Welcome to Litsy!

Powerful novel. Feels like a memoir. Saul was ripped from his Ojibway family & forced into a Residential School, where he tried to escape trauma by playing hockey. His external & internal journey highlight his rage against racism & prejudice, his fight w/ alcoholism, & his healing. I despise sports, but even the hockey sections were so beautifully written, I was eagerly reading. And the conclusion brought me to tears. #OhCanada

@Jess861

The observations about nature within the first chapters of Indian Horse are beautifully expressed. Enough so, that trying to decide what to share was going to be tough, but then Saul‘s grandmother made this statement. Timely words I‘ll be keeping in the back of my mind. #OhCanada

5⭐️ Wagamese so effectively captures the heart wrenching destructive trauma of the Indian boarding school policy.

I knew I was going to like this because I enjoyed Medicine Walk. Deft writer! Lyrical and sensitive despite the subject matter.

#OhCanada
@Jess861

January 16th #25Alive FaveBook'24 This one sticks to mind @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

What splendid evocative writing! The excerpt pictured is from page 1. I‘m only on chapter 6 and I am going to savor each and every one.

#OhCanada
@Jess861

#WhereAreYouMonday

I find myself in Canada today. I‘ve just started the inaugural #OhCanada read. New author for me and the first couple chapters are promising, though I know it‘s also going to make me sad.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Finished this for #ohcanada a few days ago and forgot to update.

Amazing book looking into the effects and horrors of residential schools and treatment of #indigenous Canadians. Told as the story of a young boy, Saul Indian Horse, as he grows up.

Really interesting insight. Be prepared if you don‘t understand hockey to read a lot about it. I think it would be fine if you don‘t know a lot but as a fan this was a bonus for me.

#canada

« I couldn‘t run the risk of someone knowing me, because I couldn‘t take the risk of knowing myself »

#ohcanada #canada #indigenous #ojibwe

repost for @Jess861:

The Oh Canada book club officially kicks off tomorrow with Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese. We will select a book to read every two months and I will post a small discussion at the end of each book for those who wish to participate. This is about as low key as it gets and everyone is welcome!

I look forward to exploring Canadian authors and books with you all!

original post:
https://www.litsy.com/web/post/2823452

repost for @Jess861:

Thank you to all for your thoughts on the first book. Excited to announce that our first read for the Oh Canada Book Club will be Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese. This book club will run every two months, so this will be the January/February book. Cannot wait to start diving into some Canadian books!

Very low key, all are welcome to join! Let me know if you want to be added to the tag list!

Thank you to all for your thoughts on the first book. Excited to announce that our first read for the Oh Canada Book Club will be Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese. This book club will run every two months, so this will be the January/February book. Cannot wait to start diving into some Canadian books!

Very low key, all are welcome to join! Let me know if you want to be added to the tag list!

#OhCanada #BuddyRead #BookClub #2025 @LitsyEvents

#ISpyBingoAugustOctober Working on my bingos and got acouple with this book. #FoodandLit #Canada @Clwojick @TheAromaofBooks @Catsandbooks @Texreader #LitsyLoveReads

Every Canadian should read this book! An Obibway boy who is taken from his culture to be in a residential school in the early 1960s. It is sad and full of racism. As a Canadian, I feel ashamed as to how this could have been allowed to happen to so many children.As a descendent of The Ojibway people (Great Great Grandmother was Ojibway from Sault st Marie, Ont), I felt for this little boy being taken away from his culture.This book touched my heart

Is it raining? Of course, still, again. Good grief will it ever end???

Went to a posh finely curated bookshop in Eau Claire, WI. It was so poshy it felt more like an expensive art gallery in which you would only speak in hushed tones, if you spoke at all. 😜 (I admit I loved the literary quality of the selections.)

When tragedy changes the trajectory of his life, Saul Indian Horse is sent to a residential school introducing him to racism and cruelty that will haunt him the rest of his life. A rare talent for hockey gives him a chance for happiness but some things cannot be out-skated. This book manages to be both brutal and easy to read. An undoubtedly important story. #24in2024

April 30 #SpringSkies MFIndegenousPpl I want to read this one. @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

5🌟/5🌟

This is a hard book to read. Tragedy and darkness follow Saul Indian Horse, but he finds hockey and for a while it is the light he needs and he throws himself into the game. The book is heavy and mirrors Sauls life, there is a lightness to the hockey chapters that were needed. The light doesn't last. The book is well balanced and an essential slice of life of Canadian people and history.

#12Booksof2023 #September

@Andrew65

Pulling together things for 2024

This is my #24in2024 cart! Mostly it is random books I have had physical copies of that have been on my Goodreads TBR prior to 2023, and then all of my #botm stragglers. I cancelled that subscription because I wasn't reading the books. Time to get them all done!

#24in2024 with @Jas16

🍁 Indian Horse

🍁 finding a 5 ⭐ spooky book to read.

#Two4Tuesday
@TheSpineView
I tag @NataliePatalie

5 ⭐. Very good.
Triggers: sadness, anger, Indian residential schools, alcoholism, abuse

"My name is Saul Indian Horse."

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

"My name is Saul Indian Horse"

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

30 book recommendations in 30 days...

Day 28: Near the end, but still have dozens of books I could easily choose from. This was a great audio listen. Another good one for Canadians to read/expand their understanding of Indigenous experiences. Yes, it is fiction, but sometimes being in a character's head is what we need to connect/learn, and this is very much consistent with any non-fiction I've read. #30recsin30days
Content warnings in comments

Wide margins and small chapters make this an easier read than you‘d expect considering its emotionally tough subject matter. I don‘t want to say too much about it, but I will say it packs a real blow. Powerful story, beautifully written.

#WithHorse #TemptingTitles

@Eggs
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

A very poignant book, especially in the last year due to the finding of unmarked graves of residential school students in several locations. It‘s a book I need to purchase and mark up. Lots of warnings for this book, especially for sexual abuse. #letteri #alphabetgame

Heartbreaking, but so good. Definitely had me in tears.

#MadeYouCry #BookMoods
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Incredibly difficult, but ultimately hopeful. Knowledge if this history, even if it is fictionalized here, is so important and needs to be more widespread. It really wasn‘t that long ago in the scheme of things. I wish I could have appreciated the parts about hockey a little more, but I am not a huge fan.

I'm really glad I finally read this, even if it was a bit hockey-heavy for me. I think it's an all too common story for many Indigenous people in Canada. It was difficult to read, but also very necessary, especially with all the discoveries of mass graves at residential schools.

I'm posting one book per day from the ever growing unread stacks in my personal library. No description or explanation, just books I own and plan to read. #tbr

Day 55 (Audible edition)

Beautifully told and devastating. Whatever else I could say about it would be totally inadequate. So just read it.
#ReadCanada #Ontario
#ShutdownRound3 book 2

This is a powerhouse of a book- and most certainly for those who understand the love of hockey- BUT don‘t think this is a hockey book. The writing is superb, evocative and authentic encouraging me to find solace and heal where so much anger should be holds the value for forgiveness above the destruction of revenge. Books like this enlighten and offer clarity- should be on everyone‘s TBR pile.

Sol tells the story of his life growing up and his family's experience with colonization. Sol tells this story as a reflection of his life and his family's struggles. I like this book so far, but I haven't read enough of it to get a really concrete understanding of the whole novel. A theme present in this novel is the theme of overcoming adversity.

French-langage lovers, today is the beginning of the annual Combat National des Livres (Canada Reads, but in French).

The defenders are:
Richard Wagamese's Cheval indien (Indigenous territories)
J.R. Réveillé's Le soleil du lac qui se couche (West)
Marguerite Anderson, Mauvaise mère (Ontario)
Nadine Bismuth, Un lien familial (Québec)
Gérald Leblanc, Moncton Mantra (Atlantic)

Go vote now! https://ici.radio-canada.ca/fiches/572/combat-des-livres

It's been a while since a book made me cry. A very shameful part of Canadian history. This should be mandatory reading in Canadian schools, it was very eye opening. I always thought the schools occurred in the late 1800s (and they did), but this book is set in the 1960s. And according to Google the last federal residential school closed in 1996! I had no idea, how recent this all was. A very important read for any Canadian.

This is about trauma and the long road of healing. It's not a fast read, despite its page count (about 220 pages). The narrative is rich, intense, and because it deals with racism and Canada's residential schools, often brutal. This is the kind of book you read slowly, sitting with what's happening and what the implications will be for the character's life. This was my first time reading Wagamese's work, and it won't be my last. #nativeauthors

This book broke my heart. Painful story of a native Ojibway Canadian taken to an abusive and horrific residential school who finds some solace in playing hockey, but even that joy is tainted by experiences he must confront. Saul‘s story and what so many children went through will stay with me. Beautifully written. #indigenousauthor #booked2019.

Indian horse is about a indigenous child from the Ojibway tribe, Saul Indian horse survives the Indian residential school system and grows up to become a star hockey player, the story follows Saul on his journey through residential school and his love of hockey.

#7days7covers Day 6

The story of an Ojibway man sent to residential school in the 1960s and his struggles to find a way to build a life for himself and deal with multiple traumatic events in his life. You'll probably get more out of it if you like sports and especially hockey, although that's certainly not necessary to understand Saul's overall journey.

💔💔💔💔💔
Bless you, Richard Wagamese.

Only at chapter three and the tears are coming

😊 😊Are there any other littens here located in Canada? I see all the beautiful book swaps and whatnot going on and wonder if there is anyone else out there dependent on Canada Post who might want to start a group or a book swap or something similar? 😊

Happy Canada Day!! 🇨🇦 Hoping to get to this novel by a First Nations author later this month. It is also my pick for #booked2019 #indigenousauthor #canada #letstraveljuly @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @OriginalCyn620