Prairie edge A novel

A slow-moving, quietly furious portrait of two Indigenous Canadians and their attempts to ignite a protest movement. Grey Ginther and Isidore "Ezzy" Desjarlais, 20-something distant cousins living in Edmonton, share a history and a culture--they're both members of the Métis community--but little else. Grey, a recent graduate of the University of Alberta with a degree in Native studies and a job lined up at a nonprofit, is an eager participant in protest movements for Indigenous rights, eventually organizing her own events and gaining a following on social media. Ezzy, who never went to high school and grew up in and out of foster homes, embodies the apathy that Grey fights against. His days filled with booze and petty crime, Ezzy is mostly focused on the daily struggle of existing as a Métis man in contemporary Edmonton, where discrimination is commonplace: "All I knew was survival mode." When the two meet at a protest, Grey takes an interest in the aimless Ezzy, who shares her belief in "Land Back" reconciliation for Indigenous communities, if not her idealism about the possibility of meaningful change, and a cautious friendship begins. After Ezzy is released from a stint in prison, he reconnects with Grey, and the two hatch a plan: to steal a herd of bison and move them to a river valley in the center of Edmonton. While the stunt inspires new protests and increased public attention on Indigenous rights, Ezzy's troubled past and proclivity for violence eventually envelop them both, with devastating consequences. Narration alternates between the two protagonists, though the difference in perspective isn't always clear; the novel's measured tone can also feel at odds with the intensity of its plot, particularly in one scene where Grey is threatened with sexual violence. A powerful, if meandering, tale of friendship and hope in the face of intergenerational trauma. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.