About this item
Highlights
- Terrible things happen side by side with the ordinary.
- Author(s): Adriana Chartrand
- 256 Pages
- Fiction + Literature Genres, Native American & Aboriginal
Description
About the Book
"A chilling horror novel about a young Indigenous woman haunted by the oppressive legacies of colonization. Dawn hasn't spoken to her brother, Cody, since he was sent to prison for a violent crime seven years ago. Now living in a shiny new Toronto condo, Dawn is haunted by uncanny occurrences, including cryptic messages from her dead mother, that have followed her most of her life. When the life Dawn thought she wanted implodes, she is forced to return to her childhood home and the prairie city that hold so much pain for her and her fractured family. Cody is unexpectedly released from prison with a mysterious new friend by his side, who seems to be the charismatic leader of a dangerous supernatural network. Trying to uncover their plans, Dawn follows increasingly sinister leads until the lines between this world and the next, now and then, and right and wrong begin to blur and dissolve. What unfolds is an eerie, incisive, and at times darkly funny horror novel about a young Indigenous woman reckoning with trauma and violence, loss and reclamation in an unsettling world where spirit realms entwine with the living--and where it is humans who carry out the truly monstrous acts."--Book Synopsis
Terrible things happen side by side with the ordinary.
Dawn hasn't spoken to her brother, Cody, since he was sent to prison for a violent crime seven years ago. But when Dawn's seemingly perfect life in the big city implodes, she is forced to return to her childhood home and the prairie city that still holds so much pain for her and her fractured family. Cody is released from prison with a mysterious new friend by his side, and Dawn must follow increasingly sinister leads to uncover their nefarious plans to access a dangerous supernatural network. As the lines between right and wrong blur and dissolve, Dawn recons with trauma and violence, loss and reclamation in an unsettling world where spirit realms entwine with the living--and where it is humans who carry out the truly monstrous acts.
Review Quotes
"An Ordinary Violence is an exceptionally executed work of atmospheric horror that delivers cruelly and completely. Chartrand masterfully draws out the narrative, gradually heightening the tension through skillful restraint and careful pacing." -- Literary Review of Canada
"An Ordinary Violence promises an unforgettable read." -- Indiginews
"A chilling picture of trauma, grief, and violence that is anything but ordinary." -- Library Journal
"A cinematic, haunting debut that explores the many ways trauma and violence stay with us, the benefits and dangers of a physical reality merging with a spiritual one, and how the most dangerous monsters we ever face may be the ones we already know." -- Chicago Review of Books
"Creepy and unsettling, this assured debut addresses the ways violence, grief, and unprocessed trauma reverberate over years, keeping fractured psyches and relationships from mending." -- Booklist
"This eerie and darkly funny horror novel explores the aftermath of trauma, violence, and loss in worlds inhabited by spirits along with humans." -- Prairie Books NOW