Ravensong—A Novel

Book excerpt: WHERE DO YOU BEGIN TELLING SOMEONE THEIR WORLD IS NOT THE ONLY ONE? While Stacey, a 17-year-old Native girl, struggles to save her family and community from a devastating influenza epidemic, a white classmate’s suicide hints that the village is threatened by forces more sinister and powerful than the epidemic itself. Ravensong, the first novel of celebrated author Lee Maracle, tells an extraordinary story about a young woman’s quest for answers, combining both tragedy and joy in its unforgettable depiction of an urban Native community in the 1950s. Maracle speaks unflinchingly of the gulf between two cultures: a gulf that Raven says must be bridged. Evocative and prescient, filled with oral traditions, humour, and deep insight, Ravensong is more than just a novel—it is a necessary story for our time.