A 1998 novel by Manitoba Cree author Thomson Highway, author of the plays The Rez Sisters and Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing. Highway holds three honourary degrees, and is a member of the Order of Canada. Kiss of the Fur Queen is his first novel.

With great insight, tenderness and humour, Kiss of the Fur Queen tells the story of Cree caribou hunter Abraham Okimasis and his sons Jeremiah and Gabriel. Born in the fictional village of Eemanapiteepitat, northern Manitoba* in the early 1950s, both boys -- first Jeremiah, then Gabriel -- are sent at the age of seven to board for ten months of the year at the Birch Lake Indian Residential School**. There they are immersed in Catholic dogma, punished for speaking Cree and subjected to mysterious nighttime visits by the cigar-smoking Father Lafleur.

The story of what happens to the Okimasis brothers during their years at residential school -- and in the years that followed -- would read as tragedy if Tomson Highway (left) didn't make you laugh so hard while reading it. Jeremiah and Gabriel are smart, passionate and funny, and therein lies their salvation. The scene in which "Father Gabriel" holds mass for a congregation consisting of "sticks broken off at various lengths and arranged in three neat rows across the meadow" together with his dog Kiputz ("the most devout among the faithful") cracked me up ("Me a cowboy, me a cowboy, me a Mexican cowboy"!). At the same time, it delivered a pointed message -- as this book does generally -- about the sometimes complicated relationship between kids and their abusers.

Fur Queen also has a strong spiritual dimension. Highway's "Note on the Trickster" at the beginning of the book is essential to understanding the role of the Fur Queen. She shows up throughout the novel as herself, and sometimes thinly disguised (watch for her in the tragic story of Evelyn Rose McCrae at pp. 105 - 106, and during the boys' shopping expedition at Fischman's - p. 117).

Kiss of the Fur Queen was nominated for the Chapters/Books in Canada First Novel Award and the CBA Libris Fiction Book of the Year Award. I'm astonished it wasn't nominated for either of the more important Canadian book awards (the Governor General's Award or the Giller). It was absolutely one of the best novels I've read this year.

*Eemanapiteepitat may have been based on Highway's home community of Brochet, Manitoba, where he was born in 1951. His father, Joe Highway, was a trapper and fisherman, and a legendary dog-sled racer. For the first six years of Highway's life he lived a traditional nomadic lifestyle in northwestern Manitoba, in which Cree was the only language spoken. He only became fluent in English in his late teens.

**Birch Lake Indian Residential School may be a fictional creation, but it would be modeled after one of many Indian Residential Schools which existed in Manitoba -- and across Canada -- during the 19th and 20th centuries. Author Highway was himself sent to a Roman Catholic boarding school at the age of six.Click here to see a list of such schools, and a .pdf map of their locations.

INTERNATIONAL BOOKRAY

Rules of this bookray:
1. This is an international bookray -- if you join, you must be willing to ship anywhere.
2. Please journal the book when you receive it, and again when you mail it out -- that way, everyone will know the book's approximate location.
3. If you don't think you'll be able to read this book within a reasonable time of receipt, please let me know before it's sent to you by the previous reader, and I'll be happy to move your name down the list.
4. Whether you have read the book or not, please do not keep it longer than six weeks. Thanks!

Participants:
1. ruthwater - Manchester, UK - rec'd September 27, 04; mailed September 30, 04.
2. arturogrande - Coalville, Leicestershire, UK - rec'd October 2, 04; mailed October 9, 04.
3. salemhouse - Byron, Minnesota, USA - rec'd October 24, 04; mailed October 30, 04.
4. jenvince - Sherman Oaks, California, USA - rec'd November 10, 04; mailed November 23, 04.
5. RikkiDD - Dresden, Sachsen, Germany - rec'd December 5, 04; mailed December 23, 04.
6. amambaw - Busan, South Korea - rec'd January 10, 05; mailed February 7, 05.
7. Auglaise - Cardiff, Wales, UK - rec'd February 17, 05; mailed February 25, 05.
8. dodau - Bristol, England, UK - rec'd March 31, 05; mailed April 18, 05.
9. deans-girl - Melbourne, Australia - rec'd June 6, 05; mailed September 05.
10. miss-gonewest - Perth, WA, Australia - rec'd October 5, 05; sent November 3, 05.
11. morpha - Astoria, Oregon, USA - rec'd November 17, 05.
12. CdnBlueRose - Arvada, Colorado, USA - rec'd November 28, 05.
13. Sobergirl - Turku, Varsinais-Suomi Finland - rec'd May 05, 06.
14. CandyDarling - Helsinki, Finland - rec'd June 1, 06.

I'll be mailing this book to ruthwater in Manchester, England later today (the goodies inside are for you and your kids to keep!). Best wishes from New Westminster, British Columbia (at left: the Fraser River, as seen from the top of my street).

This arrived today - thanks goatgirrl for the little extras enclosed. I just started it and after three chapters I'm already drawn in by the lyrical style and superb evocation of place and culture. Looking forward to making further comments soon.

The experience of reading this extraordinary novel epitomizes the spirit of BXing for me - it's about encountering and enjoying books which simply wouldn't come into your life through conventional channels.

An English reader, I learnt so much from this book. I learnt that there are Indian tribes up in the sub-Arctic (I always thought the Innuit lived there). I gained an insight into the pain that can lie behind a promiscuous gay lifestyle - despite living less than five miles from Manchester's famous Gay Village I would be unlikely to browse the G&L section of a bookstore, so this was new to me. I picked up a few choice Cree phrases and filled my head with memorable images. I especially relished the encounter with the God/Trickster figure, a femme fatale showgirl with a fox's head! In fact, Tomson Highway is excellent at showing how early experiences, both good and bad, shape our perception of the Divine.

To tell the truth my heart sank when I realised I was in for another tale of child abuse in a residential Catholic school - it seemed so hackneyed. But nothing is laboured - exactly the right details are chosen, nothing less, nothing more. In particular, I was moved by the quiet but searing revelation towards the end of the book that the older brother had suffered as well as the younger, and had locked it inside his psyche with devastating results.

It takes a light touch and great sensitivity to tread the line between comedy and tragedy, as this book does. Some of the most heartrending pages are also laugh-out-loud funny. I'm reminded of Kubrick's remark on making "Dr Strangelove" - that when faced with the madness of MAD, comedy seemed the only appropriate response. How can we ever hope to make sense of the randomness of life? Amongst the particular lessons of this book, its insights into a culture mostly unknown to me (Cree-language TV soaps, for example!), there were reminders of the universal human motivations - the search for human contact, the problems of communicating with previous generations and the importance of maintaining integrity in a trivializing culture.

In general, highly recommended. Thank you, goatgrrl!

Arrived safely this morning. Thanks very much, goatgrrl, for sharing yet another wonderful book with us.

I was completely entranced by this book - and was amazed by the skilful way Tomson Highway managed to blend great tragedy with beauty and even humour. Child abuse, alienation, thoughts of suicide and AIDS are all subjects which - when not handled in the right way - could depress a reader so much that they might close the book in despair and not go on with it.
But the sheer beauty and poetry of Highway's language, combined with a narrative structure from a writing tradition different from the one with which most Western readers are familiar, meant that this book was alive, human and - yes, really -uplifting.
Parts made me laugh out loud - ('Me a cowboy...'), parts made me flinch in horror (Grown-up Jeremiah's sudden memory) and others brought a lump to my throat (the Fur Queen's final visit in the last pages).
This is a book which will stay with me for a long time.

Thank you so much, goatgrrl, for allowing me to read this remarkable novel.

It's now on its way to salemhouse - I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Arrived safely in Minnesota, and reading is in progress.

I have mixed feelings about this book. While it was well written, it was very dark and sad. As the story took so many leaps in time, it was difficult for me to follow when and where things were happening. I guess I like to have things spelled out more clearly, and I'd rather spend more time getting to know the characters in greater depth at a certain stage, rather than trying to catch up each time we jumped through a few years.

Has arrived safely. Will get to this as soon as I can - have two rings ahead of it.

I finished this last night. Very descriptive writing. Some of the story line was a little uh...um...uh...uncomfortable, but overall an interesting story.

Weeblet has asked to be skipped.

Update 11/21: received address from RikkiDD - plan to mail on Tuesday.

The book finally found its way to Europe safely and will be read very soon.

What a book, what a story.
I was able to talk to people living in Kamloops, Canada which belong originally to Blackfoot Indians. I found it very sad what they told me and this story remembered me more than once at their feelings and expiriences.
The author is able to transport the feelings, fears and also the happiness of the characters.
It must be extremely hard to live in a foreign culture far from home for a child and also for ardults. It doesn't make it easier if you "adopt" the new mentality and culture.

Released on Thursday, December 23, 2004 at about 11:00:00 AM BX time (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada) at mailed to a fellow bookcrosser in N/A, A Bookring Controlled Releases.

RELEASE NOTES:

Will be sent out by surface mail if the "holidayterror" isn't to bad. (If I can't manage it, it will go out as soon as the holidays are over)
It went out to South Korea today

WHOO HOOOOOOOOOOO! I've been waiting (impatiently) ever since I joined this ring, and finally the book has arrived. I wonder if this is Tomson Highway's first trip to Korea... hmmm.

Anyway, I have nothing else ahead of this book, so I'll be starting this evening. Thanks, goatgrrl, for including me in this ring.

I just finished this one last night. What an amazing read. Tomson Highway is definitely a gifted storyteller. His weaving of tragedy and humour, the past and the present, reality and fantasy, was amazing. The story itself was one that I have heard a lot about, coming from a community where there was a residential school (Kamloops, BC), and where there are still many open wounds in our First Nations community. The reality is not far from the fiction of this story, so I have learned from the few First Nations people I have talked to in my hometown.

I think my favorite character was Amanda Clear Sky. Not only does she have the same name as me (the symbolism of our name meaning was very neat, as it means Worthy of Love, how apropos for her character!), but she was a voice for the past living in the present, something that many European Canadians seem to have a hard time reconciling.

Anyway, I could write a whole essay on this book, it's symbols and why I loved it, but instead, I will send it on to the next reader on the list, as soon as I get their mailing addy.

Goatgrrl! Thanks so much for letting me participate! Amanda

I just found a very worthwhile of Kiss of the Fur Queen in Quill & Quire, a Canadian publishing industry magazine. For anyone interested, it's available online here.

Okay, after having this book for way to long, I have finally sent it off! I was holding it for about two weeks before I finally managed to get it to the post office (granted, one week I was away on holiday, but still). It's off in the mail to Auglaise. I hope the rest of you enjoy it as much as I did. Highway is a profound and wonderful writer.

Received yesterday, thank you!

I really liked the way that the Cree legends were incorporated into this story. Even being from the Pacific Northwest in the States where we get quite alot of Native American influence, I think I've probably learned more about Cree culture from this book than I knew about any other Native American tribe before.

Thank you very much for sharing this with me, and I'll be passing it on as soon as I'm able!

Sent off today!

Arrived safely this morning.

This was really a case of not judging a book by it's cover. From that and the description I imagined this would be a hard read that would take a couple of days. In fact it took me one. It's very mystical and goes into the Cree race and their beliefs quite a lot but it is enjoyable to someone who knew absolutely nothing about them before.

RELEASE NOTES:

Thanks very much for forwarding the Fur Queen to me. I have a few books ahead of it at the moment, but I've already read the first chapter and enjoyed it, so I'll probably scoot it up the list and pass it on quickly.

PMd deans-girl asking for an update on the status of this book.

I started this book as soon as I received it and could not get into it at all. I put it aside, got busy and it wasn't until goatgrrl PM'd me that I received the motivation I needed to pick it up again. I started at the beginning again. I found there was so much in it, and it the culture was so foreign to me, that I needed to be careful not to race through it (I'm a bit prone to speed reading).

Overall, I'm pleased that I read it. I found it sad and poignant, and a reminder that you can make your life whatever you want it to be, despite what obstacles (and creeps) you run into along the way. Thanks for the Woman in White postcard/bookmark dodau - it fits well with the Fur Queen.

I'll PM miss-gonewest now and get the book moving again.

This book arrived with me a few days ago and I can't wait to read it (Goatgrrl's books are always so wonderful).

I have another wee ring in front of it, but I am hoping to get to this one in the next few days.

Thanks to deansgirl for sending it to me.

Wow... what a book! Its been far too long since I've been so enchanted by a book, and in fact I've been thinking about it for the last few days after I finished it. That to me is the sign of a good book.

Honestly, I don't know where to start with my thoughts... although I just read the article on Highway (link posted by Goatgrrl), and was so saddened to know that this book was pretty much an autobiography (I had thought it was more fictional). I guess it makes it easier to think that it was Thomson Highway's imagination, than the cold hard truth.

I have to admit that my knowledge of the Cree folk was pretty much non-existant.... or in fact knowledge of Native Americans so I was fascinated from the very beginning. My most favourite thing about the book that made me giggle, were the names. I thought they were just precious. I was also interested to know that the word 'aboriginal' can also be applied to the Native Indian race, I had thought it was more of an Australian word.

I too found that Highway depicted the boys' upbringing in a gentle and touching manner - like others have said, I wasn't looking forward to another grim story about child abuse - but the message, delivered subtlely still delivered quite a punch to the reader.

The fantasy woven through the book was delightful, I found it a nice balance to the sadness, and the Fur Queen was a comforting theme. I was particularly saddened by Gabriels life - his confusion and lonliness really made me feel for him. As amambaw said, other than Abraham (who I loved from page 1) I think Amanda Clear Sky was my favourite - although maybe as she seemed to the only 'normal' character.

Thanks must go to Goatgrrl for sharing yet another wonderful book... as others have said I wouldn't have had the chance to read this if she hadn't offered it, and I am so thankful to have had the experience. I will certainly wait in anticipation for more of Highway's work - I am sure I will be the better for reading it.

I will PM morpha now for their address so I can send this wonderful book along.


* * Update 26th Oct: Two PM's sent to morpha for her address... will keep trying. And goodness I can waffle, just realised how long my JE was. Sorry folks!

RELEASE NOTES:

Posted via Airmail today to Morpha. I hope this book brings her as much as it did to me.

Thanks again for sharing goatgrrl.

Thanks again for sending out this book ring goatgrrl! Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book as much as I had hoped I would.

The beginning and end were magical, lyrical, beautiful. My favorite character was Mariesis Okimasis. Unfortunately, once they left for boarding school, I did not like the characters of the two Okimasis brothers - nor did I care for how each responded to the abuses they encountered at the boarding school.

I have read other books that dealt with this subject, "The Education of Little Tree" and "Rabbit-Proof Fence." These characters were strong and able to overcome, even escape from the horrible boarding school environment. Perhaps the manner in which the Okimasis brothers dealt with their abuses was just too painful to me - seems to me that they were never able to rise above those experiences but carried them with them all their lives.

Knowing next to nothing about Cree culture, I enjoyed being exposed to it. I did not ,however, find this book to be funny except when I read the glossary of Cree language in the back of the book and found out what everyone's favorite song, Kimoosoom chimasoo was all about.


It breaks my heart to learn more about sending the children of indigenous cultures to boarding school did to those cultures. Those children had their native language and traditions beaten out of them. Entire generations learned to be ashamed of their culture, much to the detriment of these cultures. For many years, I lived near the Navajo Reservation and was able to experience firsthand what these schools did to generations of Navajos. Often, the teachers at these schools were for various reasons, unable to obtain teaching positions elsewhere- perhaps because of lack of teaching ability, or some emotional defect such as sadistic cruelty or pederasty. Consequently, generations of Navajos are fluent in neither their own language nor english and were saddled with emotional disorders as a result of their treatment at these prisons of cultural genocide. What a horrible loss.

I received this book in the mail today and can't wait to read it! I've been looking forward to it ever since I signed up for the bookring because I am originally from Manitoba and I grew up not far from an Indian Residential School (Birtle). Even though I grew up close by and attended school in Birtle myself, the Indian Residential School was on the opposite side of the valley from our school - it was outside of town - and it always seemed to be shrouded in mystery! We never learned much about it, we never got answers to our questions about it - other than "that's where the Indian kids go, stay away from there" - and it just became a part of life that was accepted without question, but occasionally whispered and wondered about! Looking back on that, it seems utterly ridiculous, and I'd have to say that I'm ashamed to say that I still know nothing about Manitoba's Indian Residential Schools! I'm going to read this asap and post again!

OH NO! I just realized I still had this book and haven't read it yet! My apologies for the hold up! I'm starting it tonight and will read quickly and get it on it's way ASAP!! So sorry!!

I have PM'd CandyDarling for her address.

Excellent book! Wow - I'd highly recommend this to anyone! I've just finished reading it and I'm waiting for an address to send it on it's way. I did a search to see if Tomson Highway had written any other books since as I'd love to read anything else, but he hasn't written any other novels. I did find out though, that Kiss of the Fur Queen is based on the events that lead to Tomson's own brother's death. It's a beautiful book - definitely one of the best I've read this year! Hopefully someone will provide an address to me soon so that I can get the book moving again.....

Mailing to Sobergirl today - ENJOY!

The book is now in Finland and I will start reading it asap

I had a very hard time getting into this book, I tried many times, but couldn't get a grip on the story. Maybe it is because we're right in the middle of spring now with flowers blooming, trees turning green, and the book is all about winter and ice and cold? Who knows.
I'm sending it to CandyDarling.

Received the book today, thanks!

I enjoyed Kiss of the Fur Queen although the book was hard to read at times. The story of the two brothers is a sad one, but that is expected. I was already aware of the child abuse and cultural genocide going on at the residential schools, so I wasn't surprised, but knowing about it made reading about it no easier. It's horrible that the same pattern has been repeated all over the world where indigenous people live - the Sami here in Finland were also sent to boarding schools where they were taught to hate their culture and language.

I loved getting to know a bit more about the Cree because I wasn't familiar with them before. I enjoyed most the very beginning of the book, which felt truly magical, especially seen through the eyes of a child. Later in the book I kept hoping that things would turn out well, but they don't always do, especially when the novel is autobiographical. Tomson Highway described beautifully the alienation he felt in the city.

I'm truly glad I got the chance to read this book. I will try to find more readers for it.

Gave to a boocrosser at the Helsinki meet-up.

CandyDarling said this is a good book and I believe her. I know that the book will make me sad and angry but it does not matter..
Thank you for the book, Bookcrossers!