MEDICINE RIVER

Winner of the PEN/Josephine Miles Award and nominated for the Commonwealth Writer's Prize, Medicine River is a great introduction to Thomas King's humorous fiction. It's the story of Will, a mixed-blood man of Blackfoot descent and a marginally successful Toronto photographer, who has returned to the reserve for his mother's funeral. Will isn't planning on staying in Medicine River, but his old friend Harlen Bigbear has other plans for him. In a unique brand of community planning, Harlen sets out to sell Will on the idea of returning to Medicine River as the town's only Native photographer, and manages to convince him to at least give it a try. Will feels alienated from his friends and family, but the ever-engaging Harlan has an answer for everything.