Strong, independent, determined women power tale
This is the story of Elinor, a 90-year-old aboriginal woman, and her daughters and granddaughter. One daughter, Louise, left home as a teenager, denied her indigenous culture, and now works as a lawyer. Another daughter was given up at birth after Elinor was raped at residential school. The granddaughter, Alice, is a teacher who has embraced her indigenous heritage.
Elinor is in declining health, but she’s on a mission to find the daughter that was taken from her at residential school before she dies. She’s a real character — she lives alone, thank you very much, rolls her own cigarettes, and is an artist. The relationships between the women are somewhat strained — Elinor hasn’t forgiven Louise for leaving home and they’re not close, but Alice provides a tenuous bridge between both generations. They’ve all been damaged somehow, by trauma, racism and oppression. At the same time, all of the women in this story are strong, independent and determined.
The book takes place in 1968, but it could really be any moment in time. The story of a lost baby and a mother’s longing to be reunited is a timeless, classic tale. Archer handles it well, telling an interesting story.
Tears in the Grass is Lynda A. Archer’s first novel. She has published several short stories and has a master of fine arts in creative writing. She also worked as a clinical psychologist for more than 30 years. She lives on an island in British Columbia, but the novel is set on the Prairies, where Archer was born and raised, and in Ontario.
She says on her website that the Prairies continue to call to her, even though she hasn’t lived there for many years. It’s part of the reason she wrote this novel.
“Almost every year I return to ‘ renew my spirit.’ I go to the same places where I am not likely to meet another person and I can simply dwell in the presence of the prairie,” she says on her website. “I realized that if that land had that kind of meaning for me, how much greater must its meaning and relevance be for indigenous First Nations people. And then, to have it taken from them, and used in ways so foreign to their sensibilities. Ideas flowed from that deep place that one is only half conscious of when writing.”
Archer is not aboriginal, but tells the story of these women with grace and charm. The four women have varying degrees of connection to their culture and Archer conveys those nuances well.
Readers will be compelled to keep turning the pages to find out what will happen next on Elinor’s grand adventure when she sets off to find her long-lost child.