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    Medicine Walk
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    Medicine Walk
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    Medicine Walk
    Ebook272 pages3 hours

    Medicine Walk

    By Richard Wagamese

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    A novel about the role of stories in our lives, those we tell ourselves about ourselves and those we agree to live by.”
    Globe and Mail

    When Franklin Starlight is called to visit his father, he has mixed emotions. Raised by the old man he was entrusted to soon after his birth, Frank is haunted by the brief and troubling moments he has shared with his father, Eldon. When he finally travels by horseback to town, he finds Eldon on the edge of death, decimated from years of drinking.

    The two undertake difficult journey into the mountainous backcountry, in search of a place for Eldon to die and be buried in the warrior way. As they travel, Eldon tells his son the story of his own lifefrom an impoverished childhood to combat in the Korean War and his shell-shocked return. Through the fog of pain, Eldon relates to his son these desolate moments, as well as his life’s fleeting but nonetheless crucial moments of happiness and hope, the sacrifices made in the name of love. And in telling his story, Eldon offers his son a world the boy has never seen, a history he has never known.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMilkweed Editions
    Release dateMay 12, 2015
    ISBN9781571319319
    Author

    Richard Wagamese

    Richard Wagamese, an Ojibway from the Wabaseemoong First Nation in northwestern Ontario, was one of Canada's foremost writers. His acclaimed, bestselling novels included Indian Horse, which was a Canada Reads finalist, winner of the inaugural Burt Award for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Literature, and made into a feature film; and Medicine Walk. He was also the author of acclaimed memoirs, including For Joshua; One Native Life; and One Story, One Song, which won the George Ryga Award for Social Awareness in Literature; as well as a collection of personal reflections, Embers, which received the Bill Duthie Booksellers' Choice Award. He won numerous awards and recognition for his writing, including the National Aboriginal Achievement Award for Media and Communications, the Canada Council for the Arts Molson Prize, the Canada Reads People's Choice Award, and the Writers' Trust of Canada's Matt Cohen Award. Wagamese died on March 10, 2017, in Kamloops, BC.

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    Reviews for Medicine Walk

    4.5/5

    121 ratings19 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Wagamese's prose is absolutely stunning, so stunning in fact that it makes the story hurt just a little bit less. While I wouldn't say there was anything surprisingly in this novel, it sure does pack a punch. Perhaps it's the lack of surprise that really gets to you-- what does it mean to feel as though you already know a story before it's finished being told? These characters are so very real, and I love how Wagamese is able to capture indigenous and Canadian vernacular. This here is a story that hurts, yet I also feel like it's one that deserves to be read, even if only so you can think about the ways these issues might impact your own life, or those around you. It is a story about stories, and a voice in the silence. Don't be surprised if you find tears in your eyes as you turn that last page.
    • 5/5
      As I finished this book, I wanted to head to the bookstore and find his other ones. This is a story that is going to haunt me for quite awhile.

      This story encompasses so much. It gives details of the lives of Canada's Native people, the life of an uneducated labourer, the effect of war on a young soldier as well as the hurt and betrayal of family members.

      Franklin Starlight, is a sixteen year old Native teen who was adopted by "The Old Man" when he was a little boy. He was taught the value of work and he found satisfaction in farm work and his joy in horses. He left school at an early age, as it was not his thing. He never knew his father or mother. Over the years he visited his father, Eldon, but he was an alcoholic and those visits usually ended quickly and badly. One day, Franklin is called to visit his father and he went because it was his duty. He finds his alcoholic father in a small flophouse, dying of liver failure. Eldon asks his son to take him into the mountains, and bury him in the traditional Ojibway ways. “I need you to bury me facing east. Sitting up, in the warrior way.”

      This began the journey both up the mountain with his father, and in learning the story of his father's life as well as what happened with his mother. Eldon tells his son about his life history, his happiness and sacrifices made along the way. And we see both father and son connecting, for the first time. This was an extremely sad story but I could not stop reading. Eldon's life was not an easy one and he carried scars from the battles he had endured. As Franklin buried him he told him "the was is over". An extremely emotional read that was so well written that you could not put it down. The descriptions of the scenery as well as the toll the illness took on Eldon made you feel like you were there. This is a novel about courage and love, and redemption.
    • 4/5
      Franklin Starlight—16 but practical and resilient beyond his years—lives on a farm with an old man and knows next to nothing about his family origins. The old man has taught him the value of hard work and instilled in him an appreciation for the wonders of the natural world. The sole presence of family in Franklin’s young life is his alcoholic father, Eldon, who, in several ill-fated attempts to connect with his son over the years, has proven only that he is selfish and unreliable. Franklin is therefore understandably skeptical when Eldon summons him to the derelict rooming house where he’s living, informs him that he is dying and declares that he wants Franklin to take him into the forest to a sacred place and bury him upright, in the warrior position. Ignorant of the events in his father’s past that have brought him to this point, Franklin’s response, perfectly reasonable, is that his father is anything but a warrior and so why would he think he’s entitled to a warrior’s burial. The novel that Richard Wagamese has fashioned from Eldon’s desperate last-minute yearning to finally reconcile with his son is moving and uplifting. For as long as Franklin has known him, Eldon has let his son believe that a simple weakness for alcohol has been his ruin. Is it too late to change how his son feels about him? As they trek through the woods to the spot that will be Eldon’s final resting place, and as his father’s strength gives out, stories emerge that debunk many of the assumptions that Franklin has relied upon all his life to explain his father’s actions. Wagamese’s novel takes the reader on a heartfelt journey through Eldon Starlight’s cursed childhood and the sad life that followed, describing how the young man was forced to abandon his Ojibway heritage and rely on his wits to survive, making many poor decisions in the process, some of them purely selfish, some motivated by a desire to ease the pain of others. Along the way, the novel demonstrates that a life is an accumulation of choices made, and, for good or ill, we end up where those choices leave us. Wagamese does not excuse Eldon’s behaviour; he doesn’t ask us to mourn his passing, forgive or even sympathize with him. But he does seem to want us (and Franklin) to reconsider Eldon, to weigh misfortunes endured against mistakes made. In the end, it is up to the son to decide if the harsh lesson of his father’s luckless existence is worth heeding.
    • 4/5
      Read for book club.Franklin Starlight has been brought up by a grandfather-type figure and only seen his unreliable, often drunk father very couple of years or so. At the beginning of the story his terminally ill father summons Frank for a last journey to a ridge where he wants to die.Beautifully written, and the use of "the old man", "the boy" etc is effective, although occasionally I struggled to work out who "he" was. This is not at all the type of book I usually read: there is no humour and the experiences of the characters are very far from my own. Still, I found it mostly compelling and very sad. Note that the characters with the strongest ties to nature and the spirit of the wild outdoors are non-"Indian".Thought-provoking and some how both unjudgmental and deeply moral at the same time.
    • 5/5
      This is a wonderful book by a gifted storyteller. So sad to hear that Richard Wagamese recently passed-- much too young. The other LibraryThing.com reviews here are well worth reading. Not much to add except one quote that made this book so full of meaning for me (pg. 203) "When you share your stories you change things." Sometimes a book comes to you at just the right time in life, when as a reader you needed to discover its message. It felt that way to me, but it's also a book so rich and full of meaning in so many other ways too.
    • 5/5
      a son is called by his estranged alcoholic father to take him to his final resting place because he is dying. Franklin Starlight dutifully answeres his call. The story is about what happened to his father all these years and also how his son came to be. This is the second book I've read by this author and I like his prose and how you really feel a sense of place and time.
    • 5/5
      Franklin Starlight never knew his mother and the few encounters he's had with his alcoholic father have left him hurt and disappointed.He's been raised on a small ranch in northern British Columbia by "the old man", who's taught him everything he knows about ranching and wilderness survival. He's also taught him about integrity, self-esteem and the qualities of good character. At sixteen, Franklin's more a man then most. When he gets a call from his father he's tempted to ignore it, but this time it's different. His father is dying of liver disease and wants Frank to help him travel to remote ridge forty miles out in the wilderness. Once there he wants "a warrior's death", buried sitting upright in the ground facing east "so he can follow the rising sun across the sky to the Happy Hunting Grounds."As it's his father's dying wish, Frank feels duty-bound to oblige him. Besides, he's longing to know more about his family history including how he came to be brought up by the "the old man".So begins the journey, from a small mill town into the wilderness, Frank walking and leading a horse his father rides because he is too weak to walk. As each mile passes Franklin begins to know his father as the man slowly divulges his personal history, Franklin's history.In Medicine Walk, Richard Wagamese has created a story that resonates on many levels. There's the portrayal of a Spartan way of life defined by hard manual labour, loyalty and integrity as conveyed in the characters of Franklin and "the old man".Then there's the life Franklin's father has lived - one of never facing up to your demons and using alcohol to keep them at bay. It's a story of the extremes of human nature - of doing the right thing no matter how tough and painful it is, and doing everything to avoid it.Wagamese' dialogue is authentic, his characters complex, and his story is brutal in it's truth.
    • 5/5
      This was a privilege and a pleasure to read. Full of beautiful imagery. It is impossible to read this and not be touched in some way.
    • 5/5
      This is probably one of the ten best, it not THE best book I've ever read! Words cannot express just how wonderful it is. The language that Richard Wagamese uses is spare, but so descriptive. His descriptions of the scenery in and around northern BC, took my breath away, just like the actual scenery does every time I see it. Franklin is 16 years old when we meet him. He lives on a remote farm with his guardian who we only know as "the old man" up until the end of the book. Franklin's only memory is of this farm and this man. He does have a father who he has seen on occasion, but usually his father is drunk when he sees him. He has never known his mother. But "the old man", who is not Indian, has tried to teach Franklin Indian ways and life survival skills. Franklin's values reflect this. He believes in hard work, simple food, finding happiness in the outdoors, and honest, straight-forward people. He admits to himself that he never took to schooling, and that he has learned everything he needs to know about farming, nature, solid and honest values, hunting and fishing from the "old man". Then Franklin's father asks him to take him to where he believes will be his last resting place. After a lifetime of hard drinking, he is dying, and he wants to leave this earth on his own terms. He wants a warrior's resting place - out in the wide open with the sun rising to the east. On this journey, his father tells Franklin about his own life, and also tells him about Franklin's mother about whom Franklin knows nothing. The book reveals so many life lessons, and in language so beautiful, that it took my breath away. As Franklin and his father journey through rugged and beautiful backcountry, they are also journeying into the past. Franklin and his father both find love, forgiveness and redemption on this epic journey - an ending as well as a beginning for a dying father and a young man who needs to learn about his father's past before he can grow up to be a man. "Franklin wondered how he would look years on, and what effect this history would have on him. His life was built on the stories of vague ghosts." Loved this book! It was absolutely amazing! CanLit at it's very best.
    • 5/5
      I feel like this is equal parts a cop-out and the highest praise I can give when I say that I don't know how to review this book. There isn't anything I could possibly say here that would capture the beauty and the pain that Medicine Walk portrays.

      So, I guess I'll say this:

      This is a book that I had to read slowly -- to savour the writing style and to process what was happening. It's vivid, and brutal, and heartbreak, and so, so, so amazing.

      This is a book that I'll be recommending, and an author that I'll be reading more of.

      I received a free copy of Medicine Walk from the publisher through Goodreads.
    • 5/5
      This is an absolutely exquisite rite of passage story. Richard Wagamese captures the heartfelt pain and sorrow which comes with love and loss, which comes with the parent/child relationship, and which comes with the passage into adulthood. A father and son, and an adoptive father struggle with the hard facts of hard scrabble lives, with the hardened heart which has trouble expressing itself fully, and with the limit to lifespan which brings that unique pressure to make things right. Love takes so many forms, and goes through so many filters, that sometimes it is tough to express, and this wonderful story demonstrates that with the grace of good writing, engaging and believable characters, and its ability to capture some of the truths of being human.
    • 5/5
      In this heartbreaking story about redemption, forgiveness and past regrets, Wagamese writes a magnificent story. His descriptions of the lives of Franklin, his father and the old man are poignant, at times heartbreaking but show a deep and abiding love that though not always shown, was always there. There are very few characters in this story but the characters that are there are more than enough to fill these pages. He uses words in a way that few can, his portrayal of the woods, and the trip Franklin undertakes in a last effort, out of duty to a father who was mostly absent, I found beyond compare. My feelings at the end of this book were certainly melancholy but also glad that Franklin had someone who loved him throughout his life. Though this is the first book I have read by this author, it certainly will not be my last.
    • 5/5
      I am a fan of Canadian author Richard Wagamese, and this is his best yet!
    • 5/5
      Ever since I read Indian Horse I have been a fan of Richard Wagamese. He writes about people in such a way that you feel you are almost in the room with them and when he describes natural surroundings you can see them. Franklin Starlight is a 16 year old boy of native ancestry who has been raised by a white man who is no blood relative. And yet his relationship with the "old man" is closer than many sons have with their blood father. The old man is a farmer in the BC Interior and he has taught Franklin everything he knows about surviving in the woods, which is a considerable amount. Franklin's birth father shows up from time to time but he is an alcoholic and can never be relied upon. Yet, when this story starts and Franklin gets a request to go see his father in a mill town that is a day's ride away, Franklin decides to go because it is his father. Eldon Starlight tells Franklin he is dying from effects of the alcohol and asks Franklin to take him to a place up in the hills where he wants to die and be buried like a warrior, sitting up. Franklin agrees to do so mainly because he wants to learn more about his heritage. Eldon tells Franklin his life story including what happened to Franklin's mother. Will knowing these things help Franklin? I hope so but I felt so bad for him that I shed tears when I finished the book. And yet, Franklin's story is probably far from unique. Similar events happen to far too many youngsters. Let's hope that there are some "old men" (and old women) around to give them a fighting chance.
    • 5/5
      In Medicine Walk, Eldon Starlight is a “half breed” (Ojibway/Scot) struggling with alcoholism as a way to fill the holes in his life that began to form when he was part of a group that “no one wanted around.” As the story begins, Eldon’s 16-year old estranged son Frank is summoned to take his father to the mountains to die. As the often-tragic circumstances of the father’s life are revealed, it becomes apparent that the alcoholism resulted from his attempts to keep away feelings of guilt, loss, and lack of belonging. Retracing the path of his life is cathartic for the father and revelatory for the son as they both come to understand the healing power of storytelling to reclaim their lives and connect with their aboriginal heritage.Together with Indian Horse, Medicine Walk will give Canadian readers a greater understanding of the injustices experienced by our country’s aboriginal people
    • 5/5
      Amazing. Simply amazing.

      It's pure poetry. The kid's father calls for him one last time, and for once he does not get drunk and screw it up. An epic journey of compassion, generosity, and self-discovery. You can't not read this book.
    • 4/5
      A sad, beautiful and compelling story.
    • 5/5
      I read Starlight in July and was immediately drawn in by Wagamese's writing and the appealing character Frank Starlight, who was brought up as a son by "the old man". In this book, his real father, a hopeless alcoholic Frank has only met on a few unpleasant occasions in his life, has requested a visit before he dies. What follows is a pilgrimage of sorts in the mountains of British Columbia to where Eldon wants to die, on a specific mountain ridge, buried in the traditional way for a warrior. Frank is sceptical of Eldon's warrior status but out of loyalty goes along with his father's wishes. Eldon is placed on the horse, becoming sicker with each day of the journey, while Frank walks alongside, preparing a bed of spruce for his father each night and sheltering him with a spruce lean-to. He catches fish and collects berries and plants along the way - a medicine walk, like the old man has taught him, while Eldon recounts the cathartic story of his life and of Frank's birth, about which Frank knew nothing. This is a beautiful, moving story of loyalty and of healing for both men. Highly recommended.I loved the bit where they came across a grizzly. Now I know what to do when I encounter a bear, although I doubt that I would be as brave as Frank. Fortunately I was already in my car when it happened a couple of weeks ago.
    • 5/5
      Medicine Walk by First Nations author Richard Wagamese is about the journey, both spiritual and physical that 16 year old Franklin Starlight makes with his dying alcoholic father, Eldon. Their relationship is a broken one as Eldon has been absent from Franklin for most of his life but now at the end of his days, he turns to Franklin to accompany him to his final resting place in the wilderness.Franklin was adopted by an “old man” and raised close to nature but as much as he reveres and respects the old man, he yearns to know more about himself, where he came from and who his mother was. This final journey with his deathly ill father through the mountainous wilderness of British Columbia will hopefully give him the answers that he needs.Richard Wagamese is a wonderful story teller and has a way of inserting life’s tragedies and sorrows into the narrative that make his stories into thoughtful, literary works of art. This story unfolds over a period of just a few days yet the author is able to add alcoholism, domestic violence, and the nature of being “Indian” to the story. Medicine Walk is a complex and moving father-son story from this accomplished author.