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Product Description
Quill & Quire
In Ojibway mythology, Nanabush is a mischievous trickster, shapeshifter, and culture hero. Journalist, playwright, and author Drew Hayden Taylor uses this figure, and his manic spirit, as inspiration in his first novel for adults.
Recently widowed 35-year-old Maggie is struggling with the responsibilities of being chief of the Otter Lake native reservation while simultaneously raising her aloof teenage son, Virgil. Maggie and Virgil are both reeling from the recent death of Maggie’s mother, Lillian, their last connection to the “old-fashion Indian” way of life.
When John, a mysterious white man, comes into town riding a vintage Indian Chief motorcycle, Maggie falls in love, but Virgil becomes suspicious. Virgil enlists his reclusive Uncle Wayne to discover the truth about John, resulting in a series of antics that would make Nanabush proud. Along the way, John prompts Maggie and Virgil to reconsider their understanding of family, history, and heritage.
Taylor uses John’s presence on the reservation to explore the political, religious, and cultural challenges facing the residents as they struggle to reconcile their Ojibway beliefs and traditions with broader Canadian culture and its modern conveniences. Conflict – both physical and philosophical – and compromise are themes running throughout the book. Those familiar with Taylor’s non-fiction will find his approach here recognizable: beneath the playful and light-hearted humour are complex emotions and thoughtful analyses of difficult subjects.
As Maggie, Virgil, and the rest of Otter Lake deal with the white interloper, Taylor brings a modern twist to ancient native folklore. Motorcycles and Sweetgrass is a charming story about the importance of balance and belief – and a little bit of magic – in everyone’s life.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.Review
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
“A near-perfect debut, a masterful mythic-comedy balancing contemporary issues and realities with magic and history. . . . Motorcycles & Sweetgrass is a trickster story, but it’s also a fundamentally human account of individuals and of a people struggling to find a place for themselves in the world. . . . A broad, bawdy, raucous, deeply felt and utterly involving narrative, a genuine pleasure to read. . . . Motorcycles & Sweetgrass positively crackles with life, love and magic. What more can you ask of a book?”
— Robert J. Wiersema, Edmonton Journal
“A winning comedy.”
— The Globe and Mail
“Motorcycles & Sweetgrass may be concerned with aboriginal community politics, identity, mythology and intergenerational legacies, but it reads like a romp. . . . Yet the book’s real strength is its underlying account of a community struggling to weave an increasingly abstract traditional past with some kind of meaningful future.”
— Toronto Star
“Drew Hayden Taylor’s got no qualms about poking fun at his Native roots, and that’s what makes Motorcycles & Sweetgrass such a pleasure. It’s playful yet soulful, with a narrative that keeps those pages turning. . . . A fun, rollicking book, and Taylor’s voice is fresh and unique.”
— NOW (Toronto)
“Taylor brings a modern twist to ancient native folklore. Motorcycles & Sweetgrass is a charming story about the importance of balance and belief—and a little bit of magic—in everyone’s life.”
— Quill & Quire
“If the great Ojibway trickster Nanabush wrote fiction, I imagine he’d write just like Drew Hayden Taylor. You will find much sadness just below the laughs, and sly humour masked by sorrow. A wisdom exists in these pages that only comes from someone who writes from his heart.”
— Joseph Boyden
“Fast-paced, uproariously funny and genuinely thrilling. Drew Hayden Taylor is one of Canada’s finest and funniest writers.”
— Ian Ferguson, author of Village of the Small Houses
“Funny, heartfelt, hopeful and illuminating. Motorcycles & Sweetgrass made me laugh and made me think, sometimes in the same sentence. Drew Hayden Taylor is a master storyteller.”
— Terry Fallis, author of The Best Laid Plans
“Drew Hayden Taylor has woven an epic tale of magic, mystery and charm for the world to discover in Motorcycles & Sweetgrass. This is a novel to savor. A complete delight!”
— Richard Van Camp, author of The Moon of Letting Go and The Lesser Blessed
From the Hardcover edition.
“A near-perfect debut, a masterful mythic-comedy balancing contemporary issues and realities with magic and history. . . . Motorcycles & Sweetgrass is a trickster story, but it’s also a fundamentally human account of individuals and of a people struggling to find a place for themselves in the world. . . . A broad, bawdy, raucous, deeply felt and utterly involving narrative, a genuine pleasure to read. . . . Motorcycles & Sweetgrass positively crackles with life, love and magic. What more can you ask of a book?”
— Robert J. Wiersema, Edmonton Journal
“A winning comedy.”
— The Globe and Mail
“Motorcycles & Sweetgrass may be concerned with aboriginal community politics, identity, mythology and intergenerational legacies, but it reads like a romp. . . . Yet the book’s real strength is its underlying account of a community struggling to weave an increasingly abstract traditional past with some kind of meaningful future.”
— Toronto Star
“Drew Hayden Taylor’s got no qualms about poking fun at his Native roots, and that’s what makes Motorcycles & Sweetgrass such a pleasure. It’s playful yet soulful, with a narrative that keeps those pages turning. . . . A fun, rollicking book, and Taylor’s voice is fresh and unique.”
— NOW (Toronto)
“Taylor brings a modern twist to ancient native folklore. Motorcycles & Sweetgrass is a charming story about the importance of balance and belief—and a little bit of magic—in everyone’s life.”
— Quill & Quire
“If the great Ojibway trickster Nanabush wrote fiction, I imagine he’d write just like Drew Hayden Taylor. You will find much sadness just below the laughs, and sly humour masked by sorrow. A wisdom exists in these pages that only comes from someone who writes from his heart.”
— Joseph Boyden
“Fast-paced, uproariously funny and genuinely thrilling. Drew Hayden Taylor is one of Canada’s finest and funniest writers.”
— Ian Ferguson, author of Village of the Small Houses
“Funny, heartfelt, hopeful and illuminating. Motorcycles & Sweetgrass made me laugh and made me think, sometimes in the same sentence. Drew Hayden Taylor is a master storyteller.”
— Terry Fallis, author of The Best Laid Plans
“Drew Hayden Taylor has woven an epic tale of magic, mystery and charm for the world to discover in Motorcycles & Sweetgrass. This is a novel to savor. A complete delight!”
— Richard Van Camp, author of The Moon of Letting Go and The Lesser Blessed
From the Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Delightful tale of the Trickster,
By
This review is from: Motorcycles & Sweetgrass (Hardcover)
Nanabush (the Ojibwe Trickster) has been dormant for awhile. He is startled back into action by the impending death of a woman he loved from his past.Lillian was made to leave the reserve when she was younger to attend residential school. She turned her back on Nanabush when she left. Once at school she muses "I thought the world was full of magic. I don't think it is. Maybe once it was. Not any more." She did return to the reserve and on her deathbed, has called Nanabush to Otter Lake - an Anishnawbe community in Ontario. She is worried about her family - her daughter Maggie, who is now the chief of the reserve, her youngest grandson Virgil, who really can't be bothered with school and her eccentric son Wayne, who lives alone on an island developing an aboriginal martial art form. Will he come? Is there still magic in the world? Otter Lake is quite taken aback when Nanabush, now calling himself John, arrives in town riding a 1953 Indian Chief motorcycle. And this time, he's decided to present himself as a handsome young white man. Although John is able to charm Maggie, Virgil and Wayne are suspicious of John and his intentions. And the raccoons don't seem very happy to see him either. They have a long standing feud running with Nanabush. " It was him. and he was back. This was good. In this part of the country, revenge was furry and wore a bandit's mask." Motorcycles & Sweetgrass open with the line "Hey, wanna hear a good story? Supposedly it's true one. It's a long story but it goes something like this..." Taylor had me laughing out loud, with the raccoon's revenge and John's antics. But his writing is thoughtful as well, touching on the the importance of family, community and the land. And hopeful - the belief that yes, there is magic left in the world. The novel ends with "And that's how it happened to cousin of mine. I told you it was a long story. They're the best 'cause you can wrap one around you like a nice warm blanket." Absolutely! I really enjoyed this book, from first page to last. Drew Hayden Taylor is an accomplished writer, journalist, film maker and screenwriter. (Canadian readers - remember North of 60 and The Beachcombers?) Motorcycles and Sweetgrass is his first adult fiction foray and is one of Random House Canada's 2010 New Faces of Fiction.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Revnge of the Raccoons,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Motorcycles & Sweetgrass (Paperback)
What began as a university course obligatory read quickly turned into congratulating my prof for making us read it! This book begins humorous and poignant and stays that way throughout the entire book while diving deep into many of the issues surrounding Native communities. With the arrival of Ojibwe trickster figure Nanabush turned sexy leather-clad white man with a dreamy motorcycle and even dreamier hazel eyes (or were they green?) comes the reawakening of a reserve that has forgotten it's cultural identity. Enter Virgil and Wayne, two misfits who are honor bound to protect the virtue of Virgil's mother (and the reserve's chief) by learning more about this mysterious white man and driving him away. The raccoons have no trouble helping with that situation, as they seem just as bound to get rid of him, but for clearly different reasons. Surrounding this plot are subtly hidden issues such as the lingering effects of residential school, the historical relationship between Natives and non-Natives and notions of what that relationship is now. An overall amazing novel for incorporating Native martial arts, a steamy lip-lock with an old granny and proving that Indigenous literature is not oppressive and depressing!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful Read!,
By
This review is from: Motorcycles & Sweetgrass (Paperback)
Do you love Canadian Literature as I do, but sometimes harbour secret critical thoughts? Do you ever inwardly ask yourself questions like: Does CanLit have to be so depressing? Is everyone in Canada impoverished and filled with self pity? Could Can Lit ever allow its reader's to indulge in a little escapism? Character development is wonderful - but could we cut out about 100 pages of navel gazing? Is any sub group in Canada not filled with lamentations?It was with this trepidation that I picked up [Motorcycles &Sweet Grass] by Drew Taylor Hayden. Yes, I `d read excellent reviews that promised me that this book would read "like a romp." But, I reasoned, this is a book about life on a First Nations Reserve and that is not generally indicative of a book that will be humour filled. I was most wonderfully surprised in so many ways. Motorcycles and Sweetgrass is indeed filled with humour and great lines, but it also gently touches on many serious issues. Residential schools, abuse by Catholic Priests, alcoholism, drug abuse, the clashing intergenerational First Nation Culture and many other difficult topics are skilfully brought to our attention. Native mythology is prominent in the book, but presented in such a way that it very understandable to virtually any reader. I also got a real feel for the prejudice that First Nations people are subjected to, as well a look into what life might be like for both adults and children living on a reserve in today's Canada. I was also able to get a very good idea as to what forces - both from within and outside a Reserve - are dealt with by an aboriginal Chief. This is a most fun and enjoyable read ,but it would be a mistake to say it is simply that. There is so much more to this book, and it well earned its place as a finalist in the 2010 Governor Generalist's Award. The author, Drew Hayden Taylor , born and raised on Curve Lake First Nation Reserve in Ontario well deserves his award from Knopf Canada as a New Face in Fiction in Canada. One of the many humourous lines that one that grabbed is this one concerning the Chief of the reserve : "She hated appearing on television, felt that she looked too haggard and worn, like a character from a Margaret Lawrence novel." This is a wonderful read and deserves to be much more popular than it is. I look very forward to Drew Hayden Taylor's next book!
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