THREE DAY ROAD - Joseph Boyden

I love cozy mystery books but I've decided to join a book club and add some more thought provoking books to my reading library. I've always had a second deeper book going but my urge to read them isn't always strong and it's a struggle to get through them. With a book club it's required that I read the book before the next month's meeting so it gives me incentive.

This book is about two Cree friends who sign up to fight in World War 1. The story is told in 2 first person accounts. Xavier has returned from the war wounded and addicted to morphine and relates his story in flashbacks as his elderly aunt paddles him from civilization back home to an area near James Bay. Her stories are interesting. She lives in the old ways and has much to share about her culture. Many of her stories are of her childhood and of the indian medicine she is famous for among the different clans.

The book is quite graphic in parts,  however the interspersing of the two first person accounts softens the horrific story of what the war was actually like. I found myself wondering how any man could have come back from that war sane enough to live a productive life, to not have the memories destroy him. It's also interesting to see what abilities the Cree bring to war. The ability to sneak up quietly on the enemy as they would animals in the forest. The ability to "smell" the enemy. The ability to lay quietly for hours at a time which enables them to become expert snipers.

Elijah was brought up in a residential school and I find his morals and beliefs are very far removed from Xavier's. In my mind it could be because Xavier was raised by his aunt, felt loved, and was taught morals perhaps without even knowing it. Elijah being brought up in a residental school had none of the benefits of a close relationship with an adult to guide him.

Elijah loves to hunt and kill. He's told by a group of Frenchmen to start collecting evidence of his kills because there is another indian who is perhaps more famous than himself for sniper kills who is able to prove it. Xavier hates killing. He does work in conjunction with Elijah because of his same abilities to move quietly and lay still but he is his sight man. At one point he prefers to work in the mud burying the dead of the Canadians rather than kill.

Throughout the book Elijah's main purpose is to become famous for what he does. For Xavier all he wants to do is return home.

The three-day road also refers to the journey between life and death and I was constantly wondering if Niska (the aunt) was taking Xavier on this life to death journey or if it literally took three days for her to return Xavier to his home from civilization.

A great read. Amazing for a first book.