Description
The Burke family story is about physical and emotional isolation in the 1920s and 1930s when homesteaders scratched out a new existence on the prairie. William, an adventurer from New Zealand, brings his bride to the freshly broken earth of his farm near Watrous, Saskatchewan. Violet, the child born ‘feebleminded,’ plunges her mother Louise—a woman burdened with a secret—back to a time of guilt and regret. The child draws out goodness and loyalty in her neighbours, Hank and Emily. But tragedy upends this family, taking the reader at breakneck speed toward forgiveness and the realization that no one is infallible.
Winner of the 2019 John V. Hicks Long Manuscript Award for Fiction
Alice Kuipers –
With beautiful writing that will resonate with readers who know these prairie skies, but also with readers who long to explore this country of ours, this nuanced and powerful book is a stunning exploration of love, disability, family and loss. Alice Kuipers
Judges Elisabeth de Mariaffi and Rabindranath Maharaj –
…“intricately-told, historical novel (with) modern connotations broaching our current conversation around trauma, consent, and sexual assault… Scenes
linger, resonate in the mind.” -Judges Elisabeth de Mariaffi and
Rabindranath Maharaj
Anne Simpson –
Small Reckonings is a graceful, poignant debut novel, with the strong
character of Violet at its heart. Considered vulnerable by her
community, she turns out to be feisty and courageous. Her story, and
that of her family, unfolds against the sweep of prairie with compelling
power. Karin Melberg Schwier has given us a novel to treasure.