River Faces North by Anne M. Smith-Nochasak

A Fiction Review by Heather McBriarty

In a forgotten corner of Nova Scotia, not that many years in the future, what is left of humanity, after the bombs have fallen and the environment collapses, is ruled by an oppressive cult called the Elect. Feisty 78-year-old grandmother Flo must somehow survive a broken, poisoned world, the uncertainty of her son and daughter-in-law’s safety and the loneliness of not knowing who among her remaining neighbours is a spy for the Elect. She must also save her precious granddaughter, River – soon turning 12 - from the malign clutches of the Elect’s breeding program. Calling herself a “rebel grandmother”, Flo is forced into acts she is deeply ashamed of, and witness to tragedies of epic proportions.

In the spring of 2035, Flo waves goodbye to her son and his wife as they meet up with a resistance movement in Quebec, swearing to them she will protect their daughter with her life. This is only one of many secrets she must carry tightly to her chest. There are the misfits living in hideouts in her swamp, those who the Elect will kill if found: the evangelical Meghan with her contraband religious tracts; veterinarian Andrea, the practitioner of two forbidden subjects - science and medicine. Then there is River, the girl Flo dreams will bring green again wherever she walks, the girl who embodies both her white grandmother’s resilience and humour and her Inuit and Salish indigenous ancestors’ wisdom and spirit. At only eleven, River practises for the time when she must flee the Elect and find her way to her parents’ band of resistors. How she is to do that under the watchful eyes of the Elect is the big question.

River Faces North by Anne M. Smith-Nochasak is a brilliant novel, told in a conversational, rambling way, from the perspective of a woman who has seen too much, knows too much, but still dreams of the life she once had and the life she somehow feels is still possible, despite everything that has happened to the world. Having a septuagenarian heroine is refreshing. Flo is fierce and funny, determined not to let age slow her down nor to allow the evils of the past to be resurrected in this new society. Flo’s ruminations on life, love, and the treatment of the indigenous people of North America are thought-provoking, and both timeless and timely to the story she hopes will find its way to the world – or what’s left of it. She is imperfect, philosophic, a woman of cunning and wisdom, who loves deeply, thinks hard and then makes the best she can of what life has handed her. And there is nothing she will not do to protect her precious granddaughter, River.

Smith-Nochasak’s writing is a beautiful, slightly chaotic, magnificent stream-of-consciousness, weaving together what her protagonist wishes was true with what is her horrible truth, as Flo tries to protect us, the readers, as much as she is protecting River. It is intimate, immediate, and utterly engaging. Her characters are fully fleshed, multi-layered and oh, so believable; we all know someone like Flo and Andrea and Meghan. This is the first in a planned trilogy, and I am eagerly looking forward to what is in store for Flo and River.

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About the Author

Like her characters, Anne M. Smith-Nochasak grew up in rural western Nova Scotia, where she currently resides and teaches part-time after many years working in northern communities. Her first novel, A Canoer of Shorelines, was recognized as one of The Miramichi Reader's Best of Fiction in 2021, and her second novel, The Ice Widow, was on the shortlist for the Whistler Independent Book Awards in 2023, as well as a semi-finalist in the North Street Book Prize competition. She is currently a member of the Writers Federation of Nova Scotia. When she isn't writing or teaching, Anne can be found reading, kayaking, gardening, renovating, or exploring the woods with her two dogs. She can be reached through her website www.acanoerofshorelines.com/ or on X, IG, and FB [at]smithnochasak.

About the Reviewer

Heather McBriarty is an author, lecturer and Medical Radiation Technologist based in Saint John, NB. Her love of reading and books began early in life, as did her love of writing, but the discovery of old family correspondence led to her first non-fiction book, Somewhere in Flanders: Letters from the Front, and a passion for the First World War. She has delivered lectures to the Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society, NB Genealogy Society, and Western Front Association (Central Ontario Branch), among others, on the war. Heather’s first novel of the “Great War”, Amid the Splintered Trees, was launched in November 2021.

Book Details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ FriesenPress (Aug. 23 2024)

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 246 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1038316596

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1038316592