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The Strangers
From the bestselling author of The Break comes a staggering intergenerational saga that explores how connected we are, even when we're no longer together--even when we're forced apart.
Cedar has nearly forgotten what her family looks like. Phoenix has nearly forgotten what freedom feels like. And Elsie has nearly given up hope. Nearly.
After time spent in foster homes, Cedar goes to live with her estranged father. Although she grapples with the pain of being separated from her mother, Elsie, and sister, Phoenix, she's hoping for a new chapter in her life, only to find herself once again in a strange house surrounded by strangers. From a youth detention centre, Phoenix gives birth to a baby she'll never get to raise and tries to forgive herself for all the harm she's caused (while wondering if she even should). Elsie, struggling with addiction and determined to turn her life around, is buoyed by the idea of being reunited with her daughters and strives to be someone they can depend on, unlike her own distant mother. These are the Strangers, each haunted in her own way. Between flickering moments of warmth and support, the women diverge and reconnect, fighting to survive in a fractured system that pretends to offer success but expects them to fail. Facing the distinct blade of racism from those they trusted most, they urge one another to move through the darkness, all the while wondering if they'll ever emerge safely on the other side.
A breathtaking companion to her bestselling debut The Break, Vermette's The Strangers brings readers into the dynamic world of the Stranger family, the strength of their bond, the shared pain in their past, and the light that beckons from the horizon. This is a searing exploration of race, class, inherited trauma, and matrilineal bonds that--despite everything--refuse to be broken.
Cedar has nearly forgotten what her family looks like. Phoenix has nearly forgotten what freedom feels like. And Elsie has nearly given up hope. Nearly.
After time spent in foster homes, Cedar goes to live with her estranged father. Although she grapples with the pain of being separated from her mother, Elsie, and sister, Phoenix, she's hoping for a new chapter in her life, only to find herself once again in a strange house surrounded by strangers. From a youth detention centre, Phoenix gives birth to a baby she'll never get to raise and tries to forgive herself for all the harm she's caused (while wondering if she even should). Elsie, struggling with addiction and determined to turn her life around, is buoyed by the idea of being reunited with her daughters and strives to be someone they can depend on, unlike her own distant mother. These are the Strangers, each haunted in her own way. Between flickering moments of warmth and support, the women diverge and reconnect, fighting to survive in a fractured system that pretends to offer success but expects them to fail. Facing the distinct blade of racism from those they trusted most, they urge one another to move through the darkness, all the while wondering if they'll ever emerge safely on the other side.
A breathtaking companion to her bestselling debut The Break, Vermette's The Strangers brings readers into the dynamic world of the Stranger family, the strength of their bond, the shared pain in their past, and the light that beckons from the horizon. This is a searing exploration of race, class, inherited trauma, and matrilineal bonds that--despite everything--refuse to be broken.
336 pages
First published September 28, 2021
About the author
Katherena Vermette
36 books1,069 followersKatherena Vermette is a Canadian writer, who won the Governor General's Award for English-language poetry in 2013 for her collection North End Love Songs. Vermette is of Metis descent and from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She was a MFA student in creative writing at the University of British Columbia.
Her children's picture book series The Seven Teachings Stories was published by Portage and Main Press in 2015. In addition to her own publications, her work has also been published in the literary anthology Manitowapow: Aboriginal Writings from the Land of Water. She is a member of the Aboriginal Writers Collective of Manitoba, and edited the anthology xxx ndn: love and lust in ndn country in 2011.
Vermette has described her writing as motivated by an activist spirit, particularly on First Nations issues. The title of her book refers to Winnipeg's North End.
Her children's picture book series The Seven Teachings Stories was published by Portage and Main Press in 2015. In addition to her own publications, her work has also been published in the literary anthology Manitowapow: Aboriginal Writings from the Land of Water. She is a member of the Aboriginal Writers Collective of Manitoba, and edited the anthology xxx ndn: love and lust in ndn country in 2011.
Vermette has described her writing as motivated by an activist spirit, particularly on First Nations issues. The title of her book refers to Winnipeg's North End.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 880 reviews
April 29, 2021
He’d always talk about being a Stranger like it was a good thing, like it was the opposite of what the world seemed to think it was. “Never forget who you are, Margogo, and who you come from. We are warriors, us. We are Métis. We have fought and won our freedom. We’ve never lived by their rules. Aren’t meant to. We have to be free.”
The Strangers tells the story of four generations of a Métis family (the “Strangers” of the title), as told in rotating POVs by four women of the family (a grandmother, her daughter, and two teenaged sisters from the third generation). It wasn’t until after I finished this that I realised that one of these teenagers was a central character in Katherena Vermette’s last novel (The Break) — and while it isn’t necessary to have read one before the other, I had some questions cleared up once I made that connection. Once again, Vermette has created a roster of incredibly real characters whose stories touched my heart (I was in tears, more than once, over moments of simple human connection), and once again, she has taught me what it is like to live as a member of the urban Métis community of Winnipeg — the pressures, stresses, and prejudices unique to this particular racialised group — without me, as a citizen of the dominant, settler culture of Canada, feeling blamed or vilified. The Strangers touched me emotionally, taught me intellectually, and was a satisfying literary journey; this is everything I love in a book. (Note: I read an ARC through NetGalley and passages quoted may not be in their final forms.)
Back then, we were always so happy to see each other. It was like Christmas every time. Mama was in treatment and normal, and Phoenix was in a group home in West St. Paul. I remember missing and loving them both so much. Phoenix missed me too. She’d always give me a hug so big and so long I thought she’d never let me go. She’d hug me before she hugged anyone else. Even Sparrow who was so small she’d cling to my side for the first bit, unsure about Phoenix and Mama, as if they were strangers.
There is a satisfying irony to this book’s title: Not only is this a family of “Strangers” (apparently a very common Métis name), but with some kids going into foster care, others being raised without getting to know all of their extended family, people keeping secrets from one another, or otherwise disappearing or becoming unknowable, this is a story of how members of the same family can become strangers to one another. (I want to note here that Vermette made excellent use of the Covid-related restrictions that came into effect this last year; masks and plexiglass barriers add extra layers of disconnection.) It’s also a story about cultural identity: how strangers judge people by the shade gradients of their skin, how ancestral knowledge can be encoded in “bone memory” even if it had never been outwardly passed down, and between “Pretendians”, the proud Indigenous storytellers and ceremony-keepers who keep their culture alive, and those blonde-haired blue-eyed Métis who try to “pass” as white, how much of identity is self-created:
To think she was almost free of it. She had almost overcome the sad Indian stereotype. She’d almost became an example. She used to try and tell herself she was only Métis, not a real Indian, as if that could spare her from it. Even though it never spared her family. It never made any difference at all to anyone on the outside looking in. She tried to hide it, kill it in her, be as white as possible, pass, but it didn’t much matter what she did. To the world she was still a squaw. Trying to reason that she was only half a squaw didn’t matter much to anyone else, not even her. And here she was now. Alone in a big empty house. Her family useless — every last one of them. Nothing to look back on but a bunch of shameful stories. No successes to speak of. Nothing to show for a life of hard work. Until now.
With the stories of these three generations of women unspooling over the length of the novel — and with some threads filling in information on the previous and ensuing generation — the reader watches as family traits get passed down; as well as similar triumphs, familiar fights, mistakes, misunderstandings, and missed opportunities for connection. Although there’s no real explanation for why the men throughout the generations all seem to have become punks and criminals (their behaviour is not overtly linked to systemic prejudice, addictions, or lack of opportunity), it was amazing to watch as Phoenix becomes more self-aware over her years in the system (with medication to mellow her mood and Indigenous teachings giving her something to connect with, she’s not quite the “monster” that people say she is). As the storyline progresses, Vermette does a masterful job of letting the readers in on who these characters are; puzzle pieces click into place to show a betrayal here, an unacknowledged meanness there, and we can see the moment where lives were nudged off the rails. I cried for them because Vermette made me care for them and I am enlarged for having got to know the Strangers. A book to watch come literary awards season.
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November 30, 2021I dnf at 40%.
This is a book by Katherena Vernette, a Canadian writer who won the Governor General's Award for English-language poetry in 2013 for her collection North End Love Songs.
Vermette is of Métis descent and originates from Winnipeg, Manitoba.
About this book: it’s bleak.
And I don’t think that I have ever seen the “f” word used so many times within one single sentence before.
Three chapters in and I think that the word was used at least 100 times. No kidding.
For this book the author received the 2021 Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize.
I tried to like it, but I couldn’t connect. I love drama but I couldn’t feel anything besides one of the character’s anger.
Perhaps it’s not the right moment for me, so I’m willing to try it another time.
I think that I will read the The Break before getting back to this one, although I was told that it is not necessary.
For now I won’t rate it, but I will mark it as finished and also add it to my dnf shelf with a possibility of giving it another chance.
I tried. But…
This is a book by Katherena Vernette, a Canadian writer who won the Governor General's Award for English-language poetry in 2013 for her collection North End Love Songs.
Vermette is of Métis descent and originates from Winnipeg, Manitoba.
About this book: it’s bleak.
And I don’t think that I have ever seen the “f” word used so many times within one single sentence before.
Three chapters in and I think that the word was used at least 100 times. No kidding.
For this book the author received the 2021 Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize.
I tried to like it, but I couldn’t connect. I love drama but I couldn’t feel anything besides one of the character’s anger.
Perhaps it’s not the right moment for me, so I’m willing to try it another time.
I think that I will read the The Break before getting back to this one, although I was told that it is not necessary.
For now I won’t rate it, but I will mark it as finished and also add it to my dnf shelf with a possibility of giving it another chance.
I tried. But…
June 1, 2022
The Strangers by Katherena Vermette revisits the character of Phoenix from The Break; however, The Strangers stands alone, and you don’t need to read The Break. The Strangers delves deeper into Phoenix and her family over five years as they struggle with the consequences of their actions within their family and with a system that has failed them.
What are some themes explored?
The Strangers are a multi-generational Métis family living in Winnipeg, Manitoba. While they share pain, struggles, and inherited trauma, they have become strangers to each other. Themes of multi-generational trauma, racism, misogyny, colonialism, anger, rage, and abuse are explored.
Are the characters easy to connect and relate to? Do they change and grow with the conflicts they experience?
There are a few members and stories of the Stranger family to keep track of here, Phoenix, her sister Cedar-Sage, her mother Elsie, and grandmother, Margaret. Each with their own conflicts, fighting to survive in a fractured system. We see some insight into their lives, background, and trauma. While the pace is slow, a lot happens within their own family and outside forces. You need to pay attention to how each woman deals with her pain and struggles rather than the events, and I felt overwhelmed. I found it hard to relate or connect to the characters, and it didn’t feel like the story was going anywhere or moving forward.
There is a lot of growth here with the characters as we see them struggle with their conflicts. It is easy to be sympathetic to the characters knowing what each of the women’s conflicts is and how they affected one generation to another, adding layers and complexity to the story.
Did the story inspire me? Did the stories have me think deeply, challenge my thoughts, and see something different? Or learn anything new?
The story ends in a somewhat hopeful way, and we do see the character’s love, success, and growth, but a lot of focus is on the sadness and pain that comes out as anger and rage. I found it hard to see past that, making it not very inspiring. It did allow me to think about the characters and the struggles they faced; however, it felt like a narrow look at one family’s trauma.
“Margaret used to think this was normal, that all families were made up of so many sad stories, but as she got older, it seemed only Indians, Métis, who had sorrow built into their bones.”
I do think if you are unfamiliar with the themes explored here it will allow you to think deeply, challenge your thoughts, and see something different
Do I recommend it? Yes. I liked The Break a bit more than The Strangers. The Break followed many characters but focused on a single event, making it easy to connect to the story and characters.
I received a copy from the publisher.
What are some themes explored?
The Strangers are a multi-generational Métis family living in Winnipeg, Manitoba. While they share pain, struggles, and inherited trauma, they have become strangers to each other. Themes of multi-generational trauma, racism, misogyny, colonialism, anger, rage, and abuse are explored.
Are the characters easy to connect and relate to? Do they change and grow with the conflicts they experience?
There are a few members and stories of the Stranger family to keep track of here, Phoenix, her sister Cedar-Sage, her mother Elsie, and grandmother, Margaret. Each with their own conflicts, fighting to survive in a fractured system. We see some insight into their lives, background, and trauma. While the pace is slow, a lot happens within their own family and outside forces. You need to pay attention to how each woman deals with her pain and struggles rather than the events, and I felt overwhelmed. I found it hard to relate or connect to the characters, and it didn’t feel like the story was going anywhere or moving forward.
There is a lot of growth here with the characters as we see them struggle with their conflicts. It is easy to be sympathetic to the characters knowing what each of the women’s conflicts is and how they affected one generation to another, adding layers and complexity to the story.
Did the story inspire me? Did the stories have me think deeply, challenge my thoughts, and see something different? Or learn anything new?
The story ends in a somewhat hopeful way, and we do see the character’s love, success, and growth, but a lot of focus is on the sadness and pain that comes out as anger and rage. I found it hard to see past that, making it not very inspiring. It did allow me to think about the characters and the struggles they faced; however, it felt like a narrow look at one family’s trauma.
“Margaret used to think this was normal, that all families were made up of so many sad stories, but as she got older, it seemed only Indians, Métis, who had sorrow built into their bones.”
I do think if you are unfamiliar with the themes explored here it will allow you to think deeply, challenge your thoughts, and see something different
Do I recommend it? Yes. I liked The Break a bit more than The Strangers. The Break followed many characters but focused on a single event, making it easy to connect to the story and characters.
I received a copy from the publisher.
March 22, 2022
Katherena Vermette has done it again. Her first novel—The Break—was excellent. Her latest novel—The Strangers—is the follow-up to that and it's every bit as good! Vermette is a master of character development. I feel I've really come to know and understand the characters—especially the four generations of women who feature most prominently here. The Strangers are a multi-generational Métis family living in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Nothing has ever come easy for them. In fact, the Strangers could represent the thousands of Métis and First Nations people in Canada for whom life is continually a challenge.
The Stangers are a close family—at one time, all four generations lived together in "the big brown house". There's loads of love to go around but they are, by no means, one big happy family. There are rifts, jealousy and hard feelings, and there's a lot of blame to go around. Some are haunted by regret; some struggle with drug and alcohol addiction; a family is destroyed, the children placed in foster care; a life ends tragically with violence. So, no, this is not a happy story and it does get a little intense at times. But please don't dismiss it for these reasons alone because it really is a very good story! This is a family with a lot of heart.💙 They're vulnerable and so very real. You cannot help but feel for them and feel a connection to them. For one, life is a series of stumbles and bad decisions; for another, prison has become a home but, ultimately, there is hope that—in the youngest generation—there's promise of a better future. We are left with the distinct impression that this family's future is about to turn a corner, and head off in a new, much brighter direction.
5 "family knows your flaws but loves you anyway" stars... ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Stangers are a close family—at one time, all four generations lived together in "the big brown house". There's loads of love to go around but they are, by no means, one big happy family. There are rifts, jealousy and hard feelings, and there's a lot of blame to go around. Some are haunted by regret; some struggle with drug and alcohol addiction; a family is destroyed, the children placed in foster care; a life ends tragically with violence. So, no, this is not a happy story and it does get a little intense at times. But please don't dismiss it for these reasons alone because it really is a very good story! This is a family with a lot of heart.💙 They're vulnerable and so very real. You cannot help but feel for them and feel a connection to them. For one, life is a series of stumbles and bad decisions; for another, prison has become a home but, ultimately, there is hope that—in the youngest generation—there's promise of a better future. We are left with the distinct impression that this family's future is about to turn a corner, and head off in a new, much brighter direction.
5 "family knows your flaws but loves you anyway" stars... ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
August 16, 2021
Starts with a bang and never lets up. Stunning.
August 31, 2021
The Strangers feel like family. This is easily the most affecting book I’ve read all year - I want to read the final chapter again and again.
June 19, 2022
Despite the (very) heavy subject matter, and Vermette’s talent for stark realism, The Strangers is surprisingly readable. The pages fly by! It really exceeded my expectations, and I’m still mulling over it days later.
My full review of The Strangers is up now on Keeping Up With The Penguins.
My full review of The Strangers is up now on Keeping Up With The Penguins.
July 22, 2023
This is an incredible book, and an incredibly bleak one. If it works for you, it is pretty much the emotional equivalent of getting dragged through broken glass. But it is very well-written, very real, full of understanding and empathy for people usually dismissed and marginalized by society—so I hope people will read it, both for understanding’s sake and just because it’s an excellent novel. There aren’t too many writers these days who can get me this invested in their characters, even worrying about what will happen to them after the book is over!
The Strangers follows four Métis women living in Winnipeg, over about five years—three generations of one family, but circumstances have torn them apart so that they are now almost strangers to each other. Phoenix begins the novel in her late teens, giving birth in prison and struggling with rage and depression. Her bookish younger sister, Cedar-Sage, is in foster care, about to be sent to live with the father she’s never known and his new family. Their mother, Elsie, is on the streets, struggling with drug addiction and self-hatred. And in flashback chapters we also meet her embittered mother, Margaret, and see some of the origins of the family’s trauma.
This is a character-driven story, and Vermette takes real risks with the characters; the book presents such an authentic picture of high-crisis poverty and addiction and trauma, never taking the easy way out. But you come to understand these complex people and what made them and how in better circumstances they might have been completely different. Everyone will love Cedar-Sage of course, she has this combination of admirable determination and smarts with so much vulnerability and loneliness that you just want to hug her the whole book. I felt similarly about Elsie—Elsie is a mess, she’s a bit pitiful and I wanted her to be able to do better, but it’s also so very clear how she wound up this way. She’s a sensitive person who has had an awful life, beginning with her mother’s constant rejection and contempt and then with more trauma on top of (probably stemming from) that. Her chapters reminded me of In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts and its examination of how people wind up addicts. But it’s important to note—in her chapters, as in all of them—that this isn’t a hopeless book. There is warmth here, and possibility: the question is just whether it will be enough.
Phoenix is a tougher character: she has also had an awful life and you can see how she wound up in prison and how she might have turned out differently, and empathize with her current lousy situation. At the same time, she clearly has a violence problem and while I wanted her to get help, I didn’t exactly want her to get out. And then there’s Margaret, who is pretty much a textbook narcissist. She is impressively awful—as in, I was impressed Vermette was willing to write a major character this awful, while still feeling authentic and frighteningly relatable. (I think I need to re-examine my own tendencies toward annoyance and resentment after reading this character. Fortunately, I don’t have kids!) She’s not quite the villain of the piece—and under different circumstances she’d also have been a better person—but she seemed to me to have a much higher level of agency and malice than the others in her ruining her own and her family’s lives.
This is a companion novel to The Break, but while there is character overlap, they feel quite different: The Break has a larger cast, a much shorter timeframe, and perhaps most importantly, the extended family featured in that book is in a much better place—emotionally, relationally, financially—to handle what life throws at them. One comes away from The Break feeling that despite everything, the Traverses will probably be more or less okay, which I can’t say about the Strangers. Unusually, though this book is set later, you could read them in either order without spoilers, though you’ll certainly have a different view of some of these characters if you read The Break first. For instance, The Strangers never tells us why Phoenix is in prison (), or how Elsie came to give birth to her (). And the final line lands completely differently depending on whether you recognize the speaker:
All that said, I was consistently impressed with the writing here. Though three of the four points-of-view are (wisely) told in the third person, they still each feel distinct, based in the voices of the characters. The dialogue also feels very real and true-to-life (I wanted to be annoyed by the long monologues from the prison mentor, but couldn’t because he sounds exactly like someone I know and it is adorable). The stories are compelling, both in the present and in the flashbacks, which I was always eager to read to see how this puzzle fit together. And of course the characters are three-dimensional and real; I believed in them far more than I usually do fictional people. If I have a complaint, it’s that their endings are so ambiguous. I want a third book to see what happens next!
The Strangers follows four Métis women living in Winnipeg, over about five years—three generations of one family, but circumstances have torn them apart so that they are now almost strangers to each other. Phoenix begins the novel in her late teens, giving birth in prison and struggling with rage and depression. Her bookish younger sister, Cedar-Sage, is in foster care, about to be sent to live with the father she’s never known and his new family. Their mother, Elsie, is on the streets, struggling with drug addiction and self-hatred. And in flashback chapters we also meet her embittered mother, Margaret, and see some of the origins of the family’s trauma.
This is a character-driven story, and Vermette takes real risks with the characters; the book presents such an authentic picture of high-crisis poverty and addiction and trauma, never taking the easy way out. But you come to understand these complex people and what made them and how in better circumstances they might have been completely different. Everyone will love Cedar-Sage of course, she has this combination of admirable determination and smarts with so much vulnerability and loneliness that you just want to hug her the whole book. I felt similarly about Elsie—Elsie is a mess, she’s a bit pitiful and I wanted her to be able to do better, but it’s also so very clear how she wound up this way. She’s a sensitive person who has had an awful life, beginning with her mother’s constant rejection and contempt and then with more trauma on top of (probably stemming from) that. Her chapters reminded me of In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts and its examination of how people wind up addicts. But it’s important to note—in her chapters, as in all of them—that this isn’t a hopeless book. There is warmth here, and possibility: the question is just whether it will be enough.
Phoenix is a tougher character: she has also had an awful life and you can see how she wound up in prison and how she might have turned out differently, and empathize with her current lousy situation. At the same time, she clearly has a violence problem and while I wanted her to get help, I didn’t exactly want her to get out. And then there’s Margaret, who is pretty much a textbook narcissist. She is impressively awful—as in, I was impressed Vermette was willing to write a major character this awful, while still feeling authentic and frighteningly relatable. (I think I need to re-examine my own tendencies toward annoyance and resentment after reading this character. Fortunately, I don’t have kids!) She’s not quite the villain of the piece—and under different circumstances she’d also have been a better person—but she seemed to me to have a much higher level of agency and malice than the others in her ruining her own and her family’s lives.
This is a companion novel to The Break, but while there is character overlap, they feel quite different: The Break has a larger cast, a much shorter timeframe, and perhaps most importantly, the extended family featured in that book is in a much better place—emotionally, relationally, financially—to handle what life throws at them. One comes away from The Break feeling that despite everything, the Traverses will probably be more or less okay, which I can’t say about the Strangers. Unusually, though this book is set later, you could read them in either order without spoilers, though you’ll certainly have a different view of some of these characters if you read The Break first. For instance, The Strangers never tells us why Phoenix is in prison (), or how Elsie came to give birth to her (). And the final line lands completely differently depending on whether you recognize the speaker:
All that said, I was consistently impressed with the writing here. Though three of the four points-of-view are (wisely) told in the third person, they still each feel distinct, based in the voices of the characters. The dialogue also feels very real and true-to-life (I wanted to be annoyed by the long monologues from the prison mentor, but couldn’t because he sounds exactly like someone I know and it is adorable). The stories are compelling, both in the present and in the flashbacks, which I was always eager to read to see how this puzzle fit together. And of course the characters are three-dimensional and real; I believed in them far more than I usually do fictional people. If I have a complaint, it’s that their endings are so ambiguous. I want a third book to see what happens next!
January 3, 2022
I’m dead. This book is amazing. I won’t be able to read another one for a little while or, I’ll be looking for something to replace it and it will never make me feel the same as this. Read this. Read this. Read this. Everyone.
I took turns putting myself in the shoes of each of the female characters. From Elsie who tries so hard to be present for her children but is pulled into the strength of addiction to Margaret who has given up her dreams to provide for the family. Phoenix and Cedar-Sage have lives so different but both are trapped in so many ways. One behind bars and the other waiting to be released on her own, away from those who have her interest at heart but as an add-on and not as a priority.
The Strangers is a story that a true Michif person can identify with, even if it’s on the outer edges of Métis family life or right in the thick of things, there’s no doubt that this book was written with the mannerisms, character configurations and histories of many Michif families.
Often, as a Michif reading Indigenous literature there are certainly places to identify within Indigenous stories like “all my relations” or the terrors of colonialism, also some general mannerisms but this truly is a book to be explored and understood from a Métis perspective.
The always cooking and working auntie, the uncles hanging around, the scooped family member(s) who are in foster care or the institutionalized relative past (e.g., schools) and/or present (incarceration or mental health facilities). Remembering the one(s) who are missing and aren’t recognized as being Michif and the cracks in the pavement that frustrate and demoralize Michif who fall through and that other Indigenous communities don’t necessarily contend with because they’re not Métis.
There is a strangeness that comes from not knowing or losing touch with family but loving them deeply, no matter what… a wicked insight into those complicated relationships - direct impacts of colonialism that we see existing today. And finally, there is the hope for a few of us that exists and is supported by the rest of us who struggle just to survive and try to keep the existence of our people and culture somewhere in sight at the same time. Who can do this behind bars? Or within a white family without support? Who can do this when the system to get help for addictions is complicated, underfunded and slow? Where is the support for the women who sacrificed their true dreams just to help their family survive. It’s a heartbreaking reality for so many Michif families.
AND - I just put two things together and I know why Phoenix is in jail. Read “The Break” and you’ll know too.
I took turns putting myself in the shoes of each of the female characters. From Elsie who tries so hard to be present for her children but is pulled into the strength of addiction to Margaret who has given up her dreams to provide for the family. Phoenix and Cedar-Sage have lives so different but both are trapped in so many ways. One behind bars and the other waiting to be released on her own, away from those who have her interest at heart but as an add-on and not as a priority.
The Strangers is a story that a true Michif person can identify with, even if it’s on the outer edges of Métis family life or right in the thick of things, there’s no doubt that this book was written with the mannerisms, character configurations and histories of many Michif families.
Often, as a Michif reading Indigenous literature there are certainly places to identify within Indigenous stories like “all my relations” or the terrors of colonialism, also some general mannerisms but this truly is a book to be explored and understood from a Métis perspective.
The always cooking and working auntie, the uncles hanging around, the scooped family member(s) who are in foster care or the institutionalized relative past (e.g., schools) and/or present (incarceration or mental health facilities). Remembering the one(s) who are missing and aren’t recognized as being Michif and the cracks in the pavement that frustrate and demoralize Michif who fall through and that other Indigenous communities don’t necessarily contend with because they’re not Métis.
There is a strangeness that comes from not knowing or losing touch with family but loving them deeply, no matter what… a wicked insight into those complicated relationships - direct impacts of colonialism that we see existing today. And finally, there is the hope for a few of us that exists and is supported by the rest of us who struggle just to survive and try to keep the existence of our people and culture somewhere in sight at the same time. Who can do this behind bars? Or within a white family without support? Who can do this when the system to get help for addictions is complicated, underfunded and slow? Where is the support for the women who sacrificed their true dreams just to help their family survive. It’s a heartbreaking reality for so many Michif families.
AND - I just put two things together and I know why Phoenix is in jail. Read “The Break” and you’ll know too.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 3, 2021
AMAZING.
I really enjoyed The Break, so I was excited when The Strangers came out, and it did not disappoint. Vermette is such a talented writer, and the book blew me away.
The Strangers is about several generations of a Metis family living in Winnipeg who struggle with the effects of colonialism, addiction, mental health issues, sexual abuse, incarceration, and the foster care system. Each chapter is from the perspective of one of four family members -- grandmother Margaret, mother Elsie, and daughters Phoenix and Cedar-Sage. The story is written so beautifully and it is so real.
As it has been several years since I have read The Break, I did not realize that Phoenix is a central character in The Break, which just makes The Strangers even that more amazing. Each book can be read as a stand-alone book, and you will not be at a disadvantage if you read The Strangers first. But if you don't read both books, you will be missing out because they are both so wonderful.
I am now going to purchase and re-read The Break, and I look forward to Vermette's next book. I wonder if it will be about the next chapter in Cedar-Sage's life?
I really enjoyed The Break, so I was excited when The Strangers came out, and it did not disappoint. Vermette is such a talented writer, and the book blew me away.
The Strangers is about several generations of a Metis family living in Winnipeg who struggle with the effects of colonialism, addiction, mental health issues, sexual abuse, incarceration, and the foster care system. Each chapter is from the perspective of one of four family members -- grandmother Margaret, mother Elsie, and daughters Phoenix and Cedar-Sage. The story is written so beautifully and it is so real.
As it has been several years since I have read The Break, I did not realize that Phoenix is a central character in The Break, which just makes The Strangers even that more amazing. Each book can be read as a stand-alone book, and you will not be at a disadvantage if you read The Strangers first. But if you don't read both books, you will be missing out because they are both so wonderful.
I am now going to purchase and re-read The Break, and I look forward to Vermette's next book. I wonder if it will be about the next chapter in Cedar-Sage's life?
October 20, 2021
This book starts heavy and never lets up. Knowing what we do from The Break, it’s hard not to be angry with The Stranger’s. But the storytelling is so well done, all you feel is sorrow for what these women have been through and how every system has failed them. I loved the ending, and am wondering if we could possibly get a third book in this series? Also this quote on page 316 really stood out to me, summing up and defining what this story truly means.
“Margaret used to think this was normal, that all families were made up of so many sad stories. But as she got older, it seemed only Indians, Mètis, who had sorrow built into their bones, who exchanged despair as ordinarily as recipes, who had devastation after devastation after dismissal after denial woven into their skin. As if sad stories were the only heirloom they had to pass on.”
Damn.
“Margaret used to think this was normal, that all families were made up of so many sad stories. But as she got older, it seemed only Indians, Mètis, who had sorrow built into their bones, who exchanged despair as ordinarily as recipes, who had devastation after devastation after dismissal after denial woven into their skin. As if sad stories were the only heirloom they had to pass on.”
Damn.
November 12, 2021
Such a sad, but hopeful novel, as we follow three generations of Strangers through their many struggles. It’s hard to think of all the people out there stuck in the system, unable to get the help they need.
October 14, 2021
Before the story begins, the author comments, "I do try to cram as much love and hope in between [the misery] as possible." Well, there wasn't much of either in this depressing, pessimistic book.
Certainly there was love, but it was a dysfunctional love in most cases. Only one character "Cedar" provides any sense of hope in an otherwise hope-less family, destined to repeat the mistakes of the past, caught in a cycle of abuse, violence, addiction, and despair.
In giving us a look at the broken lives of some Metis or Indigenous people, the author does little to dispel (in fact, she reinforces) the negative stereotypes by pointing the finger solely at "the systems" that she claims are the cause of their misery...when in fact there is plenty of blame to go around, both individual and societal. Sadly, the author creates flat characters who are defined only by their emotions (fear, anger, sadness, laziness), rather than their personalities; and she omits the positive values (honesty, courage, integrity, kindness) that most people (other than her characters, apparently!) possess. Yes, the generational trauma is real, and tragic, but the picture painted by this author is one of despair and hopelessness.
Twenty (of twenty-one) chapters of dysfunction and misery soon grow tedious. Rather than provoking sympathy and understanding, we are left feeling disconnected and, eventually, indifferent. The author's previous book, "The Break", was far better.
Certainly there was love, but it was a dysfunctional love in most cases. Only one character "Cedar" provides any sense of hope in an otherwise hope-less family, destined to repeat the mistakes of the past, caught in a cycle of abuse, violence, addiction, and despair.
In giving us a look at the broken lives of some Metis or Indigenous people, the author does little to dispel (in fact, she reinforces) the negative stereotypes by pointing the finger solely at "the systems" that she claims are the cause of their misery...when in fact there is plenty of blame to go around, both individual and societal. Sadly, the author creates flat characters who are defined only by their emotions (fear, anger, sadness, laziness), rather than their personalities; and she omits the positive values (honesty, courage, integrity, kindness) that most people (other than her characters, apparently!) possess. Yes, the generational trauma is real, and tragic, but the picture painted by this author is one of despair and hopelessness.
Twenty (of twenty-one) chapters of dysfunction and misery soon grow tedious. Rather than provoking sympathy and understanding, we are left feeling disconnected and, eventually, indifferent. The author's previous book, "The Break", was far better.
February 6, 2023
Fantastic book, disturbing and hard and full of pain, with just enough glimmers of goodness and hope -- and also humour! -- to make it possible for me to finish without having to draw upon my "I must bear witness" stance to withstand the anguish of it. I ended up not being able to listen before bed because it was so upsetting in so many ways, I think attributable to Vermette's capacity to dig so deeply into each character's interior world, and show in each character's own words and own way the manifestations of racism and intergenerational trauma.
The depiction of Margaret is such a brilliant achievement. And so are Elsie, Phoenix, and Cedar Sage - three generations of Métis women (four if you include Angelique, Margaret's mother). All the dreams dashed leaving nothing but rage; all the damage passed on to the next generation -- each child inheriting a blood memory of pain and sadness and anger, but also strength and resilience. How much they have to draw on that strength and resilience varies; their destinies hang on a knife-edge of whether they get a lucky or a bad break at that crucial time; whether they get just enough love from someone at a critical point (who got just enough love at their own critical point), and so on. In every paragraph, Vermette makes us feel the precariousness, the randomness, the massive odds stacked against them.
Vermette writes SO. WELL. these moments of choice and chance, especially with the two most teetering on the cliff edge: Elsie and Phoenix.
There's a lot in here ripped from the headlines, from forced sterilizations of Indigenous women, to the atrocities of the foster care system, to the overwhelmingly disproportionate incarceration rate of Indigenous people, and even a brief mention of the phenomenon of Pretendians. And there's a lot standing as counterpoint: Ben, the Elder who gives Phoenix stories and her name; Faith, who reconnects with her father, sibs and aunties and (re)discovers her Indigeneity; the rising pride and activism of young Indigenous people and the hope that it (and education) offers them ... and all of us.
But it's not a book that is heavy-handed or didactic about any of this; these themes and references are so deftly woven into the story and into the characters.
Highly recommended but content warnings all over the damn place. Be of stalwart heart; know that Katherena Vermette keeps you safe.
I listened on audio, beautifully read by Michaela Washburn.
The depiction of Margaret is such a brilliant achievement. And so are Elsie, Phoenix, and Cedar Sage - three generations of Métis women (four if you include Angelique, Margaret's mother). All the dreams dashed leaving nothing but rage; all the damage passed on to the next generation -- each child inheriting a blood memory of pain and sadness and anger, but also strength and resilience. How much they have to draw on that strength and resilience varies; their destinies hang on a knife-edge of whether they get a lucky or a bad break at that crucial time; whether they get just enough love from someone at a critical point (who got just enough love at their own critical point), and so on. In every paragraph, Vermette makes us feel the precariousness, the randomness, the massive odds stacked against them.
Vermette writes SO. WELL. these moments of choice and chance, especially with the two most teetering on the cliff edge: Elsie and Phoenix.
There's a lot in here ripped from the headlines, from forced sterilizations of Indigenous women, to the atrocities of the foster care system, to the overwhelmingly disproportionate incarceration rate of Indigenous people, and even a brief mention of the phenomenon of Pretendians. And there's a lot standing as counterpoint: Ben, the Elder who gives Phoenix stories and her name; Faith, who reconnects with her father, sibs and aunties and (re)discovers her Indigeneity; the rising pride and activism of young Indigenous people and the hope that it (and education) offers them ... and all of us.
But it's not a book that is heavy-handed or didactic about any of this; these themes and references are so deftly woven into the story and into the characters.
Highly recommended but content warnings all over the damn place. Be of stalwart heart; know that Katherena Vermette keeps you safe.
I listened on audio, beautifully read by Michaela Washburn.
December 4, 2022
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**3.5 stars**
The Strangers by Katherena Vermette. (2021).
Cedar has nearly forgotten what her family looks like. Phoenix has nearly forgotten how freedom feels. And Elsie has nearly given up hope. After time in foster homes, Cedar goes to live with her estranged father, and while struggling with being separated from her mother and sister, this feels like a house of strangers. While incarcerated, Phoenix gives birth to a baby she's never get to raise while trying to forgive herself for all the harm she's caused. Elsie struggles with addiction and determined to turn her life around and reunite with her daughters. These women fight to survive in fractured systems, fighting racism, trying to move through the darkness.
I was determined to read this novel after reading the author's previous novel 'The Break' and finding it both powerful and confronting. This one has a similar tone however the previous had a crime storyline whereas this novel focuses on the lives of a broken family. The perspectives change between Phoenix, a heavily pregnant young woman who is incarcerated after committing a horrific act; Cedar, her sister who is in foster care; their mother Elsie who is a drug addict; and Margaret, Elsie's mother. The narrative switches between points in time to explore the trauma all of these women have and how they deal with it. It's bleak at times, it's depressing, it's sad... it's a lot to take in but the book does end on a slightly more hopeful note.
Overall: this one is for readers who appreciate learning about real-life contemporary issues even if it is confrontational read.
*www.facebook.com/onewomansbbr
**3.5 stars**
The Strangers by Katherena Vermette. (2021).
Cedar has nearly forgotten what her family looks like. Phoenix has nearly forgotten how freedom feels. And Elsie has nearly given up hope. After time in foster homes, Cedar goes to live with her estranged father, and while struggling with being separated from her mother and sister, this feels like a house of strangers. While incarcerated, Phoenix gives birth to a baby she's never get to raise while trying to forgive herself for all the harm she's caused. Elsie struggles with addiction and determined to turn her life around and reunite with her daughters. These women fight to survive in fractured systems, fighting racism, trying to move through the darkness.
I was determined to read this novel after reading the author's previous novel 'The Break' and finding it both powerful and confronting. This one has a similar tone however the previous had a crime storyline whereas this novel focuses on the lives of a broken family. The perspectives change between Phoenix, a heavily pregnant young woman who is incarcerated after committing a horrific act; Cedar, her sister who is in foster care; their mother Elsie who is a drug addict; and Margaret, Elsie's mother. The narrative switches between points in time to explore the trauma all of these women have and how they deal with it. It's bleak at times, it's depressing, it's sad... it's a lot to take in but the book does end on a slightly more hopeful note.
Overall: this one is for readers who appreciate learning about real-life contemporary issues even if it is confrontational read.
January 12, 2022
A very sad and depressing read. After finishing the book, I am left with several questions. I felt like the book didn’t have an ending but just stopped.
November 1, 2021
An incredible follow-up to The Break, just as painful and just as beautiful. Katherena is a truly amazing writer.
January 31, 2022
Jeśli szukasz gęstej w fabułę, wielowątkowej powieści i wielopokoleniowej sagi rodzinnej, która cię pochłonie i umili ten totalnie beznadziejny zimowy czas, to koniecznie sięgnij po „Rodzinę Strangerów”.
Historia czterech pokoleń kobiet z metyskiej rodziny. Mamy prababcie, babcie, matkę i córki. Kiedyś cała wielka familia mieszkała razem w pięknym dużym brązowym domu, ale gdy zmarła nestorka rodu Annie, ten ładny obrazek bardzo szybko się posypał.
Historia skupia się głównie na tych najmłodszych przedstawicielkach Strangerów - Elsie, matce walczącej z uzależnieniem, której odebrano córki oraz właśnie na jej córkach, starszej Phoenix, która siedzi w więzieniu i rodzi tam swojego synka oraz Cedar, która po latach tułania się po rodzinach zastępczych rozpoczyna nowe życie ze swoim prawie nieznanym ojcem. Oczywiście, żeby ukazać historie tych najmłodszych konieczne jest dotarcie do opowieści o ich przodkiniach.
„- Pamięć czego? (…)
– Krwi. Czasami mówi się, że kości. Jest taka stara nauka, która głosi, że wszystko, co zdarzyło się twoim przodkom, wszystko, co poznali, dobre czy złe, jest w tobie. W twojej krwi. Nawet jeśli o tym nie wiesz albo myślisz, że nie wiesz, i tak wiesz.”
I tak każde kolejne kobiece pokolenie Strangerów (czy Strangerek?) ma zakodowane w sobie przeżycia swoich matek i babć i ciężko się z tej pamięci ciała uwolnić. Przekazywane są nie tylko cechy dobre, ale też te złe. W życiach kolejnych córek powiela się schemat czy to kolejnych rozczarowujących związków, czy trudnej relacji rodzic-dziecko czy niespełnienia i porażek.
To moja pierwsza książka autorki, ale na pewno nie ostatnia i już na czytnik wleciała jej poprzednia „Przerwa”. Uwielbiam to z jaką precyzją maluje czytelnikowi swoje bohaterki, że pisze z perspektywy kobiet i to jak głęboko wnika w emocje. Bardzo cenię też to, że wplata w fabułę temat tożsamości kulturowej rdzennych mieszkańców Kanady i nie jest to tylko temat poboczny książki. Reasumując polecam bardzo !
Historia czterech pokoleń kobiet z metyskiej rodziny. Mamy prababcie, babcie, matkę i córki. Kiedyś cała wielka familia mieszkała razem w pięknym dużym brązowym domu, ale gdy zmarła nestorka rodu Annie, ten ładny obrazek bardzo szybko się posypał.
Historia skupia się głównie na tych najmłodszych przedstawicielkach Strangerów - Elsie, matce walczącej z uzależnieniem, której odebrano córki oraz właśnie na jej córkach, starszej Phoenix, która siedzi w więzieniu i rodzi tam swojego synka oraz Cedar, która po latach tułania się po rodzinach zastępczych rozpoczyna nowe życie ze swoim prawie nieznanym ojcem. Oczywiście, żeby ukazać historie tych najmłodszych konieczne jest dotarcie do opowieści o ich przodkiniach.
„- Pamięć czego? (…)
– Krwi. Czasami mówi się, że kości. Jest taka stara nauka, która głosi, że wszystko, co zdarzyło się twoim przodkom, wszystko, co poznali, dobre czy złe, jest w tobie. W twojej krwi. Nawet jeśli o tym nie wiesz albo myślisz, że nie wiesz, i tak wiesz.”
I tak każde kolejne kobiece pokolenie Strangerów (czy Strangerek?) ma zakodowane w sobie przeżycia swoich matek i babć i ciężko się z tej pamięci ciała uwolnić. Przekazywane są nie tylko cechy dobre, ale też te złe. W życiach kolejnych córek powiela się schemat czy to kolejnych rozczarowujących związków, czy trudnej relacji rodzic-dziecko czy niespełnienia i porażek.
To moja pierwsza książka autorki, ale na pewno nie ostatnia i już na czytnik wleciała jej poprzednia „Przerwa”. Uwielbiam to z jaką precyzją maluje czytelnikowi swoje bohaterki, że pisze z perspektywy kobiet i to jak głęboko wnika w emocje. Bardzo cenię też to, że wplata w fabułę temat tożsamości kulturowej rdzennych mieszkańców Kanady i nie jest to tylko temat poboczny książki. Reasumując polecam bardzo !
December 25, 2022
Katherine Vermette has created another terrific novel full of tragedy and a little hope, following the lives of several indigenous women in the Métis Strangers family.
There are connections to Vermette's earlier work, "The Break"; here, we pick up the threads of Phoenix's, Cedar's, and Elise's lives after that book, and also Elise's mother Margaret.
Vermette follows these Strangers women for five years, charting their struggles and growth; these women experience so much heartbreak, violence and loss— the story is bleak, sad, and realistic in how it shows how indigenous women’s lives are held cheaply by society.
The story is an indictment of centuries of institutional and personal racism, and how this affects indigenous women’s lives: broken families, missed opportunities, addiction, abuse, violence, incarceration, family separation and foster care, depression, and suicide. At the same time as I was crying for each woman's situation, I was left with hope as I saw each woman striving and working towards healing.
There are connections to Vermette's earlier work, "The Break"; here, we pick up the threads of Phoenix's, Cedar's, and Elise's lives after that book, and also Elise's mother Margaret.
Vermette follows these Strangers women for five years, charting their struggles and growth; these women experience so much heartbreak, violence and loss— the story is bleak, sad, and realistic in how it shows how indigenous women’s lives are held cheaply by society.
The story is an indictment of centuries of institutional and personal racism, and how this affects indigenous women’s lives: broken families, missed opportunities, addiction, abuse, violence, incarceration, family separation and foster care, depression, and suicide. At the same time as I was crying for each woman's situation, I was left with hope as I saw each woman striving and working towards healing.
November 12, 2021
A difficult read but authentic in every sense. Deeply moving and sad, but I think it is such an important read for every Canadian.
The Strangers, ironically is the Métis family’s name in this story and how all the family members have been separated by death, addiction or crime. Therefore, strangers.
“You can tell a lot from a person on how they leave you. Some go quiet. Some loud. The ones that don’t say anything are the worst of all. “
This will be in my top 5 reads this year.
The Strangers, ironically is the Métis family’s name in this story and how all the family members have been separated by death, addiction or crime. Therefore, strangers.
“You can tell a lot from a person on how they leave you. Some go quiet. Some loud. The ones that don’t say anything are the worst of all. “
This will be in my top 5 reads this year.
June 21, 2023
I picked this up because of how much I enjoyed The Break. There's a recurring character, but you don't need to have read Vermette's earlier work to enjoy this.
Vermette takes us through the stories of the women in a Metis family who live in Winnipeg's North End. Even though there's a lot of love in the family, there's also a lot of tragedy and hurt. All these women do their best to be good mothers and daughters and sisters, but don't always succeed. Vermette's characters leap off the page here, and both won and broke my heart. I really enjoyed this. Vermette begins the book with a list of trigger warnings, but says there's also a lot of love and joy here, and I think she's right.
If you like books that dig into families, and especially relationships between women, and books that explore generational trauma through characters with dignity and agency, you should definitely pick this up.
Vermette takes us through the stories of the women in a Metis family who live in Winnipeg's North End. Even though there's a lot of love in the family, there's also a lot of tragedy and hurt. All these women do their best to be good mothers and daughters and sisters, but don't always succeed. Vermette's characters leap off the page here, and both won and broke my heart. I really enjoyed this. Vermette begins the book with a list of trigger warnings, but says there's also a lot of love and joy here, and I think she's right.
If you like books that dig into families, and especially relationships between women, and books that explore generational trauma through characters with dignity and agency, you should definitely pick this up.
March 20, 2022
A book that has characters that are so real I feel I have met them before. I am not sure if I love this book because I am from Winnipeg and know these peoples stories so well or if the book is so well written that everyone feels the same. Either way it is powerful insight on the struggle of Métis women, from the Grandma, Mom and two sisters perspective. I loved how I would just find blame on say the mother and then read her chapter and then understand. Excellent read!
September 13, 2022
5+ ⭐️ I read The Break first and thought it was good but not great, only because there were too many characters to get straight in my head. I loved this one as I felt like I knew everyone now. I wish there was another one to follow this one lol.
October 24, 2021
This. This is, clutch your chest to hold your heart, good.
March 10, 2023
A powerful novel of inter generational trauma. A perfect follow on from ‘The Break’. While some of the characters do horrific things you are left with no doubt that it is a societal problem and I still felt extremely empathetic.
“But as she got older, it seemed only Indians, Métis, who had sorrow built into their bones, who exchanged despair as ordinarily as recipes, who had devastation after dismissal after denial woven into their skins. As if sad stories were the only heirloom they had to pass on. “
So sad but with a glimmer of hope at the end. Perhaps the next generation will find a way.
“But as she got older, it seemed only Indians, Métis, who had sorrow built into their bones, who exchanged despair as ordinarily as recipes, who had devastation after dismissal after denial woven into their skins. As if sad stories were the only heirloom they had to pass on. “
So sad but with a glimmer of hope at the end. Perhaps the next generation will find a way.
January 26, 2022
This was sad and heavy from the first sentence until the last. But it also had a few moments of hopefulness. The book is brilliant in every way, and Katherena Vermette is a genius.
Read
December 3, 2023I don’t really feel comfortable giving this book a rating.
The author is brilliant with the way she can represent multiple viewpoints and storylines. The book was anticlimactic but a lot to unpack. Was always waiting “for the other shoe to drop”.
Highly recommend this author but start with The Break.
The author is brilliant with the way she can represent multiple viewpoints and storylines. The book was anticlimactic but a lot to unpack. Was always waiting “for the other shoe to drop”.
Highly recommend this author but start with The Break.
June 16, 2022
3.5 stars. A mostly bleak, but intermittently hopeful, novel that seems to accurately depict intergenerational trauma and how challenging it is to break free of cycles of abuse, addiction, and violence. Vermette portrays characters that are easy for me to envision, as a Manitoban myself, and the setting being so familiar is one thing I enjoy about her books. Her writing is only alright though. I like that in this book she showed several different characters. Some were lost causes but some were examples of progress and provided hope for the future. Overall though, this book didn’t pack a punch the way The Break did. I liked it. But didn’t love it. Still, it’s an important book, especially for Canadians.
October 2, 2021
This is the best book I've read all year
November 6, 2021
This book is a gift. Amazing and powerful. So good.
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