FIVE LITTLE INDIANS

by Michelle Good

As I turned the last page of Five Little Indians, I honestly felt a sense of relief. My first instinct was to put it in one of the little free libraries near my house and be done. But over the next few days, I found myself thinking about the characters often and realizing that although their stories were brutal at times, they were also deeply affecting. Perhaps the book held more than I initially experienced. Having reflected for a few weeks, I do think it is a book I would recommend, with some trigger/content warnings.

Five Little Indians weaves stories and time in a way that you only see the full picture in the end, or in my case a few days after finishing. It chronicles the lives of several young men and women who were sent, most unwillingly, to what was known as an “Indian school” in British Columbia. Children were taken from their families as young as three years old and kept, often without seeing their parents again, until their 16th birthdays. The idea was to mold these children in the image of the white majority and erase their Indigenous heritage. The reality of the schools, as we now know, was even worse than the stated purpose, often involving starvation, beatings and sexual abuse. 

The author makes the book readable, and not "trauma porn," by developing a story of escape, recovery, self-discovery and healing. Not everyone makes it, and the journey is difficult from beginning to end. But for those who survive to the end of the book, there is a sense that they have reclaimed their lives and themselves. Five Little Indians is absolutely not for everyone. But if the subject interests you, it is beautifully written and will leave you with some hope. (Lily)