Five Little Indians (novel)
2020 novel by Michelle Good
Five Little Indians is the debut novel by Cree Canadian writer Michelle Good , published in 2020 by Harper Perennial .[ 1] The novel focuses on five survivors of the Canadian Indian residential school system , struggling to rebuild their lives in Vancouver , British Columbia after the end of their time in the residential schools.[ 2] It also explores the love and strength that can emerge after trauma.[ 3]
The book received a number of awards, and was CBC 's number one book in 2021.[ 4] It was selected for and won the 2022 edition of Canada Reads , nominated by Christian Allaire , Ojibwe author and Vogue Fashion Editor.[ 5]
Background
Although the novel is predominantly fictional, some of its stories were based on real experiences of Good's mother and grandmother, who were survivors of the residential school system.[ 1] Growing up, her mother talked about the traumatic histories and experiences of attending St. Barnabas Residential School in Onion Lake, Saskatchewan.[ 6] These discussions influenced Good's work.[ 7] The novel's development took more than a decade, beginning in 2011 when Good was a fine arts graduate student at the University of British Columbia .[ 8] As part of the writing process, Good relied on psychological assessments of children who experienced physical and sexual abuse in order to accurately depict these events' long-term impacts on a person's life.[ 9]
Reception
As of August 2024, Five Little Indians has 4.48 out of 5 stars on Goodreads based on roughly 39,000 ratings.[ 10]
Five Little Indians was CBC 's number one book recommendation in 2021.[ 4] The book also received positive reviews from the Toronto Star ,[ 11] Vancouver Sun ,[ 12] and Apple Books .[ 13]
Amnesty International Book Club selected Five Little Indians for their book club in 2021.
Now named Five Little Indians one of the top ten novels of 2020.[ 14] The Globe and Mail ,[ 15] CBC ,[ 16] Kobo ,[ 17] and Indigo [ 18] also named the book in their lists of the best books of the year.
The novel was selected for the 2022 edition of Canada Reads , where it was defended by Christian Allaire .[ 19] It won the competition on March 31.[ 20]
Awards and honors
Television adaptation
Five Little Indians has been optioned by Prospero Pictures for development as a limited television series. Shannon Masters , a screenwriter of Cree Métis and Ukrainian descent, will serve as writer and show runner alongside Martin Katz and Karen Wookey, who will serve as executive producers.[ 37]
Good has expressed hopes that the adaptation will make the story accessible to a broader range of people.[ 37]
References
^ a b Angelica Haggert, "'The story I was intended to write': Michelle Good on forthcoming novel 'Five Little Indians'" . Canadian Geographic , February 20, 2020.
^ Marcia Kaye (April 16, 2020). "Michelle Good's "Five Little Indians" a fictional exploration of life after residential school" . Toronto Star .
^ "Books and Reviews: Canada Reads roundup" . The Suburban Newspaper . 25 March 2022. Retrieved 2022-03-27 .
^ a b "The top 10 bestselling Canadian books of 2021" . CBC Books . 2021-12-27. Retrieved 2022-01-09 .
^ "Christian Allaire, championing Five Little Indians by Michelle Good, wins Canada Reads 2022" . CBC Books . 1 April 2022.
^ Good, Michelle (2021-06-24). "Michelle Good: 'Imagine the terror of the children' — 'Non-Indigenous Canada, this is the time to raise your voices' " . Toronto Star . Retrieved 2024-08-02 .
^ Van Koeverden, Jane (March 14, 2022). "Michelle Good on her novel Five Little Indians, and the question that guides her writing" . CBC.ca . Retrieved March 27, 2022 .
^ Laskaris, Adam (1 June 2021). "Kamloops-area author wins prestigious awards for debut novel" . Kamloops This Week . Retrieved 22 July 2021 .
^ Bresge, Adina (28 May 2021). "Michelle Good on why Indigenous people can't 'get over' residential school trauma" . www.cp24.com . Retrieved 22 July 2021 .
^ "Five Little Indians: Michelle Good" . Goodreads . Retrieved 15 August 2024 .
^ Kaye, Marcia (2020-04-16). "Michelle Good's "Five Little Indians" a fictional exploration of life after residential school" . The Toronto Star . ISSN 0319-0781 . Retrieved 2022-01-10 .
^ Gee, Dana (2020-04-16). "Five Little Indians follows young lives forced into residential school" . Vancouver Sun . Retrieved 2022-01-10 .
^ Five Little Indians . Retrieved 2022-01-09 .
^ Cole, Susan G. (November 30, 2020). "The 10 best books of 2020" . Now .
^ Cannon, Margaret; Canton, Jeffrey; Pereira, Judith; Rogers, Sean; Scott, Alec; Colbert, Jade (2021-11-30). "The Globe 100: Our favourite books of 2020" . The Globe and Mail . Retrieved 2022-01-10 .
^ "The best Canadian fiction of 2020" . CBC Books . 2020-12-03. Retrieved 2022-01-09 .
^ "Some of the best books by Indigenous writers in Canada" . Kobo Blog . Retrieved 2022-01-10 .
^ "Our Best Books of 2020" . Indigo Books & Music . Retrieved 2022-01-10 .
^ "Meet the Canada Reads 2022 contenders" . CBC Books , January 26, 2022.
^ "And the winner of Canada Reads 2022 is..." CBC Books . 2022-03-31. Retrieved 2022-03-31 .
^ "Past GGBooks winners and finalists" . Governor General's Literary Awards . Retrieved 2022-01-10 .
^ "Requête rejetée / Request Rejected" . www.ctvnews.ca . Retrieved 2024-11-11 .
^ "Success Story with Michelle Good" . 14 September 2020.
^ "Thomas King, Gil Adamson among finalists for $50K Writers' Trust Fiction Prize" . Toronto Star . 2020-10-06. Retrieved 2024-08-02 .
^ Truax, Emma. "2020 Finalists" . Scotiabank Giller Prize . Retrieved 2022-01-10 .
^ Dundas, Deborah (2020-09-08). "Thomas King, Emma Donoghue make the 2020 Giller longlist in a year marked by firsts" . Toronto Star . Retrieved 2024-08-02 .
^ Vicky Qiao, "Five Little Indians by Michelle Good wins $60K Amazon First Novel Award" . CBC Books , May 28, 2021.
^ "Five Little Indians" . Amnesty International Book Club . Retrieved 2022-01-10 .
^ "Winners & Finalists" . BC and Yukon Book Prizes . Retrieved 2022-01-10 .
^ "Winners & Finalists" . BC and Yukon Book Prizes . Retrieved 2023-11-20 .
^ "City of Vancouver Book Award" . City of Vancouver . Retrieved 2022-01-10 .
^ Qiao, Vicky (2021-10-21). "Five Little Indians by Michelle Good wins Forest of Reading Evergreen Award for best title for adults" . CBC Books . Retrieved 2022-01-09 .
^ Drudi, Cassandra (2021-05-03). "Finalists announced for 2021 Indigenous Voices Awards" . Quill and Quire . Retrieved 2022-01-10 .
^ Dundas, Deborah (2021-06-22). "Michelle Good wins Kobo Emerging Writer fiction prize — making it three wins for the three noms she got on that big day in May" . Toronto Star . Retrieved 2024-08-02 .
^ "2021 Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize Winners Announced" . Kobo Blog . Retrieved 2022-01-10 .
^ "Meet the Canada Reads 2022 contenders" . CBC Books , January 26, 2022.
^ a b Vicky Qiao, "Michelle Good's Five Little Indians to be adapted into limited TV series" . CBC News , June 9, 2021.
1930s 1940s
Ringuet , Thirty Acres (1940)
Alan Sullivan , Three Came to Ville Marie (1941)
G. Herbert Sallans , Little Man (1942)
Thomas Head Raddall , The Pied Piper of Dipper Creek (1943)
Gwethalyn Graham , Earth and High Heaven (1944)
Hugh MacLennan , Two Solitudes (1945)
Winifred Bambrick , Continental Revue (1946)
Gabrielle Roy , The Tin Flute (1947)
Hugh MacLennan , The Precipice (1948)
Philip Child , Mr. Ames Against Time (1949)
1950s
Germaine Guèvremont , The Outlander (1950)
Morley Callaghan , The Loved and the Lost (1951)
David Walker , The Pillar (1952)
David Walker , Digby (1953)
Igor Gouzenko , The Fall of a Titan (1954)
Lionel Shapiro , The Sixth of June (1955)
Adele Wiseman , The Sacrifice (1956)
Gabrielle Roy , Street of Riches (1957)
Colin McDougall , Execution (1958)
Hugh MacLennan , The Watch That Ends the Night (1959)
1960s 1970s
Dave Godfrey , The New Ancestors (1970)
Mordecai Richler , St. Urbain's Horseman (1971)
Robertson Davies , The Manticore (1972)
Rudy Wiebe , The Temptations of Big Bear (1973)
Margaret Laurence , The Diviners (1974)
Brian Moore , The Great Victorian Collection (1975)
Marian Engel , Bear (1976)
Timothy Findley , The Wars (1977)
Alice Munro , Who Do You Think You Are? (1978)
Jack Hodgins , The Resurrection of Joseph Bourne (1979)
1980s
George Bowering , Burning Water (1980)
Mavis Gallant , Home Truths: Selected Canadian Stories (1981)
Guy Vanderhaeghe , Man Descending (1982)
Leon Rooke , Shakespeare's Dog (1983)
Josef Škvorecký , The Engineer of Human Souls (1984)
Margaret Atwood , The Handmaid's Tale (1985)
Alice Munro , The Progress of Love (1986)
M. T. Kelly , A Dream Like Mine (1987)
David Adams Richards , Nights Below Station Street (1988)
Paul Quarrington , Whale Music (1989)
1990s
Nino Ricci , Lives of the Saints (1990)
Rohinton Mistry , Such a Long Journey (1991)
Michael Ondaatje , The English Patient (1992)
Carol Shields , The Stone Diaries (1993)
Rudy Wiebe , A Discovery of Strangers (1994)
Greg Hollingshead , The Roaring Girl (1995)
Guy Vanderhaeghe , The Englishman's Boy (1996)
Jane Urquhart , The Underpainter (1997)
Diane Schoemperlen , Forms of Devotion (1998)
Matt Cohen , Elizabeth and After (1999)
2000s
Michael Ondaatje , Anil's Ghost (2000)
Richard B. Wright , Clara Callan (2001)
Gloria Sawai , A Song for Nettie Johnson (2002)
Douglas Glover , Elle (2003)
Miriam Toews , A Complicated Kindness (2004)
David Gilmour , A Perfect Night to Go to China (2005)
Peter Behrens , The Law of Dreams (2006)
Michael Ondaatje , Divisadero (2007)
Nino Ricci , The Origin of Species (2008)
Kate Pullinger , The Mistress of Nothing (2009)
2010s
Dianne Warren , Cool Water (2010)
Patrick deWitt , The Sisters Brothers (2011)
Linda Spalding , The Purchase (2012)
Eleanor Catton , The Luminaries (2013)
Thomas King , The Back of the Turtle (2014)
Guy Vanderhaeghe , Daddy Lenin and Other Stories (2015)
Madeleine Thien , Do Not Say We Have Nothing (2016)
Joel Thomas Hynes , We'll All Be Burnt in Our Beds Some Night (2017)
Sarah Henstra , The Red Word (2018)
Joan Thomas , Five Wives (2019)
2020s