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This beautifully written debut novel explores the repercussions of the disappearance of a Mi'kmaq four-year-old girl from the blueberry fields in Maine in the early 1960s. What happened to Ruthie becomes clear fairly early on, but the impact of her loss on both sides of the Canadian/American border is explored in depth. The story is told in alternating chapters from the perspective of Joe, Ruthie's brother, and Norma, a privileged young girl growing up in Maine in the shadow of her overly protective mother.
Through their eyes, we experience two very different ways of life. Joe's family is warm, loving, and full of laughter, in spite of their loss. Joe, unable to shake the guilt of being the last to see Ruthie before her disappearance, is unable to thrive in his family's home in Nova Scotia. The downward spiral of his life choices affects not only himself, but also his family and friends. His sections of THE BERRY PICKERS bring Joe's psyche to life, allowing the reader to build sympathy for him even given his apparent desire for self-destruction. We are able to share in his family's plight and feel their pain at the loss of Ruthie, Joe, and others, all the while admiring their strength. As the book shifts to Norma's chapters, she is equally well developed as a character, and we share in the pain that the heavy atmosphere of her mother's darkness and manipulation cause her. Joe and Ruthie's mother brings wisdom, perspective, and strength to the indigenous family, while Norma's mother brings secrecy, depression, and fragility to hers. I'm not giving anything away when I say that it is clear throughout the book that there will be a reckoning when the two families come together, but how that meeting will play out and what it will reveal remains a mystery until the satisfying resolution.
THE BERRY PICKERS is a very deep, very complex novel – especially for a debut. By keeping the focus on the two main characters, Peters manages to weave a number of themes into the plot. As readers, we follow threads dealing with the role of motherhood, racial prejudice toward Indigenous peoples both in Canada and the United States, the lingering impact of Indian schools and mass government-sponsored kidnapping of Indigenous children, how Alzheimer's Disease affects both patients and their families, and the experience of pain and dying. These tough topics are sensitively dealt with, and the author manages to balance them with a true understanding of the importance of being surrounded by a loving family, light, and a sense of the world's beauty…or not…in growing up whole. In the end, we find out what happened to Ruthie, how, and why. The ending is satisfying and deeply moving.
This was a fantastic character-driven mystery, with exceptional characterization and setting descriptions, full of insight and wisdom. Amanda Peters, an Indigenous writer, has set the bar extremely high in her debut novel, and I am looking forward to seeing what she does in her sophomore attempt. Her short story collection, WAITING FOR THE LONG NIGHT MOON, came out in August 2024, but based on THE BERRY PICKERS, I am especially looking forward to another book that has the space to allow for the depth and complexity she brings to the novel format.
§ Sharon Mensing, retired educational leader, lives, reads, and enjoys the outdoors in Arizona.
Reviewed by Sharon Mensing, September 2024
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