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Five Little Indians (novel)

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Five Little Indians
First edition
AuthorMichelle Good
Audio read byKyla Garcia
LanguageEnglish
SubjectCanadian residential schools
GenreHistorical fiction
Set in1960s Vancouver
PublishedApril 14, 2020
PublisherHarperCollins
Publication placeCanada
Media typePrint (hardcover, paperback), Audio
Pages304
ISBN9781443459198

Five Little Indians is the debut novel by Cree Canadian writer Michelle Good, published in 2020 by Harper Perennial.[1] The novel focuses on five survivors of the Canadian Indian residential school system, struggling to rebuild their lives in Vancouver, British Columbia after the end of their time in the residential schools.[2] It also explores the love and strength that can emerge after trauma.[3]

Five Little Indians was CBC's number one best-selling book in 2021.[4] It was selected for the 2022 edition of Canada Reads, nominated by Christian Allaire, Ojibway author and Vogue Fashion Editor.[5]

Background

[edit]

Although the novel itself is fiction, some of the stories were based on real experiences of Good's mother and grandmother, who were survivors of the residential school system.[1] Growing up, her mother talked about the traumatic histories and experiences of attending St. Barnabas Residential School in Onion Lake, Saskatchewan[6] and these discussions influenced Good's life work.[7] She worked on the novel for more than a decade, beginning the writing process in 2011 as a fine arts graduate student at the University of British Columbia.[8] As part of the writing process, Good relied on psychological assessments of children who experienced physical and sexual abuse in order to accurately depict the long-term impacts on a person's life.[9]

Reception

[edit]

Five Little Indians was CBC's number one best selling book in 2021.[4]

The book received positive reviews from the Toronto Star,[10] Vancouver Sun,[11] and Apple Books.[12]

National Bestseller; A Globe and Mail Top 100 Book of the Year; A CBC Best Book of the Year; An Apple Best Book of the Year; A Kobo Best Book of the Year; An Indigo Best Book of the Year. [sentence fragment]

Amnesty International Book Club selected Five Little Indians for their book club in 2021.

Now named Five Little Indians one of the top ten novels of 2020.[13] The Globe and Mail,[14] CBC,[15] Kobo,[16] and Indigo[17] also named the book in their lists of the best books of the year.

The novel was selected for the 2022 edition of Canada Reads, where it was defended by Christian Allaire.[18] It won the competition on March 31.[19]

Awards and honors

[edit]
Year Award Result Ref.
2020 Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize Shortlist [20]
Scotiabank Giller Prize Longlist [21][22]
2021 Amazon.ca First Novel Award Winner [23]
Amnesty International Book Club: Reader's Choice Selection [24]
BC and Yukon Book Prize Finalist [25]
City of Vancouver Book Award Winner [26]
Forest of Reading Evergreen Award Winner [27]
Governor General's Award for English-language fiction Winner [28]
Indigenous Voices Award for Published Prose in English: Fiction Finalist [29]
Kobo Emerging Writer Prize Winner [30][31]

Television adaptation

[edit]

Five Little Indians has been optioned by Prospero Pictures for development as a limited television series. Shannon Masters, who is of Cree Métis and Ukrainian descent, will serve as writer and show runner alongside Martin Katz and Karen Wookey, who will serve as executive producers.[32]

In an interview, "Good said she hopes the adaptation will make the story accessible to more people."[32]

References

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  1. ^ a b Angelica Haggert, "'The story I was intended to write': Michelle Good on forthcoming novel 'Five Little Indians'". Canadian Geographic, February 20, 2020.
  2. ^ Marcia Kaye (April 16, 2020). "Michelle Good's "Five Little Indians" a fictional exploration of life after residential school". Toronto Star.
  3. ^ "Books and Reviews: Canada Reads roundup". The Suburban Newspaper. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  4. ^ a b "The top 10 bestselling Canadian books of 2021". CBC Books. 2021-12-27. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  5. ^ Van Koeverden, Jane (March 14, 2022). "Michelle Good on her novel Five Little Indians, and the question that guides her writing". CBC Books. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
  6. ^ Good, Michelle (2021-06-24). "Michelle Good: 'Imagine the terror of the children' — 'Non-Indigenous Canada, this is the time to raise your voices'". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2024-08-02.
  7. ^ Van Koeverden, Jane (March 14, 2022). "Michelle Good on her novel Five Little Indians, and the question that guides her writing". CBC.ca. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
  8. ^ Laskaris, Adam (1 June 2021). "Kamloops-area author wins prestigious awards for debut novel". Kamloops This Week. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  9. ^ Bresge, Adina (28 May 2021). "Michelle Good on why Indigenous people can't 'get over' residential school trauma". www.cp24.com. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  10. ^ Kaye, Marcia (2020-04-16). "Michelle Good's "Five Little Indians" a fictional exploration of life after residential school". The Toronto Star. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  11. ^ Gee, Dana (2020-04-16). "Five Little Indians follows young lives forced into residential school". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  12. ^ Five Little Indians. Retrieved 2022-01-09. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  13. ^ Cole, Susan G. (November 30, 2020). "The 10 best books of 2020". Now.
  14. ^ Cannon, Margaret; Canton, Jeffrey; Pereira, Judith; Rogers, Sean; Scott, Alec; Colbert, Jade (2021-11-30). "The Globe 100: Our favourite books of 2020". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  15. ^ "The best Canadian fiction of 2020". CBC Books. 2020-12-03. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  16. ^ "Some of the best books by Indigenous writers in Canada". Kobo Blog. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  17. ^ "Our Best Books of 2020". Indigo Books & Music. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  18. ^ "Meet the Canada Reads 2022 contenders". CBC Books, January 26, 2022.
  19. ^ "And the winner of Canada Reads 2022 is..." CBC Books. 2022-03-31. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  20. ^ "Thomas King, Gil Adamson among finalists for $50K Writers' Trust Fiction Prize". Toronto Star. 2020-10-06. Retrieved 2024-08-02.
  21. ^ Truax, Emma. "2020 Finalists". Scotiabank Giller Prize. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  22. ^ Dundas, Deborah (2020-09-08). "Thomas King, Emma Donoghue make the 2020 Giller longlist in a year marked by firsts". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2024-08-02.
  23. ^ Vicky Qiao, "Five Little Indians by Michelle Good wins $60K Amazon First Novel Award". CBC Books, May 28, 2021.
  24. ^ "Five Little Indians". Amnesty International Book Club. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  25. ^ "Winners & Finalists". BC and Yukon Book Prizes. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  26. ^ "City of Vancouver Book Award". City of Vancouver. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  27. ^ Qiao, Vicky (2021-10-21). "Five Little Indians by Michelle Good wins Forest of Reading Evergreen Award for best title for adults". CBC Books. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
  28. ^ "Past GGBooks winners and finalists". Governor General's Literary Awards. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  29. ^ Drudi, Cassandra (2021-05-03). "Finalists announced for 2021 Indigenous Voices Awards". Quill and Quire. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  30. ^ Dundas, Deborah (2021-06-22). "Michelle Good wins Kobo Emerging Writer fiction prize — making it three wins for the three noms she got on that big day in May". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2024-08-02.
  31. ^ "2021 Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize Winners Announced". Kobo Blog. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  32. ^ a b Vicky Qiao, "Michelle Good's Five Little Indians to be adapted into limited TV series". CBC News, June 9, 2021.
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