Moon of the Crusted Snow

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Moon of the Crusted Snow
Moon of the Crusted Snow.jpg
Author Waubgeshig Rice
LanguageEnglish
Release number
1
GenrePost-apocalyptic fiction; thriller
Set inCanada
Publisher ECW Press
Publication date
2 Oct 2018
Publication placeCanada
Pages213 (paperback)
Followed byMoon of the Turning Leaves 

Moon of the Crusted Snow is a 2018 post-apocalyptic thriller novel by Waubgeshig Rice. Set in a rural Anishinaabe community in northern Canada, it follows a group of community members after they are cut off from the rest of the world amidst a societal collapse. A sequel, Moon of the Turning Leaves, was published on October 10, 2023. The novel was nominated for the 2019 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.

Contents

Plot

Evan Whitesky and his wife Nicole raise their two children on an Anishinaabe reserve in northern Ontario, Canada. The reserve loses power and all connection to the outside world, though the town’s generators are able to power essential services through the winter. Two college students return from the south, bringing stories of societal collapse. A white man named Justin Scott arrives on the reserve, seeking shelter from the chaos. The chief and council allow him to stay, though they do not trust him.

The council institutes food and electricity rationing. Two young women freeze to death after drinking with Scott. Another group of white people arrive at the reserve begging for food, and Scott shoots one of them. As conditions deteriorate, Scott’s influence increases and the band council’s diminishes. There is a riot at the food handout line, and Scott suggests that he has found an alternative food source. A body goes missing from the morgue; Evan suspects Scott of cannibalism. He and other community leaders confront Scott, who is cooking the body into a stew. Scott is shot and killed; Evan is shot as well.

In an epilogue two years later, the power has never returned and the community is returning to their ancestral way of life; Evan has survived. They leave the reserve for a new settlement.

Major themes

Alicia Elliot of the CBC writes that many non-Indigenous horror novelists use "old Indian burial grounds" as an explanation for why white protagonists are haunted. They may also use plot devices such as viruses wiping out entire populations, which have actually happened to Indigenous populations. In contrast, Moon of the Crusted Snow begins when the power goes out and the community is cut off from the wider world. At first, the community does not recognize the gravity of the situation, since their phone and Internet connections are frequently disrupted. As more community members die, the protagonist Evan notes that northern communities such as the one in the novel are "familiar with tragedy". According to Elliot, this serves as a magnification of "generations of intergenerational trauma and genocide". [1]

The Literary Review of Canada wrote that the novel explores a "doubled apocalypse": the fictional breakdown of society is contrasted to the real historical and cultural genocide against the Anishinaabe and other First Nations Peoples. Justin, a white man, eventually cannibalizes a Native American corpse, serving as a metaphor for cultural genocide. [2]

In a review for Strange Horizons , Sean Guynes explored the concept of Anishinaabe "separation" from the "white world". Guynes wrote that the character of Scott and his appearance on the reservation underscored the band's separation from white Canada; Scott has a "fetish" for Indigenous women and misuses Anishinaabemowin words. The elder Aileen explains that the Anishinaabe were not originally an arctic people. They were driven from their ancestral lands by men similar to Scott. The band's reliance on white-owned convenience stores and white-owned power plants is a symptom of this earlier genocide. Additionally, Evan and Nicole have traditionally white names as a result of white influence on native names, language, and culture. Their children Maiingan and Nangohns have traditional Anishinaabemowin names, which indicates a return to a more traditional way of life. [3]

Style

The Anishinaabe language appears frequently in the novel. The words are sometimes defined and sometimes only understood through context. There is no glossary or pronunciation guide. This reflects an intentional choice by the author, who wanted readers to "do [work] on their own" as a "part of active learning". [4]

Rice uses jump cuts in which time passes without explicit description, similar to the works of James Joyce. [2]

Katharine Coldiron compared the novel's tight focus to the style of Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank. Both novels describe the "eye-level" view of people reacting to a disaster. [5]

Background

Rice stated in an interview with the Toronto Star that he had always been intrigued by post-apocalyptic stories such as The Lord of the Flies and The Chrysalids . After reading The Road , he wondered if he could put "an Indigenous lens" on that type of story. [6]

Reception and awards

Moon of the Crusted Snow received praise from critics. Katharine Coldiron of Locus praised the novel's "slow, deliberate" prose, calling it a "humble but welcome addition" to the postapocalyptic genre. [5] Publishers Weekly called the book a "powerful story of survival [that] will leave readers breathless". [7] The Seattle Book Review gave the novel five out of five possible stars, calling it a "frighteningly plausible" story that "shouldn't be missed". [8]

The book saw a resurgence in interest after the COVID-19 pandemic. When one Quebec couple traveled thousands of miles to the community of Old Crow, Yukon in an attempt to avoid COVID-19, many users on Twitter compared the story to a plot point from the novel. [9]

In 2019, Moon of the Crusted Snow received the Evergreen Award, which invites people to read and vote on a selection of Canadian books curated by librarians. [10] It was nominated for the 2019 John Campbell Award. [11] In 2020, the novel was selected as Hamilton, Ontario's "must-read book" of the year. [12]

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References

  1. Elliott, Alicia (17 October 2019). "The rise of Indigenous horror: How a fiction genre is confronting a monstrous reality". CBC . Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  2. 1 2 Navneet Alang (Dec 2018). "A Doubled Apocalypse". Literary Review of Canada. Retrieved 11 Aug 2022.
  3. Sean Guynes (22 Jul 2019). "MOON OF THE CRUSTED SNOW BY WAUBGESHIG RICE". Strange Horizons. Retrieved 11 Aug 2022.
  4. Rosanna Deerchild (25 Jan 2019). "Waubgeshig Rice balances historical accuracy with dystopian future in new novel". CBC. Retrieved 11 Aug 2022.
  5. 1 2 Katharine Coldiron (2 Jul 2019). "Katharine Coldiron Reviews Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice". Locus. Retrieved 11 Aug 2022.
  6. Sue Carter (12 Oct 2018). "Dystopian novel pays 'homage to the everyday people on reserves across Canada'". Toronto Star. Retrieved 11 Aug 2022.
  7. "Moon of the Crusted Snow Review". Publishers Weekly. 24 Sep 2018. Retrieved 11 Aug 2022.
  8. Mandy Nevius (Jan 2019). "Moon of the Crusted Snow: A Novel". Seattle Book Review. Retrieved 11 Aug 2022.
  9. Kyle Muzyka (9 Apr 2020). "'Blew my mind': How Waubgeshig Rice's post-apocalyptic storyline became a reality". CBC. Retrieved 11 Aug 2022.
  10. Jane van Koeverden (28 Oct 2019). "Waubgeshig Rice wins 2019 Evergreen Award for Moon of the Crusted Snow". CBC. Retrieved 11 Aug 2022.
  11. "2019 Campbell Memorial Award Finalists". Locus. 11 Jun 2019. Retrieved 19 Aug 2022.
  12. Jennifer La Grassa (16 Apr 2020). "Hamilton's must-read book for 2020: Waub Rice's Moon of the Crusted Snow". CBC. Retrieved 11 Aug 2022.