found likable traits in all the characters, even those characters that I didn't like at the beginning of the Robinson tells a great story but for me, this book was all about the characters. Jared is a warm, broken, oddly mature and caring young man who brought out my mothering instincts. there were several moments when I wanted to jump in the book and simply make him a grilled cheese sandwich and a mug of tea. His mother and her actions may be frustrating but I could feel the love for her son. I found likable traits in all the characters, even those characters that I didn't like at the beginning of the book (Richie and Dylan). ...more
Jul 07, 2019 Zoe rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: read-in-2019
Yesssssssssssss. A must read
Sep 18, 2017 Taylor rated it really liked it
Shelves: canadiana, first-reads
My thanks to Goodreads Giveaways and the publishers for giving me a copy of this enjoyable book. I've never read this author before but will look for her books in future. I liked her writing style, the story was engaging, and the characters were fabulous.
Nov 22, 2017 Andy Weston rated it liked it · review of another edition
This is a coming of age novel about 16 year old Jared growing up in British Columbia. Jared's isn't a normal life for a 16 year old. As he struggles to complete his exam year at school his family crumble around him through drug abuse, alcoholism and crime. His friends at school offer some release, but really his peer group has similar problems. It is therefore a depressing read, reminds me of a YA book I read earlier this year, Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock's The Smell Of Other People's Houses. Hitchcock This is a coming of age novel about 16 year old Jared growing up in British Columbia. Jared's isn't a normal life for a 16 year old. As he struggles to complete his exam year at school his family crumble around him through drug abuse, alcoholism and crime. His friends at school offer some release, but really his peer group has similar problems. It is therefore a depressing read, reminds me of a YA book I read earlier this year, Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock's The Smell Of Other People's Houses. Hitchcock's book is marginally a more enjoyable read, and set in Alaska, similarly short hours of daylight and weather in the winter. The story in effect is just a window into Jared's life for a little more than a year, and therefore struggled to hold my interest. My biggest criticism though is that it fails to accurately portray adolescence. I realise this is a controversial criticism, adolescence is something we can all claim to know a lot about, having been there. Few will not have sympathy with Jared's predicament, but the writing does not succeed getting to grips with the feelings of a 16 year old. ...more
Nov 26, 2017 Alexis rated it it was amazing
I loved this book - it was emotionally dense, hilarious, smart, tender - just really good. And different parts of it keep coming back to me, in ways that show how well-crafted it is.
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Into the Forest: Son of a Trickster 6 23 Jan 03, 2020 10:26AM
Cultural > Canada
About Eden Robinson
Eden Victoria Lena Robinson (born 19 January 1968) is a Canadian novelist and short story writer.
Born in Kitamaat, British Columbia, she is a member of the Haisla and Heiltsuk First Nations. She was educated at the University of Victoria and the University of British Columbia.
Trickster (2 books)
Books by Eden Robinson
Trivia About Son of a Trickster
Quotes from Son of a Trickster
"Close your eyes. Concentrate on your breath. Remember that you were not always earthbound. Every living creature, every drop of water and every sombre mountain is the by-blow of some bloated, dying star. Deep down, we remember wriggling through the universe as beams of light." — 8 likes
"You shouldn't dwell on it," Mrs. Jaks had said. "Forgive him and you'll live without his shadow on your lives."
"The world is hard," his mom had said. "You need to be harder." — 1 likes


Dr Jennifer Melvin is the EM HRPP National Convenor for Roehampton University and programme coordinator, as well as a Lecturer in Sociology and Human Rights. Her research interests include: genocide; post-conflict reconciliation; human rights protection and international development. Prior to joining the university, she conducted ethnographic research in the Great Lakes Region of Africa with a particular focus on Rwanda . This research has been published in peer-reviewed journals. Her current research focuses on the construction of political and economic relationships between donor states and the countries receiving bilateral aid.
'Reconstructing Rwanda: Balancing Human Rights and the Promotion of National Reconciliation', in Sociology and Human Rights: New Engagements, Routledge, London, 2011.
Reconciling Rwanda: Unity, Nationality, and State Control, University of London Press, London, 2015.


Is Cash Flow King? Price to Rent and 1% in different OOS markets.
ForumsArrowGeneral Real Estate InvestingArrowIs Cash Flow King? Price to Rent and 1% in different OOS markets.
Over the past year, I've been educating myself so as to get my investing start, most like with single family buy and hold. I live in San Diego county, so I've tended to focus on starting OOS. Initially, I was looking closely at a few midwest areas that seemed to easily meet the 1% rule and have low entry price points on sfh's.
After coming close on a few deals, I stepped back to re-examine my desired focus including what areas to invest. I'm still primarily considering OOS, but am now looking at some areas that have higher entry price points and where a newer investor might be hard pressed to achieve the 1% rule. Partly, I was having a hard time getting as excited about owning long term in some of the markets I first looked at as compared to some I'm looking at now.
Is cash flow always a primary driving factor? I know there are people actively investing in areas outside the midwest that don't meet the 1% rule, so what is the mindset investing there?
Is having a net zero cash flow acceptable in some areas? I suppose I'm referring to areas that can reasonably be expected to have stable appreciation over the long term and increases to rent. In that case, is having someone else pay your mortgage on a sfh you'll eventually own good enough?
What is the perspective from an investor that might prefer owning one $240,000 dollar sfh vs. three $80,000 sfh's? Does that perspective change significantly if the $80k homes would cash flow out of the gate and the 240k would not?
Any other related thoughts are welcome.
Initial cash flow is more important to new RE investors than more established RE investors. I more look at COC and ROI and occasionally ROE. I could care less where the profit comes from. Cash flow is just one source of RE profits.
We invest in San Diego county. We have historically achieved outstanding ROI. We have purchased an RE that projected, with our conservative estimates, as cash neutral RE. We can justify the purchase. It has produced an outstanding ROI but its cash flow is still not what most of our RE has achieved.
I think you are on the right track realizing that 1% properties may not be as good an investment as properties that are not 1% properties. You need to evaluate all expected profits but projections should be conservative. This implies using high cap expense, vacancy, and maintenance estimates and low appreciation (rent and property) estimates.
I would rather manage one property that produce $5K/year than 3 properties that produce $7K/year in total. RE is not 100% passive. Less RE implies less work. if we scale the numbers we would get 10 properties produce $50K/year or 30 properties to produce $70k/year. I can handle 10 properties but can I handle 30 properties? Maybe with either office staff or property management I can handle 30 properties. But at some point a limit is hit. Would you rather hit that limit with properties producing $5k/year or properties producing $2.7K year?
I grew up Inc Escondido. Now live downtown. I realize that San Diego doesn't really cash flow but I assumed Escondido would given it's not really the best (high demand, sort of BFE) area.
Cash flow is king and it's very important but I would not be purchasing OOS properties in D to C- areas to try an achieve it. Chasing yield can backfire on an investor. There is a slew of negatives when dealing with those type of properties. I think the biggest is the loss of time. Like @Dan Heuschele mentioned in his post. Do you really want to handle 30 properties? I would much rather handle 10 and have more time, but that's me.
Ideally investing locally is the best way to go if you can afford it financially. In your case San Diego. What an amazing place to invest with historically solid returns. I understand that it might not be great at the moment because of the run-up. Be patient, deals come up all the time.
Now if you are going OOS. You can certainly achieve 1% or better and buy in B properties. Just got to look in the right areas and buy value-add deals.
@Dan Heuschele , thank you for the input. I know you invest in my area, so I appreciate your take. While I'm not currently looking to invest in San Diego County, I may in the future, and part of my stepping back to re-evaluate my approach included some thoughts as to owning assets that were ultimately worth more, even if they didn't cash flow as well right at the start. I know I've read some of your posts regarding the historical performance of CA vs. other markets, and your insights have been helpful.
@Cody L. , I figure the "Go Patriots" is a reference to Orange Glen? If so, I graduated there as well. As for investing in Escondido, I know @Dan Heuschele has been pretty successful there and with other North County locations. I think it's difficult for a number of reasons for me: First, I'm newer, so I don't have the systems in place in a state where every aspect of the process seems to cost more. Second, the entry price point is pretty high for any properties I'd want to own. I'm not looking to target severely distressed properties for my first investments. That said, I may take a closer look at North County once the market begins to soften.
@Frank Wong , I appreciate the advice. I can recognize that San Diego area has enjoyed long-term impressive returns, and there is a part of me that wonders if I'll invest here eventually. For now, I don't know that I'm positioned to eke out any true deals in this market. I might need to wait for things to soften and then hopefully be poised to acquire a few deals at a future time. I think I'm tending to be considering something like your last statement about trying to target B properties in OOS markets.
Some possible places I've considered are parts of UT, OR, and TX which I feel are somewhere between what is happening in CA and the midwest. I don't mean geographically, so this may be an oversimplification, but I'm interested in places with steady job and population growth where entry sfh's are in the 150-300 range. These locations don't enjoy the initial cash returns of some midwest markets, but don't have quite such an inflated entry price as San Diego.
Yield, in any asset class, whether real estate, bonds, dividends....is a function of risk. This is an incredibly important concept that people on the site often ignore. High yield = high risk. Low yield = low risk. Now there is nothing wrong with high or low yields, you just have to understand that it is a function that the market uses for pricing in the risk of the underlying asset and/or market. Yield measures risk, yield does not measure return. It is one, of many components of the return, but it is not the total return of the asset.
Not that I need more competition (especially seeing you are in my exact top market), but have you considered house-hacking a detached duplex? Note 95% LTV (owner occupied) versus a 75% LTV (OOS investor) implies that via house hack you can purchase a RE in San Diego for 5X the cost of your OOS investment with a similar out of pocket cost.
Cody L invests in Houston and appears to have done quite well but Texas is a higher property tax state (last I read it was the 3rd highest). It is counter intuitive for an investor from a high income tax state (i.e. CA) to invest in RE in a high property tax state (i.e. TX). OR has perhaps the least friendly LL laws in the US (from what I have read, worse than CA). I suspect every area possibly has a reason that makes it less than ideal for RE investing. For example, you believe the reason not to invest local is the high entry price. I do believe that if I had 2 hours to spare, I could convince you otherwise, but alas I do not have the 2 hours to spare.
@Cody L., I figure the "Go Patriots" is a reference to Orange Glen? If so, I graduated there as well. As for investing in Escondido, I know @Dan Heuschele has been pretty successful there and with other North County locations. I think it's difficult for a number of reasons for me: First, I'm newer, so I don't have the systems in place in a state where every aspect of the process seems to cost more. Second, the entry price point is pretty high for any properties I'd want to own. I'm not looking to target severely distressed properties for my first investments. That said, I may take a closer look at North County once the market begins to soften.
I was suggesting that North County, specifically Escondido, should be okay vlaue for the $ as when most people get sticker shock from "San Diego" they're looking coastal, or actual San Diego and not far out east, or far north where it's not so crazy.
I'm big into investing OOS but I accept it's not for everyone. You have to make sure you know the submarkets just as good if not better than your home turf. And you have to have a trusted team. When I moved back to San Diego from Houston, I had a team managing 500 (?) units of mine and it was still hard until I cycled though the right ops person after 4 tries. But in the 4 years or so I've been back, having the right team has allowed me to go from 500 to ~1400 units all from SD.
Very true. I'd add, though, that it's particularly true for asset classes trading through highly efficient markets. Real estate - especially the type that individual investors like the OP is targeting - is anything but a highly efficient market. Trick is to dig up an oversized yield with an undersized risk. And that's typically done by building an advantage others don't have.
Investors who buy properties in expensive markets like San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, etc. that do not cash flow with standard metrics have other motives. Some are 1031x that need to find an asset quick where they can park their money. REIT's, large funds, etc are chasing yield in stable assets outside of the stocks and bond markets to diversify so they are happy with 4% caps in real estate. International investors #1 focus is not making tons of cash flow from investments but protect their money from government regulations, ie. China. Sometimes it's a tax move.
You need to look at cash PLUS appreciation when looking at investments. You can buy $80k houses in middle america that cash flow but appreciation is relatively flat. Or you can buy in expensive cities and bank on appreciation while being cash flow negative. The excellent deals have both in play to your favor. Yeah, it's hard to find those deals...that just means you have to network and search harder.
You're 100% right re: risk/reward. But those rates, like stock prices, are set by the overall market consisting of millions of customers all with access to the same information. And they're not always 'right' (I'm just not smart enough to outsmart the stock market but in some small submarkets of RE I think I can see errors).
Some stock is still smart to buy because the overall market has assumed wrong regarding it's value (with the inverse just as true). I also feel in some areas of RE, the market has been too hard on, making cap rates higher than I feel they should (with the inverse just as true).
My whole business model is trying to find those properties that are priced lower than they should be due to the overall investor sentiment being more negative than my own outlook. They might view a property as risky, and punish it via a low price below where I feel it should be.
Classic example is this property I bought downtown (I hate to keep using that one as an example, it's just that one was on loopnet for a long time so no one can say 'well you just got a good off market deal'). That one people worried about due to it's occupancy and current condition -- both easily fixed. And it's downtown across from the Toyota Center for crying out loud. As such, I was able to buy it, fix it, and have it appraise for way over my buy+rehab price and get all + my $ out. In just a few months.
If I wasn't able to find properties that I feel the market had given the wrong risk/reward to, I'd have no way continue to buy new properties (at least not without bringing in new outside funds which I've not wanted to do). So I need to keep making the right call, so I can keep getting the equity from a property to get the next.
@Cody L. , I graduated in 99, so not too far off. I think it's likely that there are better deals in Escondido than most neighborhoods in San Diego proper. I think there is something about OOS investing that almost appeals to me more than local. It could be that I enjoy researching new areas and perhaps it's a way to experience areas vicariously. That said, I absolutely appreciate your thoughts on thoroughly understanding the market and having a trusted team in place.
@Paul Choi , I like your input on looking at both cash flow and potential appreciation and the idea of looking for deals that have both elements coming into play.
Dan Heuschele, I'm not inherently against investing locally, and for now, as a new investor, I'm not sure I represent your competition. I hadn't yet considered thinking of income tax and property tax being in some way inversely related in states, but I track your point on not taking highly income-taxed dollars into highly property-taxed states.
I have always focussed on cash flow, its not always been the easiest ride, but I believe if I could find a solution to a problem I could make a market work.
I started in the Atlanta market in 2011, buying foreclosure properties, rehabbing and renting, these well and truly met the 1% rule, today would be a different story.
At the time I was told by many investors I was buying the wrong properties as they were C grade. The rest is history, as Atlanta has experienced massive appreciation in practically all neighbourhoods.
My focus is still cash flow, lower end in Detroit, but I certainly not buying in war zones. I am following the same principals, buy in low, good neighbourhoods that are gentrifying that will cash flow and increase my income stream. Slow and steady she goes... but its working for me.
@Bala Apparao , thanks for the feedback and your thoughts looking back on your journey and process. As I read more and engage in these threads, I'm realizing that maybe my focus won't be cash flow centered to start.
I read many threads where OOS investors are freaking out because x,y, or z went wrong and the whole thing is blowing up. I find it pretty sad that so many folks are led astray.
I would invest close to me. Where I can either self manage, or keep my eye on things. This also allows me to know the market and not have to rely 100% on others for everything.
@Chad Lanting . I would advise against buying property in Texas. You get to pay high property taxes there and high income tax in CA. Uncle Sam will thank you as you pay lots of taxes.
@Mary Mitchell , I value your story. It sounds like you had a successful transition to a great MF opportunity combined with a new home base to live.
@Caleb Heimsoth , thanks for the thought. @Dan Heuschele had something similar to say about not taking heavily income taxed $'s into heavily property taxed states.
Cashflow is just one aspect of the over-all profit of the deal.
Investing OOS is risky when you chase that 1% rule buying in "C" areas which are really "D"s or "F"s.
Personally, I like to force the appreciation through quickly solving the problems of the property and/or doing value add improvements. MF investing is better in this regard than SF (I've done both).
@Chad Lanting - If I were to buy my own home again, I would buy either a duplex or at least a single-family home with an in-law unit. I own 3 single-family homes in San Francisco. I would rather manage one expensive home than 3 inexpensive homes because it's a lot less work. The two homes that I rented out to tenants were initially cash-flow-neutral or negative. They needed significant cosmetic work, and by spending $30K-$100K on each I gained twice that in value. The appreciation--from rehab and the Bay Area market--has been great, which was my main goal. And the rents have increased every year, so that in 5 years the cash flow has become solid and in 5 more years it will be strong. The downside in an expensive market like the Bay Area or New York is that often the cash flow isn't there. To balance the great long-term investment with cash flow, I've built a business renting homes from other landlords, then doing cosmetic repairs and renting them out to business travelers. It's been a nice balance so I can gain cash flow without needing to sell a property or refinance out of a low-interest mortgage.


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Evacuations Remain In Place As Stubborn Lake Fire Burns Near Lake Hughes
By CBSLA Staff August 14, 2020 at 10:45 pm
Filed Under:Brush Fire, KCAL 9, Lake Fire, Lake Hughes, Palmdale, Santa Clarita, Wildfire
REAL-TIME LAKE FIRE UPDATES
NEAR LAKE HUGHES (CBSLA) — Firefighters Friday continued to contend with the 17,000-plus acre wildfire burning near Lake Hughes which has destroyed several homes and forced dozens of people to flee.
Firefighters work to extinguish hotspots from the Lake Fire at Pine Canyon Road in the Angeles National Forest on August 13, 2020. (Getty Images)
The Lake Fire burning in the Angeles National Forest between Santa Clarita and Palmdale reached 17,482 acres and was 12% contained as of Friday night. The fire has destroyed at least 21 structures, officials said, and continues to threaten thousands more.
"Four of my friends lost their homes right up on canyon, just took it out, you know, it's just sad," one Lake Hughes man told CBSLA Thursday.
Homeowner Kenny Reynolds told CBSLA Thursday that his house was mostly destroyed and his property scorched.
"There was a big wall of flame, kind of came over a little quicker than we thought, usually it comes a lot slower, or last time it came a lot slower," Reynolds said, referring to 2013's Powerhouse Fire, which broke out in the Angeles National Forest and destroyed several dozen homes.
Reynolds said he barely had time to evacuate, as fire tornadoes formed on hillsides around his home.
"Stayed as long as we could, but it was kind of surrounding the house, and me and the neighbors evacuated as flames kind of engulfed his house," Reynolds said.
Aug. 14, 2020. (CBSLA)
Making the firefight even more dangerous will be dangerously high temperatures sweeping the region Friday afternoon and remaining through Monday.
RELATED: Residents Allowed To Return To Their Homes As Firefighters Make Progress On Ranch Fire Near Azusa
On Thursday, crews were able to take advantage of some temporary relief thanks to light rainfall brought in by tropical storm Elida in order to increase containment. That relief dissipated late Thursday and into Friday, when the blaze flared up again and continued to spread further.
"So it really just goes to show how erratic fire can be and if the conditions are ripe, which they are now, it can be very, very unpredictable," said L.A. County Fire Department spokesperson Sky Cornell.
The blaze was reported just after 3:30 p.m. Wednesday in the area of Lake Hughes and Pine Canyon roads and quickly exploded amid swirling winds and high temperatures, forcing the evacuation of about 100 homes.
Some parts of the Angeles National Forest have not burned since the 1960s, fire officials said, leaving decades of brush ready to ignite in areas of rough terrain.
The goal is to keep the blaze contained within an area bordered by Castaic Lake to the south, Highway 138 to the north, Red Rock Mountain to the west and Tule Ridge to the east, authorities said Thursday.
As of Friday, day three of the fire, crews say they are still trying to put out spot fires on both sides of Pine Cayon Road.
Evacuation centers were set up for displaced residents at Highland High School in Palmdale and the Castaic Sports Complex. However, because of the coronavirus pandemic, evacuees must remain in their cars.
As of Friday night, 1,563 firefighters from LACFD, U.S. Forest Service and several other surrounding agencies were battling the blaze with the help of several water-dropping helicopters.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Evacuations will remain until power can be restored to the region, officials said. The following evacuation orders were in place:
Lake Hughes Road West of Pine Canyon and North of Dry Gulch Rd.
East of Ridge Route Road
West of Lake Hughes Road and Fire Station 78
North of Pine Canyon and Lake Hughes Road
South of SR-138
Several roads were closed:
Lake Hughes Road is closed from Ridge Route Road to Pine Canyon.
3 Points Rd from Highway 138 to Pine Canyon.
Old Ridge Road from Highway 138 to Pine Canyon.
San Francisquito Canyon Rd from Stator Lane to Spunky Canyon.
The Forest Service also made the decision to restrict public access to the Angeles National Forest, including the Cottonwood, Spunky Canyon and Sawmill-Liebre campgrounds, and a small section of the Pacific Crest Trail.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help assist the community with relief efforts as the fire remains active.
CBSLA Staff
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Home News Teenage brothers who shattered skull of former care worker unmasked
Teenage brothers who shattered skull of former care worker unmasked
News George Holan · July 1, 2022 · 0 Comment
Two teenagers who beat a man in a "frenzied" attack in a row over a frisbee and left him fighting for life can be named for the first time.
Archie and George Tilley were jailed on Thursday after shattering the skull of former carer Alan Willson, 47, on Easter Sunday last year.
Mr Willson was injured so badly his family was told he would not survive, after suffering fractures to his face, ribs and spine.
George Tilley was only 13-years-old and his brother Archie 14 when they attacked Mr Willson with a heavy blunt object.
They were previously found guilty of inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent after a trial at Lewes Crown Court in Hove.
Lifting a reporting restriction at the sentencing hearing, Judge Christine Henson QC said the pair were a significant danger to the public having dismissed their claim of self defense as lacking credibility.
Another teenager, Harry Furlong, 18, was jailed for 20 months for his part in the attack.
Archie Tilley (L) and George Tilley (R) beat Alan Willson with a 'blunt heavy object'
(SussexPolice)
The judge said it was just luck Mr Willson had not been killed.
The brothers showed no emotion when they were handed nine-year custodial sentences. A three year extended license was added by the judge following an assessment of their dangerousness.
"This was a group activity, initiated by Archie, enthusiastically joined by George," Ms Henson said.
Archie Tilley had two previous convictions for three offenses while George had fire convictions for 18 offenses – the latter was only 10-years-old when he recorded his first offenses, all of which were for violence including ABH and battery.
Former care worker Alan Willson, will never speak again his family has said
A boy who witnessed the attack described how Mr Willson and the other three boys started arguing.
The boy told police: "One of them just came like grabbing and pushing him and then they all started whacking him with like stumps or like really large thick sticks."
Mr Willson was bleeding heavily from his ears and head when his wife found him lying on a park footpath near their home in Worthing, West Sussex.
The jury was shown train station CCTV footage of the boys re-enacting their assault on Mr Willson. The teenagers bragged and joked as Mr Willson was being airlifted to hospital.
A girl who saw the boys at the train station described to police how they were "bragging".
Harry Furlong was jailed for his part in beating Alan Willson
In a victim impact statement, Mrs Willson told the court her life had stopped. "On Sunday 4th April 2021, Easter Sunday you destroyed my family and have broken us beyond repair.
"I will never forget turning up in that park and seeing what you had done to my Alan. You took away a husband, father grandad, brother, cousin and uncle.
"Now, because of your actions, my husband cannot speak, cannot play with his children, cannot work and cannot control his body. He has no mental capacity, no vision in his left eye and has a massive brain injury from which he will never fully recover.
"He will never again be able to enjoy the things he took so much pleasure in," she continued. "He no longer says silly things to make us laugh. He no longer gives us hugs and cuddles that we used to enjoy so much.
"No sentence that you get will ever be long enough as it is Alan who has the life sentence together with myself and my family."
"My life has stopped. There is no more joy," Mrs Willson said. She added that while her husband has recovered as much as he can, he will never speak again and has no mental capacity.
"He is the most frustrated person I've ever seen because on the days when he has capacity, he knows what he wants to say but he can't say it," she added.