In the novel Son of a Trickster celebrated

In the novel Son of a Trickster, celebrated Haisla and Heiltsuk author Eden Robinson tells the story of a 16 -year-old named Jared who is known in his community for making the best weed cookies and for having a scary mom. Jared takes care of his struggling family the best he can and shrugs off the fact that the ravens are talking to him. Note to teachers: This document contains spoilers! If you intend to read only the book excerpt provided on curio. ca with your students, this document gives a fuller picture of the book content. If you intend to read the whole book with your students, you may wish to remove spoilers before sharing the document with students. Visit www. curio. ca/canadareads to read an excerpt from Son of a Trickster and watch Eden Robinson discuss her book.

WARNING TO TEACHERS: LITERACY STRATEGY The novel Son of a Trickster contains scenes of sex, violence and substance abuse, as well as foul language. If you are using this backgrounder directly with students, have them review the document for new vocabulary. They can highlight new words and research their meaning. The classroom must promote a safe place for students to discuss sensitive topics. Please prepare your students for the content explored in the novel, the book backgrounder and the book excerpt. Allow for individual reflective time in addition to small group activities where students can safely process their thoughts and emotions. * We recommend that you review all Canada Reads video and written materials before sharing them with your students. Book Description Everyone knows a dude like Jared — or at least they think they do. He’s the high school burnout who sells drugs, has an addict for a father, and an unhinged mother who mixes substances and weapons. Sure, Jared smokes and drinks too much (and bakes one helluva weed cookie!), but he also fundraises for his track team and is a kid with a massively compassionate www. curio. ca/canadareads /2

heart and an impulse to watch over people more than twice his age, who simply can’t reciprocate his love and care. Son of a Trickster begins with a portrait of Jared’s childhood. His parents, Maggie and Phil, are together and in love. Maggie is fearless, foul-mouthed, tough, and often threatens people, especially if they mess with her son. Jared’s maternal grandmother dislikes him as she suspects his true father is a supernatural trickster that has tormented her family for generations. By contrast, his paternal grandmother, the feisty Nana Sophia, loves him dearly and has no doubts about his parentage. She says she conducted a DNA test when he was born to make sure. The novel then moves into Jared’s teenage years where it remains for the rest of the story. His parents have divorced and Jared lives with his mother and her latest boyfriend, Richie, plus two renters. Richie is volatile and Jared is wary of his violent tendencies. In the past, Jared has been the victim of her mother’s violent boyfriends, namely David whose mere presence in their lives would tie his stomach in knots. “The world is hard. You have to be harder. ” Maggie often says to Jared. He remembers this as they put down his beloved dog Baby Killer. In the final few chapters of Son of a Trickster, the book’s supernatural elements truly begin to dominate. Jared is kidnapped by the menacing river otter www. curio. ca/canadareads /3

creatures, who eat his toes and burn his flesh while holding him hostage in a bid to lure his mother (whose power they crave) to them. Jared is then rescued by his Trickster father, Wee’git, who creates a “temporal pocket, ” allowing Jared to run from the carnivorous otters. The ape men then appear and help Jared escape into his mother’s truck. Nana Sophia then materializes, and Jared’s suspicions that he is the son of a trickster are confirmed. Jared is forced to confront the fact that his Nana — who had been his lifeline — is not truly his blood relative and will begrudge him this deception forever. Before leaving, however, she gives him a cheque, which Jared cashes and gives to his dad. Sarah, a neighbour he’s been hooking up with, announces she is leaving, and she and Jared have sex one last time, but as they do, Sarah’s magic is activated and they begin to unravel, forcing Jared to leave. Sarah then does shrooms in order to reconnect with her magic, and while she’s high, she cuts herself so badly that she is placed in a psych ward. Sarah’s mom comes to retrieve her, and Jared forces himself to say goodbye to Sarah because she craves the magic he so badly wants to avoid. Finally, Jared is visited again by the old woman he calls “Monster Gran, ” with magic lurking beneath her skin. She reveals that she is Wee’git’s sister and Jared is her nephew, and one of Wee’git’s 532 offspring. She takes www. curio. ca/canadareads /4

him to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and he decides to stop drinking. His mom and his friend Dylan find this hugely offensive and the nerdy George (a. k. a. “Crashpad”) becomes the only person at school who will hang out with him. Jared seems to be healing, though, and writes to his grandmother Anita, who warns him that if “Monster Gran” has taken an interest in him, he’ll need to be careful. Primary Characters Jared – The teenage son of a violent mother and — as he eventually learns — the Trickster father Wee’git, Jared is a mostly typical teenager in exceptional surroundings, characterized by his volatile mother. As a result, Jared’s home life has long been filled with violence, upheaval and uncertainty, yet Jared has learned how to take care of people who should be, by right, taking care of him. Sarah – The neighbor Mrs. Jaks’s granddaughter and Jared’s love interest. Sarah is a political activist, interested in Idle No More, treaties, fracking, capitalism and other things Jared doesn’t usually think about. Sarah is also hurting, and engages in self-harm. In the second half of the book, Jared discovers that, like his mom, Sarah is a witch. Her powers are untamed, however, and dangerous, and she injures herself severely in an attempt to commune with her magic. Fireflies – Extradimensional beings with a fondness for poetry and philosophy. www. curio. ca/canadareads /5

Maggie/Mom – An intensely violent and destructive woman, with an equally intense love for her son. After divorcing Jared’s father, she dates a string of violent men including David, who she attacks with a nail gun after she finds him hurting Jared. At one point, Jared’s inner monologue describes his mom as “most likely to be locked in an institution for the criminally insane. ” We eventually learn that she is a witch, who once tried to kill Jared’s Trickster father, but knew he would inevitably reappear one day. Phil/Dad – Jared’s deadbeat dad, who used to work at a pulp and paper mill until he was laid off. A recovering addict, he remarried to a woman named Shirley whose daughter Destiny gives birth to a baby early in the book. The youngest of all of them, Jared is also the most dependable, routinely helping them make rent while his dad squanders his disability cheques. Anita Moody – Jared’s maternal grandmother, who never liked him. She always believed him to be “the son of a trickster” and threatened him, because she thought he would hurt his mother. We later learn that she survived residential school and a Tuberculosis sanatorium, and at the end of the book, she and Jared reconcile to some extent. Nana Sophia – Jared’s paternal grandmother who lives in Prince Rupert with her fourth husband, and who Jared likes a lot. After her son remarries, Nana has a falling out with him, but remains close with Jared. She encourages him not to take responsibility for the bad www. curio. ca/canadareads /6

decisions of the grownups in his life, but ultimately severs ties with him when it’s confirmed that he is not, in fact, Phil’s son, but the son of a trickster. Richie – Mom’s volatile boyfriend, who Jared initially meets when he sicks his pit bulls on Jared over his mom’s unpaid drug debts and Jared’s mom runs over one of the dogs with her car. David – Jared’s mom’s abusive ex-boyfriend. Jared “remembered the dread he’d felt when his mom’s ex David was in their lives. The constant bile at the back of his throat from his queasy stomach clenched in a knot. ” Mrs. Jaks – Jared’s kind, elderly neighbour and Sarah’s grandmother. We learn that she is an Indigenous woman who lost her status by marrying a white man. Mr. Jaks suffers from dementia, and is undergoing treatment for cancer. Wee'git/The Trickster – Turns out to be Jared’s biological dad. Mrs. Georgina Smith (Jwasins)/Aunt Georgina – Wee’git’s sister, an ogress. Crashpad/George – Jared’s friend. www. curio. ca/canadareads /7

Key Themes ADOLESCENCE – Throughout much of the book, Jared is preoccupied with relatively typical teenage insecurities, like girls, friends, passing exams, not getting caught selling weed, etc. Nevertheless, he is also obliged to care for many of the people who are supposed to care for him — paying his dad’s bills, cleaning up his mom’s messes, babysitting his stepsister’s kid, and helping out his elderly neighbours. FAMILY – In the words of one reviewer, a central part of the book is the degree to which Jared finds himself “torn between compassion for his dad and loyalty to his mom. ” This tension extends to his parents’ own mothers, who both feature prominently in the book. Jared’s family is both small (he and his mom alone) and sprawling (including all the various broken people he finds himself caring for in various ways). ADDICTION – Jared is a burnout for most of the book, and his routine intoxication makes it more difficult for the reader to tell reality from fantasy. Jared also indulges the addictions of people around him, including his mom. At the end of the book, Wee’git’s sister (Jared’s aunt) convinces him to go to an AA meeting, and Jared’s decision to become sober generates conflict with his mom and his friends, which is sure to reappear in subsequent books. BELONGING – Throughout the book, Jared grapples with whether he belongs: in town, on the rez, www. curio. ca/canadareads /8

at his school, with Sarah, to his family—and to his mother above all. Additionally, Sarah is critical of Jared for being insufficiently Indigenous, and for failing to take an interest in Idle No More, a movement she feels he should belong to. ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION – The river otters are, at least in part, concerned with avenging the slow death of the earth at the hands of humans. “You’re killing the world and you have the nerve to wonder why we hate you, ” they say. About the Author Eden Robinson studied creative writing at the University of Victoria, and is the author of five novels. Her second novel, Monkey Beach, was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award and the Scotiabank Giller Prize. Son of a Trickster is Robinson’s fifth novel and was also shortlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, in addition to earning her the 2017 Writer’s Trust $50, 000 Fellowship. She lives in Kitamaat Village, British Columbia, and is a proud member of the Haisla and Heiltsuk First Nations. www. curio. ca/canadareads /9

Other Books by the Author • Trickster Drift (2019) • Blood Sports (2007) • Monkey Beach (2001) • Traplines (1998) Notable Quotes from Reviews “Eden Robinson’s Son of a Trickster is a novel that shimmers with magic and vitality, featuring a compelling narrator, somewhere between Holden Caulfield and Harry Potter. . Energetic, often darkly funny, sometimes poignant, this is a book that will resonate long after the reader has devoured the final page. ” – 2017 Scotiabank Giller Prize jury (André Alexis, Anita Rau Badami, Lynn Coady and Richard Beard) “If Raven and Trickster got a show on Netflix, no one could write it but Eden Robinson. Talking ravens, party drugs, deadbeat dads, murderous otters, Doctor Who— nobody brings together pop culture, Indigenous culture and myth with more ferocity and humour. Son of a Trickster is my favourite book this year. ” – Annabel Lyon, author of The Sweet Girl and The Golden Mean “Robinson is the rare Canadian author who can write about moments of extreme physical brutality without overly sensationalizing or aestheticizing them; in her books, hurting is just something certain people do to each other. ” – Nathan Whitlock, The Globe & Mail “The British Columbia-based Robinson skillfully blends wacky, over-the-top characters that would be at home in an edgy sitcom with a supernatural horror plot that www. curio. ca/canadareads /10

draws on indigenous beliefs. By the time Robinson throws cannibalistic river otters at you, nothing prevents them from being both utterly terrifying and extremely funny at the same time. ” – Jonathan Ball, The Winnipeg Free Press “It is tempting to say that one could strip away the magical elements and have an impressive, realistic novel in its own right: Jared’s story is realistic, and rooted in a world that bleeds verisimilitude (including a backdrop of the closing of the Eurocan pulp and paper mill and the conflict over the Engbridge pipeline), but it is also firmly rooted in cultural ideas of magic and myth — of another world existing alongside our own, a world as real as economic devastation and parental neglect. ” – Robert J. Wiersema, The National Post “With shades of Thomas King and Sherman Alexie; Eden Robinson plays a trickster herself, in this book. We live in Jared’s head, so most of the dialogue is written in contemporary teenager. As always, she doesn’t hold back. Her characters are real, raw people who curse, fight, get high, get drunk, puke, have sex and talk about it. ” – Wendy Hawkin, Ottawa Review of Books CBC Links • Book Page: www. cbc. ca/1. 3975938 • Author Page: www. cbc. ca/1. 4721621 • HIWI: Why it took Eden Robinson eight years to write her new novel (text + audio): www. cbc. ca/1. 4053161 www. curio. ca/canadareads /11

• Eden Robinson on her musical afterlife and dream Can. Lit Trivial Pursuit Partner (text): www. cbc. ca/1. 4043752 • Eden Robinson on the fluidity of oral stories (text + audio): www. cbc. ca/1. 4027603 • Eden Robinson, Gregory Scofield, Yasuko Thanh among 2016 Writers' Trust Prize winners (text): www. cbc. ca/1. 4203486 Watch Eden Robinson discuss her book: www. curio. ca/canadareads Critical Thinking Questions Students will need to read the excerpt from Son of a Trickster found at www. curio. ca/canadareads and may need to do some research to help them craft a response. 1. The trickster is a common character archetype in the hero’s journey narrative. Conduct some research into this archetype then review the title of the novel. Based on what you’ve learned, what predictions can you make about the story? What could it mean for a character to be the “son of a trickster”? www. curio. ca/canadareads /12

2. How would you define the word belong? What are the various people, places, and things to which we belong, and what are the positive and negative aspects of belonging for individuals? headed for divorce? How would you describe the dynamic between Jared’s immediate family and his two grandmothers? 3. Jared is the product of a failed marriage. How can divorce affect young people? What positive and negative behaviours does Jared exhibit that might be associated with the fact that his parents are no longer together? 5. As a burnout with a big heart and strong sense of responsibility, Jared is a complicated character. What stigmas are associated with teen drinking and drug use? How do these stigmas not apply to Jared, and what message does this convey to the reader? 4. Read the excerpt at curio. ca/canadareads about Jared’s family moving to Kitimat for his dad’s work. What can you infer about the dynamic between Jared and his mom and dad? Is there any evidence that suggests Maggie and Phil are 6. Eden Robinson explores the motif of magic and the supernatural throughout the novel. The protagonist, Jared, is under the influence of weed and alcohol for the majority of the story. What is the effect of Jared’s intoxication on the reader’s www. curio. ca/canadareads /13

perception of events? Is this an effective storytelling strategy? 7. Robinson has described Son of a Trickster as being “designed to teach children about our protocols, about what it was to be a good Haisla person. By breaking all of the rules, and showing you how horrific the results could be. ” What does this novel suggest about what it means to be a good Haisla person, and what are the consequences for those who fall short? 8. Every choice we make comes with a set of consequences we have to live with. For Jared, his deciding to get sober costs him friendships and other elements of his previous way of life. Consider a choice you have made for yourself that you felt was the right thing to do, but left you conflicted because of the associated costs. Inquiry Activities 1. Students might conduct some research into the hero’s journey plot structure and apply the eight stages of this narrative to Jared’s experience in the novel as they read. They might also compare Son of a Trickster to another hero’s journey narrative to show the universality of this form of storytelling. 2. In the novel, Jared’s dad grapples with Oxy. Contin addiction. Students might conduct some research www. curio. ca/canadareads /14

into the Oxy. Contin epidemic in North America, select a Canadian community it has affected, and present its impact on individuals and society. 3. Teachers can invite a local Indigenous leader from their community to discuss animism, mysticism, and other traditional ways of knowing and believing. Acknowledgments – Guide writer/editor: Chris Coates © 2020 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation www. curio. ca/canadareads /15