Fiction

The Strangers

The Strangers

  • Downloads：4495
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-09-29 10:51:31
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Katherena Vermette
  • ISBN：0735239614
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

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。

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Reviews

Carly-Ann Rigby ，

The Strangers by Katherina Vermette is one of Canada's most anticipated novels for the fall。 A follow-up to The Break， which came out in 2016， this book is just as intense and important。"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。"There is so much to absorb in Vermette's writing。 Her unwillingness to make her stories comfortable reflects her dedication to the truth of how Indigenous popul The Strangers by Katherina Vermette is one of Canada's most anticipated novels for the fall。 A follow-up to The Break， which came out in 2016， this book is just as intense and important。"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。"There is so much to absorb in Vermette's writing。 Her unwillingness to make her stories comfortable reflects her dedication to the truth of how Indigenous populations have been impacted within this country。 It's truly meaningful in helping those outside Indigenous cultures to recognize the deep and long-standing harm that colonization has instilled as well as getting a clear picture of how and why intergenerational trauma exists and can't be overlooked。"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。"Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book。 。。。more

smalltownbookmom ，

Already long listed for the Giller Prize， this had been one of my most anticipated reads of 2021 and the author did not disappoint！This multigenerational Metis family story is full of heartbreak and resilience。 Three generations of Strangers women tell their stories and the circumstances that led to where they are today。 Matriarch Margaret became a mother at a young age and also got stuck in an abusive relationship。 Her daughter Elsie also has a rough start to life， having three daughters before Already long listed for the Giller Prize， this had been one of my most anticipated reads of 2021 and the author did not disappoint！This multigenerational Metis family story is full of heartbreak and resilience。 Three generations of Strangers women tell their stories and the circumstances that led to where they are today。 Matriarch Margaret became a mother at a young age and also got stuck in an abusive relationship。 Her daughter Elsie also has a rough start to life， having three daughters before she’s 25 and losing one in a horrible accident。 Dealing with her grief Elsie turned to drugs and alcohol which led to addiction and the loss of her surviving children。 Elsie’s daughter Phoenix we know from her earlier novel The Break and we meet again as she is about to give birth to her son in prison。 Elsie’s other daughter Cedar Sage is forced to go live with the father and stepmother she hasn’t seen in years， effectively getting cut off from the rest of her family exacerbating her depression and loneliness。 While this story is full of pain it is also full of love and the enduring bonds of family。 Highly recommended and especially great on audio！ Much thanks to @librofm for my complimentary ALC！！ This book and its gorgeous cover hit shelves tomorrow！⚠️alcohol and drug abuse， domestic violence， suicidal ideation， depression， racism and intergenerational trauma 。。。more

Eva ，

I finished one of my most anticipated books of the year last night and it did not disappoint。 Told from alternating POVs of two sisters， their mother and their grandmother of a Métis family with the last name of Stranger。 Phoenix is serving a sentence in a juvenile institution and her sister begins the book in one of the foster care homes she has been in。 Elsie is battling her demons and trying to fight an addiction in the middle of a town where she frequents the same people， places and things。 I finished one of my most anticipated books of the year last night and it did not disappoint。 Told from alternating POVs of two sisters， their mother and their grandmother of a Métis family with the last name of Stranger。 Phoenix is serving a sentence in a juvenile institution and her sister begins the book in one of the foster care homes she has been in。 Elsie is battling her demons and trying to fight an addiction in the middle of a town where she frequents the same people， places and things。 - a recipe for an uphill battle。 Margaret is estranged from her daughter and learns of a new birth in the family from her mother。 All of these characters will have to have to move boulders from their way to push past what they have endured and come out whole。 The Strangers is a companion book to The Break （published in 2016）。 I read The Break in February of 2017 and while bits of it have stayed with me， including the experience of reading it， details have been forgotten。 It is not necessary to have read The Break first but I think it adds to layers within The Strangers。 I wish I had reread The Break more recently。I am very thankful for the family tree at the beginning of the book to help me keep the multitude of characters straight。 There are a couple of names that belong to two characters and thus really helped。Themes of both connection and estrangement， intergenerational experience， trauma， loss and tradition flow through the story。 The story is told over five years and includes the current pandemic within them subtly。 The characters are often set up to fail by systems。 One example was the comments made by the character Elsie in the novel who talks about the requirement of a home for the system to give her her children but to get a home you need the children who are going to live there first。 An impossible situation。 Motherhood and its many joys and frustrations was tackled expertly。 The character of Margaret had some especially difficult views for me。 It is not until later in the novel where we are told by her uncle Toby where Margaret comes from and how she is different than she appears。 I cried during several scenes in this book and most of them involved children。 Thank you to @netgalley and @penguinhamishhamilton for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions。 The Strangers publishes September 28， 2021。 。。。more

Brandon Forsyth ，

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。

Jacquelyn Taylor ，

This book is spectacular！ If you loved The Break you will not want to miss Vermette's second novel！ The Strangers is the story of a Métis family set in the North End of Winnipeg， told in alternating narratives by three generations of Stranger women。 It is a raw， heart rending story， both rich and at times brutally honest， revealing its intricacies slowly and with deep honour for the fractured， seemingly broken characters。 Elsie and her two daughters are fighting to survive in a system that sets This book is spectacular！ If you loved The Break you will not want to miss Vermette's second novel！ The Strangers is the story of a Métis family set in the North End of Winnipeg， told in alternating narratives by three generations of Stranger women。 It is a raw， heart rending story， both rich and at times brutally honest， revealing its intricacies slowly and with deep honour for the fractured， seemingly broken characters。 Elsie and her two daughters are fighting to survive in a system that sets them up to fail。 This is not a happy story。 It is a sprawling story of derailed dreams， drug addiction， children in care， prison， entrenched systemic racism， and all the ways we let each other down。 And yet it isn't devoid of hope， of love， of small beautiful moments of deep connectedness amongst all the pain。 Vermette's characters are so well drawn you will at times forget the story is fiction。 A truly fantastic author！ By far one of the best books I have read this year。 Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the ARC。 。。。more

Kristi ，

Starts with a bang and never lets up。 Stunning。

Sonja ，

It was slow going at first， but mid way through I couldn't put this book down。 It feels more honest and real than anything I have read in a long time。 Truely， one of the best， if not the best， that I have read this year。 I also loved the relevance of all the Covid references with face masks and quarantines，etc。 It was slow going at first， but mid way through I couldn't put this book down。 It feels more honest and real than anything I have read in a long time。 Truely， one of the best， if not the best， that I have read this year。 I also loved the relevance of all the Covid references with face masks and quarantines，etc。 。。。more

Torontobelle ，

I've read it， and it's amazing。 Everyone who loved The Break will want to read this book。 I've read it， and it's amazing。 Everyone who loved The Break will want to read this book。 。。。more

Krista ，

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 grandm 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。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Strangers

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Strangers&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Strangers&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0