‘Starlight’ by Richard Wagamese

“There is such a powerful eloquence in silence. True genius is knowing when to say nothing, to allow the experience, the moment itself, to carry the message, to say what needs to be said. Words are less important, less effective than feeling. When you can sit in perfect silence with someone, you truly know how to communicate.”

Acclaimed Canadian author Richard Wagamese died while writing this book. It is a draft sequel to Medicine Walk. There were some clues and notes he left behind about the missing final chapters, so the book still has a satisfying conclusion and is in no way diminished because it is was not completed. I found Wagamese set up the novel so well, that I could enjoy imagining the way it would end. I’m glad the publisher didn’t try to finish it for him, I’m not sure anyone could mimic his beautiful writing style anyway. This is a profoundly moving novel about the redemptive power of love, mercy, and compassion which was building towards a dramatic ending.

In both Starlight and Medicine Walk, the author’s love of the land and indigenous connection with nature is supremely evident. The main character Frank Starlight, leads a simple and contemplative existence which is upended by a woman and her daughter on the run from a harrowing life of violence. They are fleeing from committing a desperate act of survival when Frank takes them in. Over time, he introduces them to the land and patiently teaches them the skills that have allowed him not only to survive but to find communion with the world. Gradually, this accidental family changes Starlight and Emmy in ways they never imagined. But Emmy’s abusive ex isn’t content to just let her go. He wants revenge and is hunting her down.

Affected by the Sixties Scoop, Wagamese was Ojibwe, living in Kamloops, BC. “After being taken from his family by the Children’s Aid Society, he was raised in foster homes in northwestern Ontario before being adopted, at age nine, by a St. Catharines Presbyterian family that refused to allow him to maintain contact with his First Nations heritage and identity. Of this experience he wrote: ‘The wounds I suffered went far beyond the scars on my buttocks.’ The beatings and abuse he endured in foster care led him to leave home at 16, seeking to reconnect with indigenous culture. Then he lived on the street, abusing drugs and alcohol, and was imprisoned several times. During this time he also began frequenting public libraries, at first for shelter and later to read. (Wikipedia).”

The loss of Wagamese weighs keenly on me as I remember reading his amazing book Ragged Company that features homeless characters who win the lottery, and I look forward to reading Indian Horse which was a finalist for Canada Reads and is now a movie on CBC Gem. It’s sad to think there won’t be more–his writing is a healing gift.