Empire of Wild, Cherie Dimaline
Empire of Wild, Cherie Dimaline
List: $23.99 | Sale: $16.79
Club: $11.99

Empire of Wild
A Novel

Author: Cherie Dimaline

Narrator: Michelle St. John

Unabridged: 8 hr 17 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: HarperAudio

Published: 07/28/2020


Synopsis

“Deftly written, gripping and informative. Empire of Wild is a rip-roaring read!”—Margaret Atwood, From Instagram
“Empire of Wild is doing everything I love in a contemporary novel and more. It is tough, funny, beautiful, honest and propulsive—all the while telling a story that needs to be told by a person who needs to be telling it.”—Tommy Orange, author of There ThereA bold and brilliant new indigenous voice in contemporary literature makes her American debut with this kinetic, imaginative, and sensuous fable inspired by the traditional Canadian Métis legend of the Rogarou—a werewolf-like creature that haunts the roads and woods of native people’s communities.Joan has been searching for her missing husband, Victor, for nearly a year—ever since that terrible night they’d had their first serious argument hours before he mysteriously vanished. Her Métis family has lived in their tightly knit rural community for generations, but no one keeps the old ways . . . until they have to. That moment has arrived for Joan.One morning, grieving and severely hungover, Joan hears a shocking sound coming from inside a revival tent in a gritty Walmart parking lot. It is the unmistakable voice of Victor. Drawn inside, she sees him. He has the same face, the same eyes, the same hands, though his hair is much shorter and he's wearing a suit. But he doesn't seem to recognize Joan at all. He insists his name is Eugene Wolff, and that he is a reverend whose mission is to spread the word of Jesus and grow His flock. Yet Joan suspects there is something dark and terrifying within this charismatic preacher who professes to be a man of God . . . something old and very dangerous.Joan turns to Ajean, an elderly foul-mouthed card shark who is one of the few among her community steeped in the traditions of her people and knowledgeable about their ancient enemies. With the help of the old Métis and her peculiar Johnny-Cash-loving, twelve-year-old nephew Zeus, Joan must find a way to uncover the truth and remind Reverend Wolff who he really is . . . if he really is. Her life, and those of everyone she loves, depends upon it.

About Cherie Dimaline

Cherie Dimaline's 2017 book, The Marrow Thieves, won the Governor General’s Award and the prestigious Kirkus Prize for Young Readers, was a finalist for the White Pine Award, and was the fan favorite for CBC’s 2018 Canada Reads. Her novel Empire of Wild became an instant Canadian bestseller and was named Indigo's #1 Best Book of 2019. Cherie spent many years working in and for Indigenous communities and now lives in her home territory where she is a registered and active member of the Georgian Bay Metis Community.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Lala on May 18, 2020

Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline 4⭐ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ "For girls, he was the creature who kept you off the road or made you walk in packs. The old women never said "Don't go into town, it is not safe for us there. We go missing. We are hurt." Instead they leaned in and whispered a warning: "I wouldn't go out on t......more

Goodreads review by Will on October 28, 2022

His narrow tie and pocket square were both daffodil yellow, a colour that brought out the gold hue of his eyes, deep-set below groomed brows. As he came toward her he extended his right arm to check the time on a wide gold watch. In the shift of fabric, Joan saw dark hair dense on his too-white s......more

Goodreads review by luce (cry bebè's back from hiatus) on August 27, 2021

| | blog | tumblr | ko-fi | | Empire of Wild is one of those novels that doesn't live up to its intriguing premise. There were a few moments that I actually enjoyed, but these were far too few in between. We have a half-baked storyline, some painfully cartoonish villains, a thinly rendered main cha......more

Goodreads review by Amy on May 15, 2022

Watch out for the Rogarou. Speculative horror in small town Ontario with one Native woman's desperate quest to save her husband from the werewolf legend of their nightmares. Characters: ★★★★★ Plot: ★★★★ Concept: ★★★★ Pacing: ★★★ Joan has been looking for her husband for over 11 months. One night—after a......more

Goodreads review by NILTON on December 29, 2019

This one was not for me. I hate when I purchase a book that does not please me in any way. The only reason I bought it was because Indigo (for those who never heard, it is a big retailer in Canada) picked this as number one of the year. And the premise really sounded fantastic. Werewolf? Aboriginal c......more