Wild People Quiet - by Tara Gereaux (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A taut, exquisitely rendered story exploring the repercussions of a woman's decision to hide her Métis identity while living in a small, predominantly white prairie town in the 1940s, for readers of The Berry Pickers, Tommy Orange, and The Vanishing Half.

Torduvalle, Saskatchewan, 1946.

Florence has created a beautiful life for herself. Her home is immaculate; she is a model employee at Pratt's Insurance, where she works as a secretary. Her hair is the perfect shade of movie-star blonde--never once does she allow her brown roots to show. She dyes them every other Saturday night, without fail.

But one morning, everything changes.

Florence notices a new group of men at the local diner, Métis workers from out of town, hired on for the season at a nearby farm. And one of them has a connection to the past that Florence has spent her entire life outrunning. He has one simple request for her.

Suddenly, Florence is thrown back into memories of her life before. Suddenly, the line between who she once was and who she has chosen to be feels very thin.

And when Florence learns of the government's plans for the Métis community on the fringes of town, she will be faced with a choice--one that will shatter her carefully constructed life forever.

This extraordinary novel asks us what we will do for our community, for our families, for our friends, even at our own expense. It examines the harrowing effects of choosing to live as someone else--and the radiant peace that comes from finally living one's truth. Gripping, wrenching, and utterly immersive, Wild People Quiet is a stunning achievement by a remarkable literary talent.

Review Quotes

"A haunting novel about survival and ambition, family and belonging. A meditation on art and life, and one woman's astounding choice amid impossible circumstances. Wild People Quiet is a gripping story with high stakes. It's also a family story, told in lovingly-rendered detail, with the quiet care and precision of the beadworker at its center. Gereaux leaves nothing on the table. Wild People Quiet is a masterful work of historical fiction, echoing into the present day. It is a powerful, moving, and important read, for all of us, and for many years to come."
-- ELIANA RAMAGE, author of To the Moon and Back

"The stories of our grandmothers live within these pages. Gereaux lays down our collective Métis memory one bead at a time. Hers is a vital voice in Métis storytelling today."
-- LISA BIRD-WILSON, award-winning author of Probably Ruby

"What a beautifully written and powerful story. kiichi maarsii, kinahnahskomtin ni wahkomahkahn...Every word was michin--medicine. Gentle, strong, healing michin. That is what otipaimsowin--owning yourself--is all about."
-- MARIA CAMPBELL, author of Halfbreed

"Absolutely captivating! From the first page Tara Gereaux's Wild People Quiet held me spellbound. The novel follows the story of Florence who is born to a Métis family around the turn of the century, but who is light-skinned enough to pass as white. She must make a choice between the family she loves and the world that will accept her only if she denies them. Like the beading does for Florence, this is a story that leads to reconnection and healing--uncovering an often overlooked time in Métis history. This book is a gift."
-- MICHELLE PORTER, bestselling author of A Grandmother Begins the Story

"Tara Gereaux's Wild People Quiet is a story as exquisite and beautiful as the beadwork detailed in its pages. A triumph."
-- HELEN HUMPHREYS, author of Followed by the Lark

"There is nothing better than being swept into the current of a great story. That is what Tara Gereaux does from the first page to the beautiful ending. I'm so grateful for Wild People Quiet, a novel that fleshes out some of the dark chapters of the history of Canada, and especially for this wonderful new writer. Mamaskatch!"
-- SHELAGH ROGERS, host of Words and Culture: The Michif Episodes; Founding Host, The Next Chapter

About the Author

Tara Gereaux is the author of Saltus, which was shortlisted for the 2022 ReLit Novel Award and three Saskatchewan Book Awards; and Size of a Fist, a teen novella, which was also shortlisted for two Saskatchewan Book Awards. Tara holds an MFA in creative writing from UBC and has worked as a writer and story editor for film and television. She is a citizen of the Métis Nation-Saskatchewan and lives in Regina on Treaty 4 territory and the homeland of the Métis.